A Mission Kind of Day

Yesterday we continued our tour through the San Jose mission. We went to the areas I served in during the 2nd year of my mission - Stanford and Santa Cruz. 

We started the day off at Stanford. Since I served in the Stanford singles wards more than 3 years ago most of the people I worked with are long gone. It is still one of my favorite areas and I was excited to go back. The first place we went was the Leland Stanford Junior Museum. I really like the museum because it gives you a lot of background about the founding of Stanford. Leland Stanford founded the university in honor of his son, Leland Stanford Junior, who died from typhoid fever. It is amazing to think about what a lasting memorial Stanford University has become. A little bit of Utah history is housed in the Museum. Leland Stanford was one of four businessmen responsible for the transcontinental railroad and the golden spike from Promontory Point, Utah is housed in the museum. 

I really enjoy their Auguste Rodin collection. Outside of the museum, they have a garden area with around 20 sculptures including a massive piece called the gates of Hell. We learned about this piece and the strong influence it had on his other work. Many of his stand-alone sculptures were based on work he did for the gates of Hell. For example, one of my other favorite pieces, the thinker, is supposed to be Dante observing the gates of Hell. Alison loves Art history so she spent plenty of time teaching me about the movement in Rodin's sculptures.  He started sculpting after the Renaissance and it's very clear that he was fighting against it.  Rather than cool, classical compositions, his sculptures are twisted, disfigured, and rough.  He did not strive for idealism.  We spent some quality time enjoying the art collection. Alison taught me about cubism and a few other art movements. She decided when we retire we need to go back to school and get art history degrees. 



Before

After

Before

After

Next, we walked around campus. It was a beautiful day and we enjoyed the college atmosphere. Stanford is the most beautiful University I have ever seen. I always love driving onto campus and taking palm drive. We walked over to the memorial chapel and enjoyed the stained glass windows. Throughout the chapel there are small memorials to each member of the Stanford family, it was interesting to read them. There was a quote that really stood out as we thought about the story of the Stanford family, "It is through suffering God became close to us, and through suffering, we become close to God." They turned tragedy into a beautiful memorial.

Before

After

As we walked through campus I shared more of my memories from my mission. I told Alison about the time we got some members together and spent the afternoon drawing the plan of salvation in White Plaza and talking to everyone who walked past. I also told her about the Easter concert the Stanford wards held at the memorial chapel. A girl named Jenny attended that concert, and one of her friends introduced us to her. She would begin to investigate the church and was later baptized. There are so many wonderful memories around Stanford. 

Right next to the Stanford campus is the institute building. We went and walked around it. It kind of irked me because I couldn't quite remember where it was at and we had to use google to find it. I guess after three years I don't remember all of the details. My old apartment was only a couple of blocks off of campus and we headed there next. I did remember where that was at. It was fun to show Alison one more place I lived and to remember the companions I had during my time at Stanford. 

For lunch, we went to my favorite Palo Alto restaurant, Indochine. Indochine is owned by a member of the church and he lets missionaries eat there for free. I went to Indochine every week, at least once a week, for the six months I was at Stanford. They would never let us pay or give a tip. I loved Indochine because the food was great and the waiters always treated us so well. I got my favorite dish, the yellow curry. The service and everything were just like I remembered. Two of the waiters were the same guys who worked there while I was on my mission. I told them about when I used to come and they told me that I looked familiar. They also said the missionaries are still coming. When the check came I wanted to thank them for all of the wonderful meals I ate there so I left a 100% tip. 

After Indochine, we headed south to Santa Cruz and Capitola.  It was a beautiful drive on Highway 17 through the Santa Cruz mountains.  Our first stop was my old apartment.  I drove right there.  My favorite thing about this apartment was that it was a mile from the ocean and in the morning I could hear the sound of the waves while I exercised.  

Our next stop was to see one of my converts, Lily.  It was a wonderful visit.  Before we even made it to her door she ran out with open arms.  Most people take a minute to remember me, but she knew exactly who I was the minute we arrived.  She told us it was a godsend that we came that day because she had her interview with the Stake President the day before to receive her endowment.  Unfortunately, her husband is not a member of the church, and is sometimes difficult and would not give his permission for her to go through the temple.  She said it was very difficult.  We visited with her for a while and it was so nice to see her again.  She seemed very happy and told us all about the ward and how much she loves going to church.  She's a ward missionary and said that she goes out and hands out pass-along cards on her regular day-to-day errands.  I was so happy and proud of her. 

Revisiting my mission has been a lot of fun and Alison kept telling me that it was eye-opening for her. She knew a lot of the stories and experiences, but hearing it from the people was different. It made it more real. Hearing all about Lily's experience got Alison excited about missionary work. When we get home we will be looking for more opportunities to have missionary experiences. 

After visiting Lily we drove by Pleasure Point and then Capitola Main Street.  The ocean was beautiful and we spent some time on the beach.  There are a lot of fun shops on Main Street as well.  We went into a sea shell store where I got Alison a sand dollar at the end of my mission.  It's such a fun little beach town by the sea.

After Capitola, we went and visited Fred Harried who I also worked with on my mission.  Fred was baptized while I was in Capitola and then he was sealed to his wife Eva after I left.  He was so proud to tell us he had not smoked or drank since I was here.  Unfortunately, Eva was in a bad car accident a while back and is still recovering so we were not able to see her.  Despite all the challenges in his life, he told us that he could not be unhappy since he had been baptized.  He seemed so great and I am so proud of him.

We also saw Todd & Gail Brown.  Driving out to his house is an adventure. They live about a mile off the road in Soquel. To get to their house you have to go down a steep and narrow road, over a narrow bridge, and then down a dirt road. I told Alison I always loved driving out there. Todd was also baptized when I was in Capitola.  His wife had been a member her whole life and they raised their children in the church but Todd was never baptized.  He finally made the choice while I was there.  It was nice to visit with them and share mission stories.

After our visits, we went to dinner at Pleasure Pizza.  I used to eat here on my mission because on Tuesdays you could get two slices of cheese pizza for a dollar.  The pizza did not disappoint.  We also stopped by a CVS and got supplies for our beach bonfire and then headed to the beach.  The first beach we went to didn't have an open fire-pit, but we drew in the sand.  When Alison was in Israel she sent me a picture of a heart she drew in the sand for me.  At the end of my mission, I sent her a similar picture of a heart I had drawn in the sand.  It was fun to draw a heart together all these years later.

We googled a second beach and fortunately, we got the last open fire pit.  I built a fire and we snuggled in a blanket and roasted marshmallows.  It was so much fun to be on the beach, nice and warm, and hear the waves crash on the shore close by.  It was one of the most fun things we've ever done on vacation.

After the bonfire, we went and visited Matt Muirhead, who was the ward mission leader when I was in Capitola.  We talked to him for well over an hour about old times and how the ward is going now.  It was so great to talk to him - he was funny as ever.  He was a great ward mission leader and always supported the missionary's efforts.   He would pick us up around once a week and either take us to get ice cream or dinner or just take us to do something so we had time to talk.  I'm glad that we have a continuing friendship now.