Tenth companionship

Shed welcomes new Riverview ward elder.

Elder Clawson (l) and
Elder Turner

Clawson, of Gallatin MO, moved into the shed Jul 27. He transferred from Coalinga.

Turner, of Silver Spring MD, has been serving in Riverview but living near the Mission office.
His first night in the shed was Jul 25.

About the elders:
- Clawson's family moved to Missouri from Troy TX in 2008. They now live two miles from Adam-ondi-Ahman. His dad's ancestors were LDS pioneers who settled Far West.
- Currently the Clawson family's temple district is St. Louis MO (5 hours away), even though two temples are closer: Nauvoo IL (4 hours) and Winter Quarters NE (3 hours). In 2012, the Kansas City temple under construction will open and cut their travel time to about one hour.
- Prior to his mission, Clawson completed one semester at Northwest Missouri State University where he majored in Theatre Performance. He wants to major in Film.
- Clawson has completed 14 months of his 24-month mission.

- Turner's been on his mission five months. Best part so far? Gets to be with the scriptures 24/7. Worst part? Giving up secular music for two years.
- Before his mission, he attended a local community college and majored in Building Construction.
- Turner likes Fresno's summer, especially the lower humidity compared to Wash DC (near his home). 'Back east, when you sit in the shade, you still sweat like a pig,' he said.
- Turner loves to bike, easily covering 200-plus miles every week in the spread-out Riverview ward. Last Friday he and his companion logged 40 miles. They biked to an investigator's house in Rolling Hills north of Children's Hospital in Madera County, then to Millbrook and Alluvial, and ended on Van Ness extension near Fig Garden Golf Course.
- Turner's dad, Grant, served his mission in California too, in Arcadia (L.A. area).








'The companions change, but the pizsters live on' - Callburst, 7/23/11

Temple-bound!

In former-shed missionary news this week...
Christian Burstall, home 6 months from his mission, announced his engagement to the beautiful Janell Poole. The BYU-I students and Texas residents are planning to wed in the Houston temple in December or January.
Congratulations to the happy couple!!

Ninth companionship

The shed is now home to Riverview ward elders who moved in on Jul 25.
The companionship will change in two days during 6-week transfers.

Elder Diderichsen (l) and
Elder Turner

Diderichsen (r) of Houston TX, will be transferring to Porterville.

Van Ness moves out! Riverview moves in

End of an era.
Van Ness ward Elders Carlson (r) and Dyreng (l) said 'goodbye' to the shed and the shedlord on Jul 25.
VN ward missionaries have been in the shed since it opened in May 2010.
They'll be relocating nearer to the Mission office.
Carlson's new comp will be Elder Casper (c), from SLC who transferred from Porterville.
Dyreng will transfer to North stake, Heritage ward.

Shed redux

After spending their P-day in Yosemite, Elder Tua'itanu (l) returned to the shed Monday night on an exchange with Elder Dyreng. It was Tua'itanu's first visit back in almost four months.
First thing he did when the clock struck 9:30 p.m.? Came into the main house, went in the kitchen, opened the refrigerator and yelled, "Where's a gold can?" Tua'itanu said he misses the shed, "And the shedlord!"
He spent two transfers in the shed Dec 29 - Mar 20 with two companions, Elder Burstall and Elder Moreno.
He's now an assistant to the Mission President and serves Peachwood ward.

Jun 20
A difference of taste

Corn dogs & milk for lunch? Not for Elder Roberts (r).
He’s from Indiana so he likes the corn part, he said.
Milk is Elder Dyreng’s favorite bev: his family milks 800 cows daily on their 1,000-acre ranch in Utah. They sell most of it to one of the nation’s biggest dairy cooperatives.

May 27
Hannah says hello to Elder Dyreng in the driveway at the start of the g-kids' two-week visit to papa's house over Memorial Day 'til Jun 12.

The Shed's 1 Year Anniversary!

One year ago today the shed opened,
and, within a few weeks,
ldseldershed blog launched.

Fast-forward a year and missionary life in the shed goes on.

Last night's exchange from Alluvial ward was Elder Roberts (r), of Salem IN.
He and Elder Carlson spent a few minutes of anniversary day on mormon.org.

May 26, 2010
During this week last year, there was room painting, carpet cleaning, curtain hanging and shelving installation.

The first Van Ness ward missionaries to call the shed home were Elders Wellbaum & Burstall.

Of cats and Korea

May 14
Elder Carlson & Chloe, a nightly ritual of mutual affection.

May 17
Elder Lee (r) visits the shed for pizza with Elder Dyreng during an exchange with Woodward Park ward. After his mission, Lee plans to return home to Seoul, South Korea where he'll complete 21 months of mandatory military training. After that, he hopes to get an engineering degree while serving another 7 years required military service.

