OUR FIRST TOUR

We arrived at the Battalion Site a few minutes before five Tuesday and changed into our costumes. 
We ride the electric trolley from our RV site most days.  It is about a 20 minute ride and then about a 6 minute walk ad we enjoy whizzing by all the traffic on the freeway.  When we got there  we were told that we had to hurry and go into the backroom for something important.  We thought we had done something wrong.  But there to our surprise were two friends from Coeur d' Alene, Robert and Janet Shirts.  We had no idea they would be in town.  They had waited for us to get there so we could give them the tour.  Yikes. We had only practiced and never given a real tour. 


So it was a baptism by fire so to speak.  Mark and I took a deep breath and jumped in.  I think it was a bit shaky and I was nervous but they said we did fine.  It was nice to have a frie4ndly face the first time.


Mark and Pat Day with Janet and Robert Shirts

Wednesday was the Preparation Day for all the young sister missionaries so the senior couples were in charge of all the tours.  We spent from 8 am until 9 am learning some presentation techniques and then we were off.  It has been cool here in San Diego for the last few days so  the tours were small but steady.  Sometime midmorning I went to the door to greet some folks and who should be there but another frirend, Sandy Simon and her son Ben Zimmerman from Post Falls Idaho.  They too wanted a tour frrom us and so there we were on stage with friends again.  We did much better this time and it was fun to see them.  I gave a total of 4 tours this day and Mark gave 5.  He is amazing and people love to talk to him because he knows the story of the Mormon Battalion so well.  We have a lot of Chinese people who come here and he has given away 3 Books of Mormon in Chinese to people who requestd them.

Last night after our shift at 5 we went to dinner with the other couple to a nice restaurant on the hill called The Acapulco.  It overlooked Old Town and San Diego and had a wonderfrul view and the food was great.  Everytime we eat out we think that is the best food and we haven't even begun to touch all of the restaurants here.

MORMON BATTALION HISTORIC SITE AT NIGHT

I can't wait until Christmas  next year. I guess they have luminaries and a live Nativity scene here.


This is Sister Young from Massachuetts.  She is such a sweetheart and has helped train me to do the tours. I was so nervous but she jumped right in when I forgot things, and was so supportive.  I am going to make her favorite treat, Rice Krispie Treats.





THE MISSION BEGINS

We had a wonderful 10 days in Provo at the missionary training center MTC in Provo, Utah. The young trainers were excellent and we learned so much about teaching and serving people.  We did lots of role playing and met other couples and single missionaries who were going all over the world and who were from every imanginable place.  Made some wonderful new friends.  The second week we learned about church historic sites and visitor centers and how to give tours and meet people.  That is right up the alley for Mark and I.
We finished Wednesday and packed our bags and headed for Salt Lake for our last night. Rose early and were off to San Diego.  We were so excited to get started and excited to get out of the cold and back to warmth.  A man from the mission picked us up and took us to our RV to get setteled.  Later that evening we drove into Old Town and picked up our costumes.

Friday morning bright and early we were on the trolley with our costumes in hand and headed for our first day of work.  We met with our director and his wife to get oriented. Ed and Shari Seegmiller. They are great people and we really clicked with them.  They went over our basic duties and then asked if we would be over some Public Relations projects in Old Town.  One of the things we will be doing is meeting the merchants in Old Town and getting to know them and what their busineses are all about, an then inviting them to see our facility.  We will also be involved in other special events.  I also am in charge of taking photos of events and maaking what they call the Birthday Books for all the missionaries,  (Sounds like scrapbooking to me. Yikes I haven't ever done that).
We then spent our first day getting right into the thick of things and helping with the tours.  We greeted people all day and told them about the Ballation Historic Site and met so many wonderful people form all over the world.  Had some great conversations and great contacts.  We are working with 22 young single missionary  girls.  They are dolls and we already love them all.

"Yee Haw"

MORE VIEWS OF THE TRAINING CENTER

Yestrday it was a beautiful sunny day and the ride was wonderful up to Salt Lake. It was nice to get out of the four walls for a few hours.  I that always loved the Wasatch Mountains and today they were spectacular. Although Mark doesn't care for then because they have no trees.

