Schofield Wedding

I wanted to look like a true Southerner when I saw the Schofields.

















Diana Schofield
















Lorna and Debbie















Marv and Lorna















The Sacramento Temple. We took the picture Sunday morning on our way home.

Pictures

Rock Band at its worst!

Temple Trip

As part of our "New Year Resolutions" Debbie and I have planned to go to the temple regularly especially since the Oakland temple is just minutes from us. We had scheduled to go Tuesday evenings while we are here. Of course this first Tuesday we had some meeting we had to go to in Berkeley that took part of the evening so we were just going to go ahead and go on Wednesday. Wednesday something else came up and by Thursday we just said let's go on Saturday. Our resolve was strong especially when we heard the Elliot and Tracy and Megan and Adam were going to the temple on Friday. Saturday came. I went walking in the morning and came back and Deb was up and and preparing in at least thought to go to the temple. A few items arose that delayed our hopeful early morning start to get to the temple. The point I am trying to make here is that all week we were planning to go but something always happened to delay us the reason for which reason became patently evident when we arrived at the temple.

We first had to stop and buy garments. The distribution center is found across the street and up the hill from the temple. As soon as I got out of the car a large gentleman was walking to his his car. I recognized him immediately and I said hello Brother Campbell and he said Bill!. It was Roger Campbell from the Salinas II Ward. He and his wife Julie were there . He is the bishop of the ward so we spoke a little about his family and about the various ward members. We thought it was good fortune to see someone we knew. We then went to the temple and were in the Chapel waiting for our session to start when someone else from the Monterey Stake sat down in front of me. He said Bill, what are you doing here? I recognized this person but could not remember his name. He refreshed my memory and told me he was Tom Hillasheim. Tom was in the Stake Mission Presidency while I was ward mission leader in Salinas. I believe he later became a member of the Stake Presidency, We whispered a few things and then ended our coversation.

We were then escorted to the endowment room and Tom sat down next to me. He asked me if I was going to hear Gary speak. I told him I didn't have a clue what he was talking about. He said "Don't you know that there is a special Monterey Stake temple session today at 2:30 and that my Brother Gary is speaking in the Chapel Service before the session?" I said I didn't know that but then I became very excited about the possibilities. Wow my brother will be here and maybe some of our friends.

We had a wonderful session. Both Debbie and I reflected on our sealing in the temple and our first trip to temple together. It was even more interesting because just the day before we were in downtown Oakland and passed by the Alameda County Courthouse. The day we got married we had to rush to the courthouse to get our marriage license. I can still remember how excited we both were as we descended the steps of the courthouse to hurry up to the temple to get married.

After our session Deb and I separated to go the various dressing rooms and take off our temple clothes and then get ready and go to the chapel service. To my great surprise as I opened the door of the men's dressing room were many of my dearest friends getting dressed for their temple session. I quickly got a glimpse of what it might be like on death, I close the door of my life and open the door of death and the next life only to find it inhabited with close friends. Everyone greeted me with great surprise, a huge smile on their face, and a big hug. I couldn't have been happier. Brother Ririe then walked in. It was like seeing my Dad. He looks very old but when I saw him and he me this great sense of love flowed between us. It was as if he were the conduit between me and my parents in a very surreal way.

We saw these various people, Ken and Kathy Anderson, David Higgenbothom?, Pat Sais, The Riries, The Pierces, Nancy Simpkins, The Ogborns, the Shipleys, Gary and Teresa, the Lockes, Carolyn Jensen, Sue Napper, Von Ferrel, The Campbells, Brent Green, and many others.

How do these kind of things continue to happen to us? What are the odds that the day we go to the temple (we haven't been in months) that a totality of friends and family are also at the temple. I again am impressed how God orchestrates our lives to arrive at a certain conclusion. Certainly Deb and I came away from this experience in awe and with a greater desire to return to the Lord's house. We felt such love in every way possible.

Tender Mercy

My purpose in writing here is just to have a place to record great things that happen in our lives. Usually the great things are really little insignificant things but once you add up all the little things, it or they become significant. Grant has motivated me to write because I have forgotten most of these small things and unfortunately I am starting to forget even the big things. What is the name of that woman I live with?

Any way here is a small tender mercy. We have been waiting for several weeks for a check from Actionware (Toronto). It had become critical that we receive it in a timely manner because of some unforseen other demands on our cash flow (taxes). Some how we were able to cover all our checks except the one I had sent out for the Christmas house in Florida. I have been extremely worried about this for the last ten days as I wrote the check the first week in November and it hadn't cleared and it would not of cleared based on the amount of money in the bank. I prayed that somehow we would be able to take care of this. The Actionware check was the answer but it never came and never came and never came. We finally had come to the point that we were going to ask Actionware to overnight us a new check and cancel the other one but the day we decided to do that (Saturday) the check finally arrived.

Grant put the check in yesterday and voila the tender mercy. The check for the Florida house also was presentecd to the bank yesterday and cleared the same day that we put in the Actionware check.

Small little things that continue to put a smile on one's face.

Bill