Gillum Mission Letters

First of our good-byes

noreply@blogger.com (Gary & Signe Gillum) — Sun, 14 Nov 2010 23:39:00 +0000

With only a couple of weeks remaining before we leave the mission for Springville, we began saying our goodbyes to some of the missionaries. Elder Tuipulotu (from New Zealand) is one who claims he will miss us the most! His companion, Elder Wigington, actually taught his first lesson on the mission while Gary was with him and his companion at a less-active sister's home. He is from Hales Corners, Wisconsin, where Gary once served as a summer vicar to Pastor Pieplow at Hales Corners Lutheran Church.
The next photo is of 'Healey's Angels.' Our wonderful referrals and baptisms secretary came to the mission a couple of weeks before we did and hails from Orem, Utah. Her 5 sons came down on their Harley Davidson motorcycles to escort Sister Healey and her two daughters home. They have often ridden down from Utah to California to take her out to dinner and then turn right around and return north to their homes in Utah. It was fun seeing them all in the parking lot with their beasts!

Sisters Nai, Seumanutafa and Tili are the Samoan sisters and are all from Samoa. They frequently dress alike. (Yesterday it was orange tops.!) Finally, the ASL Sisters Brennan, Meagher and Riestra (who is really deaf). Sister Brennan is going home when we do.

It's been a great Sunday. We first went to our own Palmyra Ward, then we went to the Anaheim 10th ward to see our niece Michelle West's Primary program, which she also wrote. We also made friends with a new young family in the ward, the Thomander family from Logan. Wendy has some common interests with Signe, namely essential oils and foot zone therapy. Two weeks ago, after having us over for dinner, she gave Signe some therapy. Tonight, after we return from a baptism at the Santa Ana stake center, it will be Gary's turn. We will really miss our friends and relatives down here but hope to visit when we can in years to come. Making many new friends is one of the really wonderful blessings of a mission!

Local color

noreply@blogger.com (Gary & Signe Gillum) — Sun, 31 Oct 2010 23:35:00 +0000

Last Wednesday night the Senior missionary sisters gathered at the Mission Home to wrap 170 Christmas presents for the missionaries, including hand-crocheted bookmarks by Sister Watrous!

Elder Monney tagged along so that he could barbecue some ribs for everyone: Texas-style done with mesquite wood. Gary stayed home to memorize his OCMCO Christmas music.

You can tell it's election time at the corner of Memory Lane and Bristol Street: the candidates are Vietnamese, Chinese, Hispanic, and Anglo.

Below is the church of the matron saint of Santa Ana, St. Anne's Catholic Church and School, on the historic Main Street of Santa Ana, which has been here for 150 years. It is typical of much of the Catholic mission architecture all over the valley. The wooden door is very unique.

Elder Monney is not only good at vehicle maintenance and Texas bar-be-cue, he also loves tending our beautiful hibiscus flowers outside the Mission Office. It is quite unusual to find an orange blossom on a pink blossom plant!

Whether we like it or not, we've slowly begun to pack for our trip home. Sister Healey is leaving November 4, while the Monney's are leaving a week later. Signe will be training Sister Hair from Cedar City beginning in a week, and Gary is already training Elders Byers and McClain (from Springville) to do the vehicle work. Sadly, there aren't enough senior missionaries in the church to go around for us to have a couple here before we leave.

Mom's Visit

noreply@blogger.com (Gary & Signe Gillum) — Sun, 10 Oct 2010 22:05:00 +0000

Signe's 91-year-old mother, Wanda Slangerup, along with Signe's sister, Lisa, came via Amtrak for a visit. The Santa Ana Train Station is a beautifully maintained Old-Spanish-style building with gorgeous landscaping.

We had the most wonderful time! We visited the Newport Beach Temple grounds, went to Balboa Pier for lunch at Ruby's Diner, and drove by Little Saigon. At the apartment, Signe gave her Mom and sister massages, then we all went down to the hot tub for a soak. We talked and laughed and remembered. It was great!

Signe's brother, Jon, and his wife, Tracey, came on Sunday morning. We visited a little while, then they all left to spend a day at Jon's in LA.

Dragons and Chevy Trucks

noreply@blogger.com (Gary & Signe Gillum) — Sun, 26 Sep 2010 23:53:00 +0000

When we went grocery shopping the other day, we saw the most amazing fruit! We asked the clerk what it was, and he told us it was Dragon Fruit (native of Mexico). We decided to be brave and try one. Look what it looks like inside! That is it's true color! The taste was very bland, however, and we don't think it's worth paying $7.99 per pound for it! It was fun for the experience, though. As a side note, Signe was born in the Chinese Year of the Dragon, so here she is; Dragon lady eating Dragon Fruit!

We've also been exploring around the neighborhoods, and the other day Gary told me to "quick!grab the camera!" He slammed on the brakes, and we took this picture of an early '50's Chevy truck.

The other pictures show us at the office hard at work. The baptism display board is all full now, and we still have a quarter of the year to go! The pictures will just have to spill over onto the walls!

Good-byes

noreply@blogger.com (Gary & Signe Gillum) — Sun, 12 Sep 2010 21:48:00 +0000

This was a week of fond but sad goodbyes, as we saw seven missionaries complete their missions. Two of them were Sister Nekesi, a Samoan who lives in Utah and who lived in our same apartment complex for awhile, and Elder Queen, whom we met in the Orange Third Ward in our first Sunday here in the mission before we met any other elder or sister at the mission office or elsewhere. He was on his way home to Colorado

and then to BYU-Idaho. (He wants to be a chef!)