BROTHERLY LOVE

Mt Timpanogos in all her glory.

 

THIS IS ONE OF THE ROOMS WERE USED FOR THE MOCK ROLE PLAYING.

HEE I AM IN MY LATEST  COSTUME FOR THE BATTAOIONH. AND NO I AM NOT PORTRAYING A POLYGAMIST.
This is what people wore in 1847.

I went in for my final fittting yesterday.

Young missionaries eatting at the MTC

MISSIONARIES GIVING SERVICE

PREACHING THE GOSPEL

THE LONG AND SHORT OF THINGS!

FEED MY SHEEP

MISSIONS OF THE CHURCH OF JESUS CHRIST OF LATTERDAY SAINTS, AROUND THE WORLD.

THE ONLY AREAS WHERE THERE ARE NOT MISSIONS ARE CHINA, NORTH AFRICA, AND THE MIDDLE EAST

We met up with our friends frm Ensgn

Ranch, Harry and Mary Ann Cockrell and Steven Matthews.

ONE OF OUR SONS. THOMAS LOVE

MORE TRAINING

We had the deekend to get a few things done and to go to the Music Dance Theater Showcase at BYU with Tim anf Linda Threlfall.  What talented young people!  Today we went to Salt Lake to take a tour of the Temple Square with some of the young single sister missionaries.  We were to observe how they gave the various presentations.  The whole focus of the Visitor Center and Historic Site Centers is to "Bring souls unto Christ". The girls did a beautiful job and we saw the most marvelous video presentation on the family as an eternal unit.  We were all speechless at the end of the presentation.



These are views of Salt Lake today. You can imagine it in 1847.

They also spoke of the faith of the early pioneers when they came to the Salt Lake valley.  They showed us a picture of the valley and it was desolate. Then they took us up on top of the church office building and had us view the existing Salt Lake Valley and what  it has become.  The point to me was that throught the faith and endurancer of these early pioneers and their devotion to God they were able to accomplish a great thing.

THE LIFE OF A TRAINING MISSIONARY

We have had a wonderful week learning the principles of teaching.  Although I have been a teacher all my life this was a great review and a new approach.  We have young men and women who have been on missions train us in how to talk with people and learn to know and love them and meet their needs when they have questions about the gospel of Jesus Christ.  We do a lot of role playing with each other and at first it was awkward for some folks but that is what I did everyday in my teaching and Mark is a natural so we were fine, just a bit nervous in front of other adults.

We had some wonderful speakers and video presentations and lots of time putting together lessons and practice in teaching people the gospel.  Although our particular mission is not proselyting we will be meeting people who will have questions and we need to know how to answer their questions.  We will primarily be guides at the historical site.

What amazes me is all these 2800 young and older missionaries who are going to every conceivable part of the world to proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ and to serve and help in their areas. They are so cute and come in every shape and size.  The boys are all about 19 and the girls 21.  But there are some who are well into their 80's and have gone on 4 or 5 missions.  One couple in our group had gone to Viet Nam, The Netherlands, Fiji and now South Carolina.  One couple was from Korea and spoke very little English and they will be going to Vancouver BC to work with the Korean people.  Another couple is going to Ghana, some to Kenya, and others to The Philippines, and Australia. You name it and they are going there.  Most will be support people for the small wards and branches of the church.  Many will serve as Humanitarian Missionaries in undeveloped areas.,  Any way it is quite the experience.

The food is wonderful.  All you can eat buffet. Mark is in heaven and he doesn't even have to go on a cruise to have all the great food.l  Although his pants are getting tighter.

THIS WAS WHAT I HAD FOR LUNCH YESTERDAY. YUMMY!!!!

LUNCH TIME IS ONE ORF THE BEST PARTS OF THE DAY FOR THESE GROWING YOUNG MEN.

CUTE STATUE OF A MISSIONARY WITH HIS BACKPACK

TEVIS DRYDEN LEARNING TO SPEAK SPANISH

OUR DISTRICT THAT WORKED TOGETHER  THIS WEEK

(Trainer, Josh Thornton) The Palmer's going to Polynesian Cultural Center in Hawaii, (Back) The Bowman's 4th mission going to North ,Carolina The Jeppson's going to France. She is learning to speak French and he had been their as a young missionary. Mark and I.

