April 24th
Dear Family,
The truth is that the weather in downtown San Diego since we have been here tends to be on the cooler side. But the last few days show promise of warmer days to come. We are not complaining about any of it just trying to help you understand that sweaters, etc are really needed (mostly mornings and evenings) during this part of the year we have just come through.
We have been having some technology issues at MBHS. The fact of the matter is that most of the equipment is 4+ years old and as Rus would say that is a lifetime. So some things are having to be replaced which means that periodically not everything is working for our tours. For the most part they keep the visual (video) part of the tour working which is good. We had the camera in the resource room (the one we take family photos with) go down about a week ago and the conclusion was that it could be two to 4 weeks before we could get it working again which is my mind was way too long. Pictures are a fun thing that families get to take with them as a memento. Anyway, on Tuesday, two gentlemen came in for a tour of MBHS. I found out that they worked for the IT department of the church (later refined to the IT dept of the temple department. ) At any rate I told them that we had an IT issue and they promised to return after the tour and discuss it. Well they did and within 45 minutes we were back up and functioning (with the added need of soldering the wires to the switch the next morning.) I consider it a huge tender mercy. It was no coincidence that they just happened to decide to tour MBHS while they were here working on the San Diego temple IT.
I was still having a few wifi issues at the house so decided to return the airport extender and get an airport extreme. I needed Rus to help me get it installed but it works great now. Good strong signal throughout the house.
Mom went to Carlsbad one day shopping and to see the Flower Fields. She didn’t really find what she wanted but said the flower fields were beautiful (although they are mostly one species, just different colors that the nursery is growing to provide bulbs for the market place.)
I actually got my first referral this week. A young man came to the temple on Saturday and wanted to know about the building so we talked some. He wasn’t ready to have missionaries come to his house but he did give me his phone number and expressed interest in having me text things to him periodically which I hope will lead to missionary discussions. He is from Mexico, has two children, is not married, and is a cook at a resort. And believe it or not you golfers in the family, his name is Sergio Garcia. How about that?
Easter was a very nice day. I have enjoyed your many posts about “Because of Him.” We worked from noon to 5 at MBHS and then Erin entertained us for dinner. And it was delicious. She had the sister missionaries come and also a young man from her ward. It was a fun late afternoon, early evening activity.
It is apparent that most spring breaks are over because the activity level at MBHS has significantly decreased. Cinco de Mayo is coming next week and we are told that it is a zoo around there then and summers are very busy but right now there is a pleasant lull.
Elder Barnes, our director, is part of the Old Town Chamber of Commerce. It is often apparent that there are legitimate things that need doing but the Chamber does not have the resources to do them. So once in a while he will volunteer MBHS to take on a task. The latest is taking pictures of all of the light poles in the city (there are about 90 of them) to determine which ones need new banners and which ones could really have larger banners on them. I was happy to accept the assignment to accomplish this for MBHS but not happy about how they assumed we would have to do it. So I went searching for an app for my WINDOWS phone that would allow me to accomplish what they wanted and with some suggestions from Cassie I am well on my way to getting the job done.
We are becoming more familiar with the area (Mom more than me) so we have been taking various routes to MBHS and have enjoyed the variety and seeing new places in the city. Point Loma, where we live, really is quite nicely located for most of the things of downtown San Diego.
Hope this finds you all well. Graduation tomorrow and it is the first thing that I have really felt like we are “missing” especially with two daughters walking. Hope it is a great day for all.
Elder Barnes is trying to capture conversion stories that have their beginning at MBHS. We learned of one this week that I thought you might enjoy so I am including it at the end of this letter. The sister involved is Sister Romero who it turns out is good friends with Andrew Garlock’s parents. Enjoy.
Love, Mom and Dad
Apple Lim Rowena, from Los Angeles, walked into the Mormon Battalion one day. Not knowing exactly what she was looking for, she felt the need to come into the building. I took her on a tour with her boyfriend and her mother. After the tour I asked her what had brought her here and how she had felt about the tour. She expressed that it was her birthday and they had had other plans, but at the last minute she felt that she needed to come to San Diego. She then told me that she had been having a continuous dream throughout the space of a couple years about this “hard bread”. A bread that she couldn’t break. She is a chef, and so this dream about a“hard bread” attracted her attention so much. She went out in search of trying to find this bread, but could never find anything. As she took the tour and I began talking about the hardtack, she was shocked to find out that this was the bread she had been searching for! She was so excited as she told me that she knew this was an answer from God, and that he had directed her here and answered her prayers. She immediately recognized this as a sign from Heavenly Father. She continued to ask more questions about our Faith, and what we believed. I ended up teaching her the restoration and how there was a prophet today on Earth. She felt in her heart it was all true, and asked if she could learn more. I took down her information and told her missionaries would be contacting her soon. She was so thankful she had come and gave me a big hug. I sent missionaries over that same night.
Apple was baptized 2 months later. I spoke to her recently and she expressed how happy she felt to have the gospel in her life. She said she was grateful to have followed the promptings of the Holy Ghost, which led her to the right place at the right time. In her own words she said, “I will never forget my tour there; it changed my life.”
I’ve thought about that day a lot since. I thought about the insignificance of the hardtack bread, and though so insignificant, It meant everything to her. It was the answer to her prayers, which led her to the truth. I referred that to the Savior. He says he offers the “bread of life.” And those who come unto him will hunger no more. While in search for this “hard bread”, Apple was able to find the “bread of life”, and hunger no more. Heavenly Father had been working with her for a long time, preparing her to receive the gospel. Because of the Mormon Battalion Historic Site she was able to find it.