The week went fairly skidding by before we knew it. More baptisms this weekend, plus a funeral on Friday for Gary, who had been asked to sing in a men's choir for Dr. Andrew Bauer, an aeronautical engineer for McDonell-Douglas in Long Beach. How singular that of the two funerals Gary attended this summer, they were both for aeronautical engineers! Dr. Bauer actually invented a wind-powered vehicle which could go faster downwind than the wind pushing it. His wife has been one of our wonderful ward organists. Speaking of which: Gary was also asked by the organist at the funeral, Jim Anderson, to turn the pages for him while he played prelude music of the masters like Bach, Dupre, Franck, Mendelssohn and Saint-Saens. It was a trip for him to not only hear this great music but be seated next to a very good organist who has played organs all over Orange County. (Finally, speaking of organists, we have discovered a fabulous new organist who not only has fabulous technique but is a great showman as well. Go into Google with the name of Cameron Carpenter and watch him perform "Stars and Stripes" on YouTube. He is fun to watch and listen to.)

Baptisms, Baptisms, Baptisms

noreply@blogger.com (Gary & Signe Gillum) — Sun, 05 Sep 2010 23:50:00 +0000

What a week it's been! The most fantastic news is that Karl and Ana had their eighth child on Friday. Joshua was born on his mother's birthday and makes 70 grandchildren for us!

As you can see by the photo below, we are beginning to fill the top row of the bulletin board with baptism photos, and we have still have four months to go this year! (Yet we don't want to think about statistics: these are souls whose lives have changed in the direction of the Savior and increased happiness. We attended two baptisms this past week: one of an Hispanic young lady, at which Gary played the piano and accompanied the choir, and the other a 42-year old Filipino brother who was bursting with happiness.

The other photo is of our monthly bulletin board. This month we chose photos of the temples in each of the missionary's districts back home. (There is a lot of duplication, of course, and not all of the 130 some temples throughout the world are represented.)

We continue to be blessed -- and do our best to help others. Wednesday night we had dinner with Brother and Sister Bates. He taught Biology at Santa Ana College for almost as long as Gary was at BYU, and this wonderful couple shared many of our same interests. A recent heart transplant recipient, he is a former bishop of the Palmyra Ward. Then today Gary was asked to teach the High Priests group: they wanted to know about his life history and also about Hugh Nibley. It was amazing that several High Priests had copies of Gary's Nibley quote book, Of All Things!

Finally, Gary had had it with his PC laptop and its crazy machinations lately. Four years old, he was afraid he was going to lose everything, even after saving it all. So he returned to an Apple MacBook -- and loves it. Just before working on the blog we relived our 2008 trip to Italy with the choir by reviewing the photos we took of that trip. Life is full of wonders, miracles and joys!

Exploring the neighborhood

noreply@blogger.com (Gary & Signe Gillum) — Mon, 30 Aug 2010 01:53:00 +0000

The last couple of weeks have found us exploring our nearby neighborhoods. On our way to the LDS distribution center in Fountain Valley, we approached the Vietnamese American cultural center on Newhope St. Children were learning from teachers on the porches, and there was a feeling of peace. The next photo was taken just a few blocks from our apartment. Flower Street in Santa Ana is aptly named and is a wonderful street to explore slowly -- with the windows down -- to catch the wonderful fragrances. But on this street there are no cookie-cutter homes. All are distinctive in architectural design. This is one of our favorites.

One evening Signe wanted to go to someplace different for dinner. Knowing that Signe likes ribs, Gary asked Elder Monney -- also a ribs-lover -- if he had found an authentic place for ribs. We ended up at this place, whose owner looked like a transplant from New Orleans. (In fact, there was a house across the street that looked like it was moved from New Orleans, it was so different from the Hispanic barrio homes surrounding it. Anyway, we had a wonderful meal outdoors.

Our Facebook page has lately been festooned with former missionaries from our mission. We have about 20 now, and half of them will be at BYU when we get home. We hope to have a party for all of them to show our appreciation for their wonderful service and friendship. (Three of them are from Korea and two served as office elders.)

The work progresses. Gary had three accidents to report last week, including that of an elder who ran into a fire hydrant on his bike. He also finished upgrading 50 missionary cell phones by using the programing from Sprint to make them operable. Today both of us were involved in the Palmyra Ward sacrament meeting by giving the two prayers and by Signe playing the Bach Double Concerto for violin with another member. Gary played the prelude, postlude and congregational hymns on the organ.

John McClintock has been learning from the missionaries for nearly a year now. Well, yesterday he was baptized into the Church and told everyone that the people had made a big difference for him. His family was not very supportive, but he was finally confident in making the decision: and his countenance showed it. He was absolutely radiant, and very different from when we first met him many months ago.

Korea, Mexico and Vietnam

noreply@blogger.com (Gary & Signe Gillum) — Sun, 15 Aug 2010 22:37:00 +0000

President Watrous had asked a special favor of us for Tuesday morning: to take Elders Lee and Fraga to the airport so that they could go home respectively to Korea and Mexico to get ready for Fall semester at BYU-Provo and BYU-Hawaii. Elder Lee, pictured with us above, is one of the kindest and friendliest of the missionaries, and our love for him was especially keen because of all the help he gave us as an office missionary. It was a hard good-bye at John Wayne Airport. (And have you ever seen a taller Korean?)

Sisters Meagher and Sister Brennan are our two ASL (deaf) sister missionaries. They have been wonderful to work with during the few months they've been here. Next to them is the mission office parking lot with the cars assigned to the missionaries who were here for training.

China Garden Mall is located in Little Saigon in Westminster, California. We've passed by this mall countless times, but it has always been so busy. This past Thursday our granddaughters Keely and Cami (along with our first great-grandchild Adrienne) met us at the mission office so that we could sightsee in this Vietnamese mall. It was really quite an interesting place, with all sorts of Asian wares like you would probably see in downtown Hong Kong -- complete with the Happy Buddha and the Buddhas of Prosperity, Longevity and Fortune standing outside.

