Catch Up

It has been several weeks since I last posted and when I think back on that time I can't really remember all that went on. The big event was the birth of our newest grandchild. Adeline Denelle was born on July 12th. She was 23" long and weighed 9lbs. 9oz. It was hard not being there for the arrival but I am so thankful for SKYPE. It would be so much harder without it.

We missed fireworks on the Fourth of July but July 21st was Liberation Day here in Guam. We did not brave the parade in the morning but we made our way up Nimitz Hill to watch the fireworks that night. Wayne thought that would be the perfect view. It was and it was just too bad everyone else had the same idea. We were lucky we went early and got good parking and a choice spot to park our bodies.

Unfortunately, we did not think to bring chairs. The grass was wet since it had rained a little earlier but I had the bright idea to have Wayne go back and get our sunshade from the car. It made the perfect sit-upon.

A few days later we enjoyed the 24th of July celebration for our District (equivalent to a Stake). Too bad we did not get pictures but each room in the church was set up with displays from the various islands of Micronesia and some of the other homelands of members here. The idea was to highlight the pioneers of these areas. It was very informative and interesting to see the things they brought to share. There was a program before dinner and some of the people performed dances from their homelands.

This is Freddie Nicerio. He is our Seminary and Institute Coordinator. He is also a Branch President up north and here he is a musician and singer. He played for his fellow Filipino performers.
The dance represented the planting of the rice fields.

The missionaries also got up and sang our mission hymn. I always like it when they all sing. Those missionaries who have served on the other islands sing in those languages. There also were performances by Palauans, Pohnpeians, Marshalese and I do not know who else because we had to take a break in the middle of the performances and go meet some couple missionaries at the airport.
We came back from the airport just in time to eat. These are two of the couples, Elder and Sister Duncan and Elder and Sister Holloway. They are with one of our favorite Institute students. Juliette is from Pohnpei where the Holloways teach Seminary and Institute. The Duncans also served on Pohnpei for a while but moved to Chuuk where they are the coordinators of the Seminary and Institute programs.

Over the weekend we had six couples fly in to Guam from the 5 outer islands of our mission. They all attended church in our Barrigada Branch on Sunday and then we all gathered at the Mission Home for dinner.

Elder Sheppard, who is serving on Yap but is from Canada, loves to cook so he and Sister Sheppard presented us with a wonderful Greek meal - with a Pacific Isle taste. He is finishing up Butterflied Coconut Shrimp here.

The men really got into the spirit of cooking. Elder Clarke seems to be supervising there on the right.
Elder Holloway, Elder Foote and Elder Duncan - coating the Coconut Shrimp.

This is half of the group. Just look at those smiles! They really enjoyed the meal.

Happy and contented after having been fed both physically and spiritually. We had a wonderful testimony time after the meal.

Monday morning we were again spiritually fed. We had a great day of teaching and sharing. Can't wait until tomorrow for more.

After classes, we all headed for Chili's and once again ate too much. Food is an important part of getting togetherl

After dinner we invited everyone to our place for games. If you could see what we are playing, some of you might say we were playing Bunco. We weren't though. We were playing Three Degrees of Glory. You progress to Celestial Glory. We played this a few weeks ago with our Institute kids and they enjoyed themselves but it did not compare to tonight. I was just glad we only played till 9:00pm because I was afraid our neighbors would call the police. Some people, and I won't say who, really got worked up and quite vocal. I think Elder Duncan really enjoyed the game though.

After Elder Duncan was deemed the Biggest Winner and his wife the Biggest Loser, we finished the night off with some wonderful pies from one of the many, many great bakeries here. If you can't read the label, that was a Mango pie. Wayne wanted to try it and it was a good thing he had picked it. It actually was very good.

So everyone has now gone, Wayne is in bed, I am almost done with this post and I am enjoying the sound of the pouring rain. Today has made us think that we really are in the rainy season. It was a good day to be inside. I love the sound of the rain but it has been coming down pretty hard and it is not fun to drive in. It can continue to rain tomorrow, but on Wednesday it had better stop. We are going miniature golfing with the group!