HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

What a great year is now coming to a close. We've been so blessed. Had many fun, fun trips. Met some great new friends. Have added to our family. Got a good start on our mission. Looking forward to this new year, continuing our mission and enjoying our family. We had a very relaxing, enjoyable Christmas....cruising to the Mexican Riviera. When we got back to L.A. we found out that Becca was in the Primary Children's Hospital so we headed to Salt Lake City via Death Valley. She had a broken elbow which got infected and had to undergo 3 surgeries in one week. She is home now and doing well, but will be on meds for 4 to 6 weeks. We wish you all a very Happy and Blessed New Year.

Month #4

I just blinked and another month is gone. Can't believe it! We've been so busy and time is flying.

Things are going great. We're learning and in another month we'll be the "seniors" and another couple has come who will taking our place. We're going to miss the Persinger's. This month we were able to go to the Salt Lake office and seeing the whole big picture of our Mission. The people there are great and we were treated very well....even lunch at the JS Memorial building Garden Room that looks out on the SL Temple. Love you all.

Month #3

Can't believe it's October. Tomorrow is the Marathon and we're going to the finish line to cheer Sam in. It's always amazing to me that so many hundreds of people can actually RUN for 27 miles. I do good to walk a couple of miles a day.
The mission is going good....and fast. We are working with some very nice people.
I'll try to write more next time.

MISSION UPDATE

There are two days in history that every American can tell you exactly where they were and what they were doing. One was 9/11 and the other was the day President Kennedy was shot. How sad for America. But let us never forget.
Another fast week. We now have served for 2 months. Time sure flies when you're haven' fun. We are loving our mission, the people and especially getting to go home at night and sleep in our own bed. I've probably said that before, but every day we appreciate it more. As the weeks go by, the days are not so hot. We've walking every morning outside instead of going to the rec center. That was really nice when we couldn't stand being outside, but now the mornings are lovely. Two weeks ago we went north. Had a nice but short visit with Molly and the kids. Then went on to Alpine and stayed with Mom and Dad. They are doing very well. On Saturday we went to the Temple with Rindy, then hit my favorite store, DI. Actually got some really nice stuff. Sat. night we went out to dinner with them for Ike's 18th birthday. Went a place we had never been, Goodwoods in Draper. They have the biggest onion ring I have ever seen. We had so much fun. They are really neat kids. We really like our 4 day weekends every other week. Lets us really relax and out a little. This weekend we are sticking close to home and doing some much needed cleaning. With this nicer weather we're looking for a screen door that will fit our smaller door. Just know that we are fine and working hard. Would love hearing from you!!

#21 HAS ARRIVED

We would like you meet our #21 grandchild, SAMANTHA Elle DESPAIN, born on her great grandfather Hollingshead's birthday, Aug. 22, around 8 p.m. She was delivered C section so has a beautiful round head with lots of hair. You'll have to call them to get the details. We are thrilled and thankful.

A FAST MONTH

Well, it's now a month into our mission. Things and thoughts are coming a little easier and we are enjoying the work. We are on a schedule and are enjoying working with some very dedicated missionaries and volunteers. This weekend we spent in town. We had the boys for a sleepover. They are always so good and fun to be with. Tonight we were invited to Tae's 2 year old birthday party. We enjoyed visiting with them, Linda & Dick and also Sam and Bridger. We had to get home and to bed because we have to get up so early in the morning. Hope all is well with you and yours. Thanks for visiting. We are waiting to hear from Spencer as he left for Chili this last Monday. Bet he's been so busy.

A SATURDAY OFF

What a nice Saturday mini vacation. We got up early Saturday morning and drove to Las Vegas. It wasn't any hotter there than at home. We did some shopping at our favorite stores, hit Costco and went to the Vegas Factory Outlet Mall. It's such a huge mall that we only had time to see a part of it. Then we went to visit Linda and Dick's new home. It is on Sunrise mountain and within 1/2 of the Temple, which makes Dick very happy. He plans on spending a lot of time there. It's a very nice house and they have made so many improvements already. They have put in new flooring, cabinets throughout, new doors and are planning on making changes to the yard. We are very happy for them and hope they will be very happy there.
On our way home we stopped in Mesquite for a ($4.99) prime rib dinner. Not bad!!
It was a fun day get away. Now we are ready to get back to being full missionaries again.

This is a big week for Spencer. He leaves the mission home Monday morning and will be on his way to Chili. Good luck Spencer. We love you!!

A GOOD DAY

1) Happy Anniversary to Rindy and Kelly today. We have seen a great miracle happen with Kelly this last year. Heavenly Father has truly blessed him. I know the power of prayer, fasting, and faith have helped bring about his healing. We do need continued prayers in his behalf. His family has also been blessed in the process. They have great kids. Spencer has been in the MTC and will be leaving for Chili on Aug. 11. We wish him much happiness and success as he serves his mission there.

2) By nothing short of a miracle, I was able to get into see a specialist yesterday about my knee.When I called for an appointment I was told it would be 3 months out.....A lady in our office said she was going to cancel an appointment but had forgotten. I told her it was with the same doctor I wanted to get into see, so she said why don't you take mine. It was the very next day. I know that blessings do work. He said that a shot should help, so he gave me one and I did not feel it!
I go back in 6 weeks if the swelling hasn't gone down....but I know it will.