Eighth companionship

Elder Dyreng and
Elder Carlson

May 4, 2011

May 2
Elder Moreno's last night in the shed (and last nightly quesadilla :(

May 3
Last night of his mission for original co-shedling Elder Wellbaum, who said goodbye to friends (after 2 years in Fresno) at a Farewell Testimony Meeting at West Stake Center.

May 3
First day of his mission (and first visit in the shed!) for Elder Reguero (r) from Chino CA, who spent the day with (from l) Elders Thurman, Carlson and Moreno.

One last night in the shed

Previous shed-overnighter Elder Gutierrez (second from r) spent Apr 15 & 16 in the shed during an exchange with Echo Ward. He stayed with Elder Carlson and Austin Kincade (far l).

Gutierrez finishes his two-year mission May 4, when he's scheduled to fly home to Connecticut.

Austin, 16, a sophomore at Clovis High and a member of the 2nd Ward East Stake, got a glimpse into missionary life.

The three spent part of their Saturday evening with Josh (far r), reading & testifying of their favorite scriptures found in 2 Nephi, Helaman, Enos and Alma.

A shedling has a birthday

Elder Carlson turns 21!
He really wanted a deep-dish taste of home to celebrate his special day Mar. 13.
But the local Chicago Connection Pizza was closed : (

Luckily nearby was a Me-n-Ed's where he and Elder Moreno found plenty of Hot Hawaiian pizza, potato wedges and cinna poppers!
Much yumminess.

Shed Lingo 101

Terms

She: Any person, place, thing, idea, or concept. Most especially oneself.

Gold can: Caffeine-free, Diet Sam's Club Cola.

Pizz-ster: Rolls of saucy joy. Buy 'em by the truckload.

Slank, Slankster: Slanket, a sleeve'd blanket. This includes all brands of clothing-replacing lounge wear.

Blog, Vlog, Tweet: Imaginary source of internet content created by old people and missionaries.

Shed: Apartment unit attached to the garage of main house. Main place elders live. Contains two beds, various clothes and closetry, two desks, bathroom, air unit, and heat fan.

Exercise cube: Somewhat outside rec room where exercise time could happen. Equipment is kept there, but more often it is used to house Burstall's stuff.

Shedlord: Owner of shed, and primary occupant of the main house. One David Addison. Also goes by Pow, Dahv, Brother D, Dave, Brother Dave, Big D, Dahv Master Flash, etc.

Aught: Zero. Usually used to designate periods of time. Most especially Aught Six, signifying 2006.

Fres-hole: City in central California, population ~500,000. Preaching and baptizing capitol of the world. Why do you live there? Uhh....

Oh!: Loud, Dahv style complaint noise. Used equally for pleasing and unpleasant situations.

Gay: Extremely unpleasant, or extremely wonderful.

Cher: See above.

Phrases

"Call if you need anything": Statement that doesn't mean anything... or does it mean everything?

"This is my last summer in Fresno": Statement that doesn't mean anything... or does it mean everything?

"I can't speak to that": Carefully avoiding comment.

"Some would say not enough...": Used to illustrate that yours isn't the only opinion that matters- Dave's is.

"I just brushed my teeth": "The thing you are trying to get me to eat looks awful."

General Speech

Words can be truncated to suit ones needs. Examples are blank, bev, and pretz for blanket, beverage, and pretzel, respectively.  Sometimes, -ster can be added once the word is truncated to completely invalidate the shortening in the first place. Examples include napster, pepster, and sofster for napkin, pepper, and sofa.

Seventh companionship

Elder Carlson and
Elder Moreno

Mar. 23, 2011

College-bound!
Six weeks home from his mission, Christian Burstall contemplates his next move Mar. 25 in Austin, TX. He’s enrolled at BYU Idaho this spring.

Last night in the shed

Josh & Katie enjoyed spending time Sunday with Elder Tua’itanu (r), who stayed last night in the shed for the last time. Today he became assistant to the mission president, where he’ll help oversee 200 missionaries serving in the Fresno California Mission. He'd been a shedling (he preferred the name 'shedknight') since Dec 29. Elder Carlson, from Fresno North Stake, will be Elder Moreno’s (l) new companion starting Wednesday. They’ll be zone leaders, supporting 20 missionaries.

Companionship's last P-day haircut!

Shedling for a night

Elder Monnett (l), Dayton OH, stayed last night in the shed on an exchange from Riverview Ward. He worked today in Van Ness Ward with Elder Tua’itanu (r). Tua’itanu has a good friend serving a mission in Japan, and wondered about him and other relatives in the South Pacific after the quake-tsunami.

