Happy 4th of July

Happy 4th of July.....for all who love to decorate for the 4th of July...ever thinking of painting your house....just in case, here is an example!!

Our 4th started at 9am for a brunch with the Imperial Beach Ward.  It was held on a grassy island in the middle of Orange Avenue on Coronado Island.  We have a professional chef in our ward and he was in charge of cooking the food...it was very good!!  We had a good crowd and had a lot of fun.  The parade started at 10am and went down one side of the road.  It was a little chilly for the 4th of July, low 60's and an overcast sky.  Then we had a “drizzle”....not quite a rain...but it got us all slightly damp!!  The parade was 2 ½ hours long, kind of had a down home feel with all the clubs having a float of some sort, also different military units.  There is a lot of navy facilities and naval base on the island.

We had given Carrie a ride to the festivities.  She just moved here about three months ago and lives with her brother.  She is trying to find work, but grateful for a bedroom to live in for the moment.  She said she leaves the house in the morning and doesn’t return until dark.  I ask what she does and she said she looks for jobs and has a bus pass and she walks and walks.  She likes to read and carries a couple of books with her and will sit in a park or go to the library and read.  She has lost 80 pounds since she moved here.  Lives almost a homeless lifestyle, but with a bedroom to sleep in.  She has a strong testimony and is always at church.  She is hopeful she will soon get a job and be able to be on her own.  We took her to lunch and then off she went. 

In the evening, we went to the beach for the fireworks...you probably heard about our 15 second spectacular firework display on the news.  About 5 minutes before the display was to start a computer glitch caused the fireworks that were suppose to last 16 ½ minutes to go off at once!!  It was amazing!!
We all hung around for a while, then the lights on the pier went on, so we all went home.  But as one editorial in the local newspaper said “We may have missed the fireworks, but we have gained a legend.”

We did meet with one fun couple this week.  The missionaries have been teaching them for years and years.  Virgil and Barbara refer to them as their boys.  They hate it when one leaves and another comes.  The missionaries wondered if a more mature couple, such as us, might spur them on.  We had a great visit, but I think that was all it was.  They seem to believe what they are taught, but haven't even been to church to try it out.  They are a couple about our age with 7 children (6 boys and one girl) who are scattered across the country.

Elder Medsker helped teach the High Priest lesson on missionary work.  It was mainly about encouraging them to prepare for their own missions, and to find ways to assist up in our service.  It went quite well.