The truth is that the weather in downtown San Diego since we have been here tends to be on the cooler side. But the last few days show promise of warmer days to come. We are not complaining about any of it just trying to help you understand that sweaters, etc are really needed (mostly mornings and evenings) during this part of the year we have just come through.
We have been having some technology issues at MBHS. The fact of the matter is that most of the equipment is 4+ years old and as Rus would say that is a lifetime. So some things are having to be replaced which means that periodically not everything is working for our tours. For the most part they keep the visual (video) part of the tour working which is good. We had the camera in the resource room (the one we take family photos with) go down about a week ago and the conclusion was that it could be two to 4 weeks before we could get it working again which is my mind was way too long. Pictures are a fun thing that families get to take with them as a memento. Anyway, on Tuesday, two gentlemen came in for a tour of MBHS. I found out that they worked for the IT department of the church (later refined to the IT dept of the temple department. ) At any rate I told them that we had an IT issue and they promised to return after the tour and discuss it. Well they did and within 45 minutes we were back up and functioning (with the added need of soldering the wires to the switch the next morning.) I consider it a huge tender mercy. It was no coincidence that they just happened to decide to tour MBHS while they were here working on the San Diego temple IT.
I was still having a few wifi issues at the house so decided to return the airport extender and get an airport extreme. I needed Rus to help me get it installed but it works great now. Good strong signal throughout the house.
Mom went to Carlsbad one day shopping and to see the Flower Fields. She didn’t really find what she wanted but said the flower fields were beautiful (although they are mostly one species, just different colors that the nursery is growing to provide bulbs for the market place.)
I actually got my first referral this week. A young man came to the temple on Saturday and wanted to know about the building so we talked some. He wasn’t ready to have missionaries come to his house but he did give me his phone number and expressed interest in having me text things to him periodically which I hope will lead to missionary discussions. He is from Mexico, has two children, is not married, and is a cook at a resort. And believe it or not you golfers in the family, his name is Sergio Garcia. How about that?
Easter was a very nice day. I have enjoyed your many posts about “Because of Him.” We worked from noon to 5 at MBHS and then Erin entertained us for dinner. And it was delicious. She had the sister missionaries come and also a young man from her ward. It was a fun late afternoon, early evening activity.
It is apparent that most spring breaks are over because the activity level at MBHS has significantly decreased. Cinco de Mayo is coming next week and we are told that it is a zoo around there then and summers are very busy but right now there is a pleasant lull.
Elder Barnes, our director, is part of the Old Town Chamber of Commerce. It is often apparent that there are legitimate things that need doing but the Chamber does not have the resources to do them. So once in a while he will volunteer MBHS to take on a task. The latest is taking pictures of all of the light poles in the city (there are about 90 of them) to determine which ones need new banners and which ones could really have larger banners on them. I was happy to accept the assignment to accomplish this for MBHS but not happy about how they assumed we would have to do it. So I went searching for an app for my WINDOWS phone that would allow me to accomplish what they wanted and with some suggestions from Cassie I am well on my way to getting the job done.
We are becoming more familiar with the area (Mom more than me) so we have been taking various routes to MBHS and have enjoyed the variety and seeing new places in the city. Point Loma, where we live, really is quite nicely located for most of the things of downtown San Diego.
Hope this finds you all well. Graduation tomorrow and it is the first thing that I have really felt like we are “missing” especially with two daughters walking. Hope it is a great day for all.
Elder Barnes is trying to capture conversion stories that have their beginning at MBHS. We learned of one this week that I thought you might enjoy so I am including it at the end of this letter. The sister involved is Sister Romero who it turns out is good friends with Andrew Garlock’s parents. Enjoy.
Love, Mom and Dad
Apple Lim Rowena, from Los Angeles, walked into the Mormon Battalion one day. Not knowing exactly what she was looking for, she felt the need to come into the building. I took her on a tour with her boyfriend and her mother. After the tour I asked her what had brought her here and how she had felt about the tour. She expressed that it was her birthday and they had had other plans, but at the last minute she felt that she needed to come to San Diego. She then told me that she had been having a continuous dream throughout the space of a couple years about this “hard bread”. A bread that she couldn’t break. She is a chef, and so this dream about a“hard bread” attracted her attention so much. She went out in search of trying to find this bread, but could never find anything. As she took the tour and I began talking about the hardtack, she was shocked to find out that this was the bread she had been searching for! She was so excited as she told me that she knew this was an answer from God, and that he had directed her here and answered her prayers. She immediately recognized this as a sign from Heavenly Father. She continued to ask more questions about our Faith, and what we believed. I ended up teaching her the restoration and how there was a prophet today on Earth. She felt in her heart it was all true, and asked if she could learn more. I took down her information and told her missionaries would be contacting her soon. She was so thankful she had come and gave me a big hug. I sent missionaries over that same night.
Apple was baptized 2 months later. I spoke to her recently and she expressed how happy she felt to have the gospel in her life. She said she was grateful to have followed the promptings of the Holy Ghost, which led her to the right place at the right time. In her own words she said, “I will never forget my tour there; it changed my life.”
I’ve thought about that day a lot since. I thought about the insignificance of the hardtack bread, and though so insignificant, It meant everything to her. It was the answer to her prayers, which led her to the truth. I referred that to the Savior. He says he offers the “bread of life.” And those who come unto him will hunger no more. While in search for this “hard bread”, Apple was able to find the “bread of life”, and hunger no more. Heavenly Father had been working with her for a long time, preparing her to receive the gospel. Because of the Mormon Battalion Historic Site she was able to find it.
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