Then we went down the street to a Vietnamese supermarket. It was like a warehouse grocery store, complete with the largest fish market we've seen --including the Pike Street market in Seattle. All sorts of live fish, from crabs and lobster to catfish and tilapia. (But no one was throwing fish around!) We thoroughly explored this store, and we all bought something: our selection was a Green Grass Jelly drink, rice noodles and almond cookies. We plan on returning.

We finished our day at our favorite restaurant, Chili Pepper -- in Orange. Saturday was a full day of choir rehearsal, temple grounds tours, and stake conference. Today was our Orange Stake Conference, with some of the best music (our choir with harp, flute, oboe and organ) and speakers, including our periplegic stake patriarch who gave a wonderful talk. (He had an accident surfing at Laguna Beach 20 years ago: his wife has been a wonderful caregiver.) Our trials look miniscule compared to his.

Fun happenings

noreply@blogger.com (Gary & Signe Gillum) — Wed, 04 Aug 2010 01:58:00 +0000

Every Sunday evening for many months we have played two games of Scrabble to keep our brains active and supple. A couple of weeks ago we managed to use up all of the letters from the game --without cheating! (Only the second time we've been able to achieve this.)

Today our granddaughter Cami and her daughter Adrienne came by the Mission Office for a visit. She is in town for a 10-day visit, mostly with her sister Keely in Irvine since her husband Ephraim is away from Utah on a work assignment. She actually arrived with Addi last night at Signe's niece's home in Anaheim Hills last night at a party -- after driving all the way from Utah alone. Addi just happens to be our first great-grandchild.

Friday night the five of us office staff visited Downtown Disney: Monneys had never been there before. We ate dinner at Joe's Tortillas and listened to all of the excellent street musicians and bands.

Sunday we attended three baptisms in the Cypress Ward, which serves both the Anaheim and Long Beach missions. It so happened that a Hispanic husband and wife we were baptized, along with a single woman. The service was wonderful, even though we understood very little. A baptism on Saturday, which we did not attend, was of 8 Tongans from a large family. It reminded us of the large groups of people baptized in the Waters of Mormon in the Book of Mormon.

New eye glasses and 21 baptisms

noreply@blogger.com (Gary & Signe Gillum) — Mon, 26 Jul 2010 02:51:00 +0000

Signe says she's still getting used to these new glasses. But it's very nice to see clearly out of both eyes, and to not have any more eye aches.

An unbelievable 21 baptisms this weekend! We attended four ourselves: two of which were a father and a son. Another one which we didn't attend was of a family of six. Not only that but Saturday night Gary went with a couple of the elders to begin teaching an Indian woman and her son the Gospel. (They are from Mumbai, India.) They are very open about religion and interested in the Book of Mormon and may go to Church soon. She is a computer consultant who travels around a lot. She talked about the similarities between the Hindu Krishna and Christian Jesus Christ!

And that's all for now from the Four Corners region of Orange County: the corners of Santa Ana, Orange, Garden Grove and Anaheim converge just a couple of blocks from here.

Day off at the beach

noreply@blogger.com (Gary & Signe Gillum) — Mon, 19 Jul 2010 03:14:00 +0000

Work in the mission office has been hectic lately, so it was with great joy that we were able to take off Tuesday the 13th because of the office being deep-cleaned. With Elder and Sister Monney in the back seat, we drove south to Corona Del Mar to a wonderful beach, where we were able to take in the beautiful sky, the water and the peaceful surroundings. (It also happened to be the first summer day without June gloom, as it's called here.) We later met our granddaughter Keely at Ruby's Cafe on the pier at Balboa Peninsula. It is the original Ruby's and has been here for over 60 years. The building and pier originally housed an anti-aircraft battery during World War II, purportedly to help keep the Japanese from invading. The food was good, after which we watched as about 100 kids in a junior life saving class were practicing jumping off the pier into 15 feet of ocean water.

We then ended the day by spending of couple of hours out of the sun at the Mile Square Park on Euclid and Edinger in Garden Grove.

On July 5 we enjoyed a barbecue at the Mission Home for all of us office workers. Elder Monney, who is an expert at Texas barbecue, cooked the meat. It was exquisite! At this informal setting we learned about some changes in the church's missionary work and will be gearing up to prepare the missionaries for these improvements.

(There are the four of us, standing above the beach on a 'porch.' )

We still feel very blessed and fortunate to be on this mission, despite its challenges and busy days. The spiritual growth has been immeasurable, not to mention that we have learned and all that we have contributed to the missionary effort -- especially by being friends to these 170 missionaries who are away from home, some of them for the first time in their lives.

July's Flags and Flowers

noreply@blogger.com (Gary & Signe Gillum) — Sun, 04 Jul 2010 23:44:00 +0000

July has arrived already! The bulletin board in the office displays the flags of the 20 nations represented by our missionaries here. And Elder Monney is proudly showing off his well-pruned hibiscus flowers.

June ended gloriously with music at our zone conferences June 22-24. With Signe playing the violin obliggato, and the two American Sign Language sisters doing an incredible job of signing the words to "Joseph Smith's First Prayer," our choir of 20 missionaries, led by Gary, set the stage for a very inspiring end to each day's zone conference. It is an experience neither of us will soon forget.

Our son-in-law Matt stayed with us most of the week, visiting places hither and yon during the day on his motorbike and sleeping in our spare room. Meanwhile, his daughter Kyra and her four friends spent most of the week enjoying Disneyland, as part of their high school graduation celebration. It was nice to have some good visiting time with Matt.

Saturday the 26th was the funeral for Jim Skaggs. It was well-attended by over 500 friends and family. It was obvious to us all that his gifts and talents are needed elsewhere at this time -- and that he will eagerly await us all to see him again.

Sunday was the Newport Beach Stake Choir's patriotic concert. It was nice for us to be in the audience for a change. We were mostly there to hear Dr. James Welch play the Centennial concert for this 100-year old organ, most of it patriotric music. (For those of you who know Dr. Jack Welch at BYU, this is his brother.)