3) The mission is going well. Our old brains are actually learning. We've had our first solo day and the office is still standing. We are working with some wonderful people who make our job easy. We are now on a schedule so we won't be working 14 hours a day. This will help a lot. Our
"Mission President" will be down next week for further instruction. We are looking forward to meeting her. We are probably the only mission in the Church that has a lady as President.

4) We are running down to Vegas this weekend to do some shopping and to visit the Avina's new home. They are now about 1/2 mile from the Temple.

5) We got a nice letter from Maren yesterday. She is enjoying being new Mom again. The baby is beautiful.

A 2 BISHOP FAMILY

Sunday afternoon we called our NC kids and Natalie answered the phone. She said, "Know what happened to my Dad today?" I said, "No, what?" and she said, "He's the Bishop." Congratulations Garth. We are so proud of you and your family. Wish we could have been there for the big occasion. Maybe we can be there for the release....in about 7 or 8 years.

Our other Bishop is Brent.....he was our Bishop for awhile and is doing such a good job. We were glad he could take a few days off for a visit to St. George.

THIRD WEEK

Well, we're in our third week and our heads are still spinning. There seems to be so much to learn. We had a 4 day weekend over the 24th. It was fun to have the Poulsen's stop in for a visit and to be with Molly on her birthday. She's such a great Mom. We got to show them around and show off the kids. Then we went to for a birthday dinner at Cafe Rio. On the 24th. we celebrated by going to dinner at Tuacahn and seeing Les Mis. It was really too hot to be enjoyable, but it was fun being with Molly & Brent and Deric & Cheryl.

FIRST WEEK ON THE JOB

This pictures wasn't taken "on the job," but it is the suit he wore the first day.

What a busy week! There is so much to learn and our old brains are spinning. The first week flew by and we're now in week 2. We go to "work" every morning at 6:40 to be there at 7 sharp. We have prayer meeting and then the missionaries go to work calling people, doing research on finding addresses or many of the several other duties that need to be done. We are finding these dear Sister's and Brother's very nice, helpful and enjoyable to be around. The Persinger's have been especially helpful and kind, not wanting to over whelm us the first week. They do want to get us up and going quickly so we can split shifts so neither of us have to put in such long hours. They sometimes work 12 to 14 hours days. The people in SLC are especially nice. We have a video conference with them every Monday morning. It has been amazing to us to learn at what lenghts the Church goes to to find it's lost sheep. Some are so grateful to be found and others aren't so happy, but they have a right to let their wishes be known. Our job is just to locate them by current address. One of the funniest stories I heard is about a missionary who was calling a "brother" who said, "What do you mean you don't have my address???? I'm the Bishop of the Ward".....then he started laughing and said, "well, we do have a new ward clerk....I'll have to have a little talk with him." I called a man on a reservation the other day and asked for his address. He said, "Well, you go about 3 miles past the red brick church and turn right at the fence post...." I thanked him and then asked what address was on the mail he received....He told me and I thanked him.....

We are very happy to be serving this mission and we're very happy to be able to do it right here in St. George. David is doing well, but has still not been released by his doctor, so this is just perfect. Thank you for your love and support.

SAN DIEGO TRIP

What a fun weekend. Our friends, The Batley's celebrated their 50th. wedding anniversary and we were invited down for a fun weekend. They were our "life savers" while we were at the Lodge and made it possible for bringing our wonderful girls up to work. We are so proud of what they accomplished while they were with us. Some have gone on to become teachers, some married and are mother's and Nora is Bill's right hand "man" helping to run his business. She met us at the air port and showed us around San Diego, Old Town and did a great job planning and putting together a wonderful dinner and party for Bill and Lisa. It was so good getting to see them again and meeting some other family and friends that we had heard about. It was a great way to end our regular life before turning into full time missionaries.

MISSION CALL

No one is going to believe this, we hardly can ourselves, but we couldn't be more happy. We have been called to serve for 18 to 24 months as directors of the Member Location Office right here in St. George, Utah. There are only 2 offices in the U.S., the other being at the Church Office Building. We will
work Monday thru Friday about 8 hours a day,
having Saturday and Sundays off. Couldn't be
better. You probably thought you were getting
rid of us for a while but, oh well. It's not where
you serve, but HOW. There are about 150 part
time missionaries serving in the office so there
will be a lot to learn. Thank you all for your
love and support. We start of July 14.

UPDATE

It's been an interesting week. Yesterday we celebrated our 44th. anniversary.
As they say, time sure flies when you're having fun. We're looking forward to the next 44 years. We've sure had some great experiences and are blessed with a wonderful family. As some of you know, David has been suffering with a terrrible sinus problem. He's been to 4 doctors and has tried 4 different treatments. Yesterday we went to one who we feel confident can help him.
We will find out Tuesday when his surgery will be. The bad news is that this will delay our mission for a short time. Wish we had this done before we turned in our papers, but at least David will be feeling better. We'll keep you posted.
Thanks for your love and support.

We are truly a missionary family......Rindy and Kelly's oldest son Spencer is going to Chili. Isaac will be going in about 18 months.

Eric and Barbara's youngest son Devin is going to Charlotte, NC.

Phil and Bonnie's oldest grandson Briton is going to Russia.... As for us, our papers are in and we should know in a few weeks. Any guesses? I may go kicking and screaming. Just hope it's something we can handle. Stay tuned.