Our other trainer Josh Sillitoe.

OFF TO THE MISSIONARY TRAINING CENTER (MTC)

Sunday,  February 11, 2011.  Another new adventure begins for The Day's.  Our bags are packed again and we hopped the trolley to Old Town to catch a cab to the airport. Three hours later we were landing in Salt Lake and headed to Provo to get our training for our mission.  What an experience.  We were ushered in and given our name tags and off to an orientation meeting to meet with the other 35 couple who were there for training.  They are going to place all over the world from China to Australia, to  Frans, Omaha and all points in between.  We have some wonderful and skilled instructors who are training us in teaching techniques and how to present the gospel to people who are investigating the church.  Most of their trainers are young men and women who have been on missions and are about 23-25 years of age.  They obviously have been outstanding missionaries because they are so talented in tach8ing and working with us older folks.  We do a lot of role playing and that is helpful, especially for those who have never taught.  Today we had to teach our first lesson and be taped at it.  Mark and I felt pretty good about it but we just need to relax and enjoy what we are doing.  But we basically are brain dead after all the learning and study.

The interesting thing though is to see all of these young men and women who are being trained to go out into the world and preach the gospel.  They have such energy and enthusiasm. There4 are between 2000-2800  here at a time and the cafeteria is a sight to behold, almost nothing but white shirts and dark suits and hungry young people.  The food is all you can eat and wonderful.  We even ran into our neighbor boy Tevis Dryen, who will be going to San Jose, California.

GETTING ON THE TROLLY

GETTING MEASURED FOR OUR COSTUMES

WE ARE OFFICIAL MISSIONARIES NOW

ONE OF OUR OUTFITS

MTC AT LUNCH TIME

ELDER TEVIS DRYDEN

WE SANG IN THE CHOIR FOR A DEVOTINAL AND THESE ARE TWO OF OUR NEW FRIENDS

TODAY WAS ALL YOU CAN EAT BYU DA8RY ICE CREAM

ALL I CAN EAT? THIS IS BETTER THAN A CRUISE ANY DAY

CUTE STATUE OF 2 MSSIONARIES

BRAND NEW MISSIONARIES ARRIVING TODAY

THESE GIRLS ARE GOING TO THE UKRAINE

HAPPY YOUNG MEN

WE MET UP WITH TWO OF TH3E MISSIONARIES WHO LIVED IN OUR HIOME FOR DINNER AT "J DOGS" IN PROVO.  APPARENTLY WE ARE "TRUE COUGARS" NOW.  ALTHOUGH I ALWAYS WAS ONE.

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MISSION SAN LUIS REY

Yesterday we were back on the trail of the Mormon Battalion. We went to the Mission San Luis Rey which is in Ocean Side and not too far from us.  It was first built by the Spanish Friars and then vandalized heavily over the years.  In 1847 the Battalion was sent up here to try to protect the mission and stayed for about 6 months.  They have recently found a grave of a David Smith which does not yet have a marker so we couldn't find it. Just one month before Abraham Lincoln was shot he signed a document retuning the mission the the Catholic Church.  It has since been restored and they have done a lovely job.  In the courtyard we saw a large Pepper Tree that was the oldest Pepper tree in California.  It was planted in 1830 and so was 180 years old. It had little red berries on it. Now I must learn what kind of pepper they get from it. I found out that the berries are called pink peppercorns. In The USDA outlawed them for a time. I tree in some areas is an invasive species.  But it is very pretty and delicate.

180 YEAR OLD PEPPER TREE

MISSION SAN LUIS REY



I went to the Apple Store and took a class in how to do the photos on my phone.  It is unbelievable what technology can do now. 

Then we stopped and I got an In and Out Burger. Delicious. So much better McDonalds or any others.

We have a dear little pair of Doves who have adopted our RV Site and they coo each morning and live under the bushes. We bought a bird feeder and have some other birds who come to visit but the doves stay on the ground and eat the fallen seeds. We even put out water for them and they come and drink.  They don't seem to be afraid of us and come quite close.

We are amazed at all the lovely flowers that are blooming on the hillsides.  It is like Spring here and still only February.