Yesterday was our ward's 25th annual July 4th pancake breakfast at Hart Park in Orange. While Signe helped to make pancake batter for 300 attendees, Gary made friends with a non-member and later talked to four homeless brothers on the fringe of our picnic area -- two of whom (Alex and Terry) took Gary's invitation seriously to go through the line and get some fruit, sausage, eggs and pancakes. Then Gary had a Gospel discussion with them and tried to find a way to get bus passes for them so that they could meet their appointments for prospective employment. (One of them had been homeless in the area for three years.) Gary was bold with them about how our Church could help them find not only employment but happiness like they have never known before.

From 4 to 11 p.m. tonight we attempted to relax. But the Mexican music from across the street was so loud that it was hard to do anything because the decibels were so high! Towards the end of the evening they dispensed with the canned music for some real live mariachi band music with two trumpets. It was nice to listen to, until it devolved to accompaniment by drunken party goers singing on a Karaoke machine and blasting their non-tunes across Memory Lane!

President Skaggs In Memoriam and Patriotic Concert

noreply@blogger.com (Gary & Signe Gillum) — Mon, 21 Jun 2010 05:09:00 +0000

You may remember in our February 28 posting that we showed to photos of an F/A-18 Super Hornet that Gary made for President Jim Skaggs of the California Anaheim Mission presidency. He was thrilled to receive it, and said that when he retired (he is 53 now) that would be the gift of choice --except a manufactured model, not Gary's hand-painted one. Anyway, he was overjoyed with it. This past Friday morning around 6 our new friend left us. While it's devastating to have him gone, we are at the same time happy that is he is free from this cancer which ravaged his body from who knows where. It's a real mystery. The funeral will be Saturday.

The day lily outside of our apartment is one of Signe's favorite flowers, especially since it can be grown in Utah.

The bouquet of roses to the right is from our next-door neighbor Nancy, who attended Friday night's patriotic concert at Segerstrom Concert Hall in Costa Mesa. She was so thrilled at our wonderful concert, that this was her way of showing appreciation to us -- especially the Irish song "Danny Boy." Yes, another concert with the Orange County Mormon Choral Organization (OCMCO): with guest artist Collin Raye, a country singer who has two Grammy's to his name, including "Love, Me." (It's on YouTube.) He was wonderful to sing with, and we were both honored to be part of another production almost as good as Messiah in America from March. Four-year old children sang "The Pledge of Allegiance," and then there were about 15 more numbers, ending with "Amazing Grace," complete with bagpipes. When we sang "God Bless the U.S.A." last night and got to the words "I'll stand up next to you," the whole audience stood up in a wave. It was so incredible for all of us in the hall! Collin told us that we were the finest collection of musical talent that he has seen anywhere in the nation. It was a fun evening, but very emotional. Gary was glad that he had his hankie in his tuxedo pocket!

Three nights before our concert (Tuesday) we had two kinds of excitement. Brother and Sister Brague of our Palmyra Ward gave us two tickets to the Pacific Symphony playing with the Magical Strings of Youth. This group consisted of 62 violinists from 4 years old on up to high school -- from Chicago and Orange County. They have played in front of the pope and the President of the United States. They have amazing talent, no matter what they played. Signe said that it's the first concert she's ever gone to where every piece she has played sometime in her life. You can watch them yourselves on YouTube: Magical Strings of Youth. There are several clips.

Well, when we got home we had seven messages on our cell phone. The children were trying to contact us to tell us that our 7-year old grandson Gabriel Hale was lost in the mountains above Diamond Fork (near Spanish Fork Canyon) while hiking with his cousins and others while on a Bradford Reunion at a cabin. Of course Karl and Ana were frantic: neighbors and family helped look for him, as well as rescue people and two helicopters. After being lost for 8 hours (from 4 p.m. until about 12:30 a.m.), he was found by one of the searchers. Our fervent prayers for his safe recovery were answered! All's well that ends well! (Including this blog.)

Tree Trimmers and Identical Twins

noreply@blogger.com (Gary & Signe Gillum) — Mon, 14 Jun 2010 02:47:00 +0000

June gloom brings June blooms! We see these beautiful hibiscus blooms each morning as we go into the office. They are Signe's favorite flowers down here. They are well taken care of by Elder Monney, who maintains the cars.

On Friday we were treated by the trimming of a really scraggly palm tree at the back of our parking lot at the office. A young man climbed the tree and cut off all the dead branches. It was amazing to watch him work. What is even more amazing is that there are so many kinds of palm trees down here: we've begun to notice the difference even more the longer we've been here.

In the last blog we told you about the realignment of the Orange Stake. By doing so our Palmyra ward is larger: that benefits our ward choir considerably. Sister Hess is one of the finest ward choir directors we've ever known, and now she (and the ward) are blessed by a wonderful choir of over 20 singers -- all good. Our rehearsal today was incredible! The changes in the ward have also meant changes in leadership. Now get this: our new bishopric second counselor and the executive secretary in our ward are 50-something year-old identical twins with almost identical beards. When they sit on the stand together it's hard to tell them apart!

Yesterday was Gary's birthday and tomorrow is Signe's but we celebrated both yesterday since we have 16 new missionaries arriving this week. We explored the area some more and attended one baptism in Fullerton, where Gary helped out by playing the hymns on the piano. But Friday night was the real celebration: the senior office staff treated us to dinner at a Mexican restaurant in Garden Grove. Then we wandered Garden Grove's old main street area where the locals show off their antique and classic cars every Friday night. Many of them brought back old memories: Model T's up through '56 Chevys and a Cadillac with the big fins! Then we went to the Gem Theatre down the street for a production of the musical Fiddler on the Roof. The music and the acting were both very good, and the small theatre meant that we had close seats -- four rows from the stage. So it was a fun evening for all of us!

A New Discovery

noreply@blogger.com (Gary & Signe Gillum) — Sun, 06 Jun 2010 20:11:00 +0000

On Memorial Day we discovered a memorial park in honor of Jack Fisher, a local World War I hero. The nice thing about the park is that it's less than a mile from our apartment. The flowers and flowering trees on the way there were quite profuse, especially the purple-flowered jacaranda trees which festooned all of the neighborhood by us. Their brilliance is not given justice by the photo below: they are incredible blooms!

The smile on Gary's face, as we sat reading and relaxing in Fisher Park under the shade and oxygen-giving aroma of a eucalyptus tree, is very revealing. Gary was feeling so good that he hadn't felt so healthy since before his back surgery in March 2007. Then this past Friday Dr. Francis put Gary on once weekly adjustments since he is doing so well. We definitely consider this a miracle! Even Gary's countenance shows the lifting of the burden of ill health that was once there a month ago when he could hardly walk or get out of bed.

We had 19 baptisms this weekend, including our ward's own Joseph Smith, who lives on Palmyra Street and was born in Baton Rouge. We attended three baptisms this weekend on behalf of the President.

By the way, the next two photos of flowers we could not identify, but there were clearly very lovely. And while Signe was taking a photo of the jacaranda tree at the bottom, Gary parked the car under another jacaranda tree, opened the door, and was met by the sweetest and most wonderful flower aroma he can ever remember! No wonder these beautiful trees are so plentiful here in Orange County, although certainly not as plentiful as the ubiquitous palm tree.

Flowers Everywhere!

noreply@blogger.com (Gary & Signe Gillum) — Mon, 31 May 2010 02:13:00 +0000

Although we have seen flowers year-round in Orange County, they are in even greater profusion in the spring -- just like everywhere else. The Lily of the Nile, with the hardy stems and blue flowers, are Gary's favorite. The red flower is a Day Lily. The white one is a Calla Lily. All of these photos were taken just a few steps from our apartment. The fourth is not a flower but a bud which turns into a palm tree frond. There are many of them near our front door. In any case, they are a visual feast when we leave our apartment for the office and return in the evening. Yesterday we even went on a picnic to the Fairview Park about a mile from the beach. Quiet and reading was what we sought -- and got. Gary was able to watch remote control gliders noislessly soar around the park as the Harbor Soaring Society did their Saturday thing at the park before the ocean breezes got too strong in the afternoon.

The work is going well as before, but it has become more routine, and so not as reportable on the blog. The missionary work is still exciting, and both of us love being around these 165 19 through 23 year-old young people. (Maybe they make us feel younger!) It is wonderful to see people's lives change so dramatically. Today Jesus was baptized (well, it was really Angela Diaz de Jesus, a Hispanic man) and next week Joseph Smith, a man about our age, will be baptized into our ward.

Our Orange Stake, with its 7 wards, was reduced to 6 wards last week: this was necessary because our 3rd ward and the Tustin 5th ward were becoming too small. Our new Palmyra Ward is vibrant, friendly, and service-oriented: if this morning's meetings were any indication. (Our choir sang "Make Us One" this morning as a plea for unity of faith, charity and love.)

Thanks to your prayers, Signe's efforts at traction on Gary's right leg, our chiropractor, and a lot of swimming (30 lengths last night) Gary is almost back to normal. We are both very grateful, because it was not looking very good for about a month. (It's too early in our retirement for either of us to have a disability.)

The Orange County Mormon Choral Organization and orchestra are preparing for our June 18/19 freedom concert with country and western star Collin Ray. The orchestra was paid high compliments the other night by a person who works with several of the orchestras in the area. Our reputation is really skyrocketing! We both feel very blessed to be a part of this 'musical movement.' In fact, Gary is even taking a voice master class from the bass singer John Huntington, who has quite a reputation himself in Southern California.

Finally, it is hard to believe that come Tuesday, June 1, we will have been on our mission for a year! How time flies!

God's Amazing Creations: People, Trees, Flowers

noreply@blogger.com (Gary & Signe Gillum) — Wed, 12 May 2010 02:56:00 +0000

We've discovered a fun place to take our visitors: a HUGE Ficus tree, over 150 years old, in Anaheim. When Amy's family came to visit, we told them we wanted to show them a tree (the kids weren't very excited at the prospect!), but when we got there, they were amazed, as you can see.

Another wonderful thing about Southern California is the year-round blooming flora. The newest showing its glory everywhere around here is bushes and bushes filled with these beautiful Hibiscus! It makes Signe want to pick one and put it in her hair!
Gary's back condition is improving, thanks to his swimming 20 lengths a day in the cold water of the swimming pool. The cold cuts down the inflammation, and the strokes are great exercise.

Last week we took our next-door neighbor out to dinner. She not only had befriended us when we first moved into Portofino, but she informed us about the Orange Mormon Choir, and was ushering the night of our performance March 31, exclaiming how wonderful it was (even though she is not LDS). We went to a nice restaurant of her choice -- in Orange. It turns out that she is an environmental activist and is helping collect hair to make booms to soak up the oil spill in the Gulf. She also knows a lot about green building and tries to educate everyone she can.

Both Sides of Health

noreply@blogger.com (Gary & Signe Gillum) — Mon, 26 Apr 2010 02:57:00 +0000

We've not had much to say on the blog in the last couple of weeks; or maybe it was because we were so busy that everything since the last time has been anti-climactic. Our activities have been pretty routine lately, so we have felt no need to be repetitious here.

Gary has been busy giving priesthood blessings lately, especially to five of the sister missionaries who haven't felt well. Two weeks ago, however, an LDS worker at the University of California at Irvine hospital called the mission office and asked if someone could come right away to administer a blessing to a 27-year old man who had been in a bad accident and who had coded twice already that day. Signe dropped Gary off there. This poor man had more tubes and machines hooked up to him than I knew possible, and although he was still in a coma, Gary gave him a blessing, partly including his mother and father and family who were there in the ICU. The parents pulled the plug on him 6 days later. Gary said the administration was the most unusual he has been a part of, since it was more spirit communicating with spirit.

But now on the other side of the coin, these past two weeks have been spent trying to get Gary feeling better. Three times in his life he has been told he would never walk again: the first time as a child when he contracted polio, the second when his back was broken in a car accident in 1963, and in 2007 following an operation on his spine. So Gary feels like he his back is operating on borrowed time. He is therefore not surprised that his scoliosis is so bad in the lumbar that it is pinching the nerves on his right side, causing not only incredible pain but some immobility. Thanks to Signe and our chiropractor, Dr. Francis, traction and adjustments are being made to Gary's back so that he won't lose any more mobility and so that the pain can be lessened enough so that he won't have to take any more pain killers. He is grateful and accepting of whatever, but he could use your prayers.

69th Grandchild and 5 Generations

noreply@blogger.com (Gary & Signe Gillum) — Sun, 11 Apr 2010 21:53:00 +0000

This is a picture of 5 generations of Slangerups: Wanda Lorraine Wiley Slangerup, Signe Marie Slangerup Hale Gillum, MaryJane Hale Clark Hansen, Camilla Gwendolyn Clark Smith and Adrienne Smith. It was taken on the occasion of Signe's Mom's 91st birthday in March this year.

Also, a fun side-note: in Signe's 69th birth year, our 69th grandchild was born, and on her 70th , we'll welcome our 70th! (Karl & Ana's 7th boy!)

Music and Family

noreply@blogger.com (Gary & Signe Gillum) — Mon, 05 Apr 2010 04:29:00 +0000

Wednesday night, March 31, is a night which will easily remain in our memories as our most exciting and inspiring musical performance of our lives -- the capstone of over 50 years of singing and playing during our lives. The Orange County Mormon Chorale and Orchestra (OCMCO) performed Brett Stewart's "Messiah in America," a really fine oratorio based on scriptures in 3 Nephi in the Book of Mormon. We sang to two audiences of 2000 people each and received immediate standing ovations and several curtain calls. (We even gave an encore at the end of the second performance.) The music is 'our own' version of Handel's Messiah, yet our son Karl, who was there with his family, said that it was "hands down the best musical experience of his life, including the Mormon Tabernacle Choir and performances of Handel's Messiah." And our neighbor, who is a docent at Segerstrom Hall and who has heard hundreds of fine musical groups, was impressed enough to give us a Bravo card and the tulips you see in several photos here (at 11:30 at night!). She later gave us both hugs.

Karl and Ana and their children were here for 4 days, the 9 of them sprawled all over our apartment. It was good to be with them so much. Saturday night we went to Downtown Disney with them, walking through the delightful shops and listening to three different kinds of musical groups. We ended the evening by watching the Disneyland fireworks from the top of the parking structure, where Signe took a picture of Ana and Minnie with Minnie Mouse! The highlight of the fireworks were two displays of silver and blue angels, heralding Easter in the morning.

Karl and the family returned to Utah on Sunday morning, and Joe and Judith and their family arrived from Utah to spend some time here and stay with Michelle West in Anaheim Hills. We were invited to an Easter buffet at her house, watching conference in the afternoon. Just before leaving for our apartment in Santa Ana, with Rachel and Ruth with us for the night, we felt the porch rock and roll beneath our feet, making us sway as if we were drunk. It turned out to be the edge of the 7.2 earthquake that hit Baja California and was the strongest they've had here in Southern California since 1995. (Even the water in the pool sloshed from south to north!)

The week before, we were allowed by the Missionary Department in Salt Lake to travel to Utah for the weekend. Earlier Gary had been slated to be part of the 100th birthday celebration of Hugh Nibley, but since that fizzled, we ended up in Park City for Signe's mother's 91st birthday and the taking of a 5-generation photo of Wanda Slangerup, Signe, MaryJane, Cami and Addi. During an earlier segment of the party Signe was proud to see her violin pupils Jonathan, Benjamin, Andrew and Gideon play pieces for their great grandma. (Signe discovered that SKYPE is really useful for teaching lessons and keeping them current on their progress.) The rest of the time with the family was really compressed, and we were delighted to be able to participate in Dallin Bradford's ordination to the office of Teacher Saturday night. We left Mapleton for California at 2:30 a.m. Sunday morning to beat the Las Vegas to Los Angeles gambling crowd on Interstate 15.

Works of Art

noreply@blogger.com (Gary & Signe Gillum) — Mon, 22 Mar 2010 02:56:00 +0000

Signe and the others senior sisters design a bulletin board for the office each month. This month's we thought was a work of art, featuring all the Prophets of the Restoration and a little note attached to each picture of what they were each especially known for.

Next, the most amazing tree we've ever seen is right in the front yard of our Ward building. It is called a "Coral Tree," and, as you can see, is covered with thorns. Spring has sprung around Orange County, and flowers are EVERYWHERE! Lilies (the Easter kind) grow wild, along with innumerable other varieties. Signe keeps the camera in her purse, so it is handy when we see a stunning site, which happens on a daily basis.

"The earth it did sha-ay-ayke!" Although Gary slept through it, Signe was rudely awakened by a 4.4 magnitude earthquake a few minutes after 4 on Tuesday morning. She felt a jolt, and then the bed shook for about 15 seconds. Later we discovered that when we asked the elders about it, invariably one elder felt the earthquake while the other one slept! Little damage, no injuries, but it makes some people in California nervous. Each missionary (including us) has his or her own Survival Kit, should a bigger one hit.

The car that was in an accident last week? The Church's insurance company told Gary this week that they are declaring the car totaled because of the extensive damage. We are so grateful that the four elders were protected!

Temple Tours on Saturday: many missionaries and investigators showed up for both the English and the Spanish sessions. During cookies and punch time Gary was able to talk to a highly educated man from Hungary. We hope he was touched by the Spirit. Then at 5 we represented the mission president at one of the twelve baptisms we had this weekend: this one in Costa Mesa. The person being baptized was a wonderful older lady by the name of Rebecca. The service was very nice.

And believe it or not, six weeks are over and another transfer happens tomorrow. This month we've received five new sister missionaries (including 2 of them ASL for the Deaf Branch) and one elder. One of the new sisters is a good friend of one of Gary's graduate students from BYU.

Two Weeks of Surprises

noreply@blogger.com (Gary & Signe Gillum) — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 02:03:00 +0000

The weeks keep whizzing by! We can hardly believe that we're about at the half-way point of our mission. We've gotten so used to the wonderful people, the nice weather, the flowers all year-round, and the constant surprises, that we are very grateful we didn't let this opportunity pass us by. We don't fret about the future, because we know that whatever happens down the road is God's plan for us. The dreams and blessings have been more than overflowing.

Besides our health and participation in the Orange County Mormon Choir and Orchestra, Signe has had the opportunity to give health advice and some healing massages to our mission president's wife. President and Sister Watrous were very grateful for this added blessing to the mission.

Surprises with people: a few days ago we stopped at Taco Bell for a take out. Gary went in to the store to get our goodies. While he was waiting for his order, a young man who looked like a gang member (with the gang hair, tatoos and all) happened to be sitting nearby. He noticed Gary's name tag and asked him if he were a minister. After Gary responded that he was a missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the man asked where we worked out of and what we did (he knows the building). Then he confessed that he was having a light supper while he waited to go to a traffic school class at Santa Ana College across the street for his DUI conviction. Apparently he hit some yellow barriers on the freeway, totalling his car, but suffering only a minor injury. But this woke him up to a possible future that he didn't want. He also related the story of a beautiful 21-year old girl in his class who was DUI and killed someone with her car: 20 years behind bars! So sad. Anyway, he told Gary he wanted to change his life. Gary told him about the mormon.org website and about the Gospel in a nutshell -- and then they parted as friends, handshakes and all. Sometimes it pays to be courageous and bold!

In another instance, a man from India asked the mission president for a Book of Mormon in Hindi. Gary was happy to provide it.

Surprise 2: Gary sold two cars last Monday: one to a gentleman in Long Beach and another to a young family in Yorba Linda. Selling used cars is not his cup of tea, but he managed to do all of the paperwork correctly. But you couldn't pay him to be a used car salesman! Only 6 cars to go.

Surprise 3: After many weeks without a car accident with the missionaries, our number was up. Four elders were stopping at a fast food place in Santa Ana when they were struck from behind and sideswiped by a BMW with three teenaged boys in it. Despite over $3000 worth of damage to the missionary Mazda 3, there were no injuries (thankfully). It was the first accident Gary actually went out to investigate.

Surprise 4, related to Surprise 3: This one happened at 5 a.m . Saturday morning. As we've told you before our bedroom window opens out to a busy six-lane city street. Well, we were awakened by an awful crash, the immediate presence of a police cruiser (and later 3 more, plus fire truck and ambulance), and 12 feet of a housing development wall demolished across the street. Apparently two men fairly flew over the Santa Ana River bridge a block west of us with police chasing them and another one waiting down by our window at the Bristol St. intersection. In order to prevent a serious injury or fatality if the irresponsible driver got to the busy intersection (even at 5 a.m.), the police car did a 'pit bull manuever,' where he tapped the left front bumper of the speeding Ford Explorer, spinning him around so that he demolished part of the block wall, and came to rest on the sidewalk on top of a 'No Parking' sign. Again, no one was injured, but we could easily see the dejected and humbled faces of two handcuffed men sitting on the curb while charges were pressed and the debris was cleaned up. Needless to say, it was not possible to get back to sleep before we had to drive down to Newport Beach for our 4-hour rehearsal with the Orange County Mormon Choir & Orchestra. (What wonderful music: the best and most challenging either of us has performed.)

Today (Sunday) we relaxed, enjoyed our meetings, and felt the wonderful sunshiney weather out on the porch. We feel exceedingly blessed. We are also grateful that Gary's testimony at mormonscholarstestify.org was received so well by family members, colleagues, and friends on Facebook. Signe was actually the most instrumental in encouraging Gary to finish it and post it. We also felt blessed to help an elder get his military ID card renewed. In order to do so, President Watrous had us leave the mission and take the elder and his companion to Los Alamitos Army Air Field, on the way to Long Beach. Both elders were grateful for this little adventure west of the mission boundaries! And we were glad to help them.

noreply@blogger.com (Gary & Signe Gillum) — Sun, 28 Feb 2010 22:18:00 +0000

Sorry, folks! It's been an incredibly busy two weeks. We're often so exhausted from work at the office (even during weekends) that we feel like doing nothing but vegetating!

Most of you know that Gary has built a lot of models during his life. This F/A-18E Super Hornet is the Navy's newest carrier jet, which he assembled and painted during the last 7 months -- as a stress reliever. But he had a purpose for building this particular model. It so happens that President Skaggs, who is a counselor in the mission presidency, is one of the designers of the real F/A-18 right here in Southern California. So at the March 23 departure dinner Gary will be presenting it to Pres. Skaggs as a token of their friendship and common interests. Gary has even been comparing the model to many pictures on the Internet to make sure everything is painted accurately.

The photo below is another kind of craft: tile-laying.

Signe went with Gary to the auto-repair shop that the mission utilizes, called Solesbee's. This is a picture of the in-laid tile logo at the entrance. This is the most amazing tile work we have ever seen; it's hard to see in this picture, but the logo is actually tiny laser-cut tiles pieced together and set into the rest of the tiles. The owner said the craftsman was so skilled, he didn't once crack or break a tile. Even those narrow, curved pieces at each end of the oval are cut into the big tile, leaving the entire rest of the tile intact!Kat, Steve & Artha, Lisa and Signe will really appreciate this, having done their fair share of intricate tile work.

Yesterday was an incredible day: virtually and in reality! On our 40-minute drive down to Newport Beach for our 4-hour joint rehearsal of the choir and orchestra for "Messiah in America" we were deluged with one of the fiercest rainstorms either of us has been in. And as we listened to the radio we not only heard about the rain, the flash flood watches, and the mud-slide warnings, but also of tsunami warnings from the awful 8.8 earthquake in Chile. Then we sang and played the exciting music in the chorus "There Arose a Great Storm" and felt like we were really in one, as the rain pounded the building on the outside. World-class music.

Two weeks ago we were happy to share some of the weekend with our family again. MaryJane (our oldest daughter) was in town to visit Keely (our oldest granddaughter), and all of us were invited to have dinner at Michelle West's home in Anaheim Hills Sunday. (Signe's niece.) It was a wonderful sharing time.

Last Sunday Gary gave a fireside to 80 young single adults in Irvine. He had entitled it, "Between Wow! and Whoa!: Embracing Opposition in All Things." One of the leaders present said he knew of several young people in the congregation who really needed his talk. The theme had to do with the growth we can receive from adversities.

Finally, last night we attended yet another baptism (one of 15 this weekend) -- this one in the Anaheim Stake Center. The young lady was very happy, and the ward was very warm in their welcoming her into the ward: especially the exuberance of the Tongan relief society president!

Once again we are grateful for all of the blessings from this mission. Signe has been a godsend for Sister Watrous, who benefits greatly from her massages.

Missionaries had a big thrill

noreply@blogger.com (Gary & Signe Gillum) — Fri, 12 Feb 2010 01:58:00 +0000

The man responsible for turning over 10 Malibu's to us is named Dan, with a pen name of Dante. An ex-Marine, he writes poetry and has an unusual pet -- a bearded dragon. (Google it!) During our second to last trip down to Costa Mesa to pick up one of the brand-new cars you see below in the Mission Office parking lot, Gary had just signed the papers for the ninth car when he noticed a self-published book of poetry on Dan's office desk entitled "Situation Life." He offered it to me, along with a CD with Power Point presentations of his poetry. On our next trip down to pick up car #10 I presented him with a Book of Mormon and asked to take a picture of him with his critter. He and Gary became e-mail buddies, and he made personalized Valentine cards for Gary to give to each of the senior sisters husbands to give to their wives. It was very sweet of him.

Speaking of the senior sisters, another part of the thrill the elders received on Thursday (besides seeing all those new cars) was the visit of BYU former coach, Lavell Edwards. He is Sister Healey's brother, and he was in town to give a talk somewhere, and surprised her by stopping by to say hello. When the elders saw him, they nearly jumped out of their skins (our Korean elder said "He's one of my heros!). Anyway, it was a picture-taking moment and Brother Edwards was very gracious to us all. He even told Gary that when he was on a mission in New York City with his wife a few years ago, he had to drive a Ford Pinto with 58,000 miles on it, not one of the nice cars we have!

Last Saturday evening we had our own thrill! Our chiropractor, Dr. Arthur Francis, who is also president of the Anaheim Hills Stake, invited us and the mission president's wife to a benefit dinner at the Anaheim Hills Stake Center. There were 1200 Mormons and Methodists there for the annual fundraiser for the Anaheim Interfaith Shelter Halcyon. A silent auction was held and a wonderful prime rib dinner was served. We were then entertained by the Musical Theatre Academy of Orange County with selections from their production of "Hello Dolly!" The three of us had front-row tables in the huge cultural hall, and especially enjoyed the pure and beautiful vocal talents of Hailey Tweter, who embraced the Gospel last August. It was a great feeling to be mingling and sharing commonalities with fellow Christians for a common cause and with true friendship.

And speaking of Dr. Francis: Signe was honored by him last week when he recommended her massage talents to our mission president's wife, Sister Watrous. Signe has been able to help her feel much better. While she was massaging Sister Watrous, Gary was able to sit down with President Watrous and chat with him freely for over an hour and a half. It was a good to see the President relax (we're certain that he doesn't get much relaxing time). It also cemented even further our friendship with this fine couple.

Overhead the Moon is Beaming! (Sigmund Romberg)

noreply@blogger.com (Gary & Signe Gillum) — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 03:11:00 +0000

January marked the beginning of a new Chinese branch in Irvine -- and the mission's first Chinese baptism! Gary has even had to order an entire case of Chinese copies of the Book of Mormon.

The week has been relatively quiet, although the mission was notified that we had ten additional 2010 Chevy Malibu's to pick up from the dealership in Costa Mesa, 17 miles away. Signe even drove Gary and Elder Monney down to pick up two so that we can get all the new cars to the Mission Office before next week's transfer -- and before the rain on Friday! Gary is in his glory driving these new Malibu's, which are nearly the perfect car, having received many awards. (It was designed and engineered by a BYU graduate.)
Sunday found us more involved in missionary work than we have to this point. John McClintock, a sweet man about our age, has been investigating the church for at least six months but has postponed his baptism because of family pressures. We took him under our wing Sunday in Gospel Doctrine and Priesthood classes, where he even participated by asking questions. He and Gary talked quite a bit, especially about the family pressures Gary experienced when he embraced the Gospel -- and losing friends, culture, his former church and career possibilities because he knew for a certainty that the Book of Mormon is the word of God. After our meetings we volunteered to take John home because he had asked us to help unburden his two orange trees in the backyard. We came away from his home with two cloth bags full of oranges, some the size of grapefruit. These will make the elders and sisters very happy.

We end the week with gratitude for the miracle of our beautiful tall Blue Spruce in the front yard falling in such a way that it only destroyed one shingle and a little soffitting on our Springville house. Unheard of 80 mph winds in Springville. It could have been much worse!