An overnight stay before mission ends

Elder Gutierrez (r), from Stamford CT, stayed with Elder Tua’itanu (l) Tuesday night in the shed, during an exchange with the Echo Ward where he serves as a Spanish-speaking missionary. While here he enjoyed a taste of home - 'New York'-style cheesecake : )
Gutierrez, 22, finishes his two-year mission at the end of this month and has enrolled at Utah Valley University, Orem UT, where he’ll major in business administration.
He said he leaves with sweet memories of California, including Corcoran, the first area he served in.
“That first night I couldn’t get to sleep. It was way too quiet,” said Gutierrez, whose hometown is 30 minutes from New York City.
“All night long I'm waiting for some city noise or an ambulance siren, but nothing. I never knew quiet could be that loud before!”
After graduation, Gutierrez plans to work on Wall Street where he probably won’t have that problem.

Sixth companionship

Elder Moreno and
Elder Tua'itanu
Feb. 9, 2011

Feb 12
The shed has 3 elders now (l-r) Elder Tua'itanu, Elder Moreno (who followed Elder Burstall), and Elder Riley, who flew in from SLC yesterday, awaiting a Mexican visa.

Feb 14
(l-r) Elder Moreno, Esperanza, Elder Tua’itanu
Esperanza, who has cleaned off & on at Dahvwood, met Elder Moreno today during his P-day shed-cleaning. They spoke fluent native Spanish about many things, one of which provided shock & awe. Moreno learned Esperanza joined the LDS church in the early 90s, prompted by her sister’s sudden death. The sister was LDS. Before the sister died, she told Esperanza about the church, and about a ‘warm-hearted, kindly woman’ who taught crafts at Relief Society. Esperanza said her sister loved that teacher and her crafts class.
As Esperanza mentioned her late sister’s home ward (First Ward East Stake), it dawned on us that the ‘kind woman’ who her late sister recalled with such love was Rhonda, my late wife.
It was random (or was it?), kind of like the 6 degrees of Kevin Bacon only more touching and sweet and unexpected. Tears welled and we got lumps in our throats (seriously, where else would you get them?)
Inactive the last 10 years, Esperanza invited the missionaries to stop by her house.
The shed elders are zone leaders, educated and well-trained. Moreno, 27, has a 4-yr college degree in International Economics and one year toward a Master’s.

Feb 17
Elder Ingold (l), from Rochester, NY, and Elder Tua'itanu check out mormon.org this a.m. on the shedlord's kitchen computer (the library was closed). Elder Ingold had stayed last night in the shed during an exchange with Elder Moreno (who was in Echo Ward). Before his mission, Elder Ingold worked at Oak Hill Country Club, site of the 2013 PGA Championship.
In other updates, Elder Tua'itanu is testing a new moniker for occupants of the shed. The current 'shedlings' was coined by Elder Burstall in May, 2010. He was first to move into the room (and nickname it the shed). Elder Tua'itanu is trying out 'shedknights.'
Whatever they call themselves, I've been blessed to provide housing the past year for the missionaries. Smart, clean and hard-working, they love the Savior and are devoted to helping wherever they can.

Feb 24
Elder Riley (c), Layton UT, flew last night to Las Vegas on his way to Monterrey, Mexico, for his two-year mission. His visa came in two weeks! Originally they told him the wait would be four months. While in Fresno, he practiced Spanish 24/7 with Elder Moreno (r), taught with Elder Tua’itanu (l), and slept on the floor of the shed. One of the best experiences while here, he said? He had his first-ever In-N-Out burger!

Feb 28
Elder Moreno, of Mexico City, tasted Girl Scout cookies today for the first time ever! (Thanks to my daughter who brought them as a birthday gift). First he sampled a Thin Mint. Then he ate a Samoa, and wouldn't put down the box, until he ate another, and another, and . . .

Fifth companionship

Elder Burstall and
Elder Tua'itanu
Dec 29, 2010

Happy Birthday

Elder Burstall turns 22!
Celebrating with Josh at Tower Dogs
Dec 9, 2010




Elder Shed Occupants -
Elder Burstall, Leander TX May 26 – Feb 7
Elder Randy Wellbaum, Logan UT May 26 – Jul 14
Elder David Flournoy, Austin TX Jul 14 – Sep 25
Elder Thomas Ethan Ashton, Provo UT Sep 25 – Nov 13
Elder Jacob Christopher Cook, Eagle Mt UT Nov 18-Dec 29
Elder Joshua Siliva Tua’itanu, Pleasant Grove UT Dec 28 - Mar 21
Elder Carlos Rafael Moreno, Mexico City – Feb 9 - May 3
Elder Riley, Layton UT Feb 11- Feb 23
Elder Jacob Ernest Carlson, New Lenox, IL Mar 23 - Jul 24
Elder Connor Tuttle Dyreng, Gunnison UT May 4 - Jul 24
Elder Diderichsen, Houston TX Jul 25 - 27
Elder David Thomas Turner, Silver Spring MD Jul 25 - Aug 14
Elder Orin Bruce Clawson, Gallatin MO Jul 27 - Aug 14


Exchanges (one night in shed)
Aug 4 Elder Wolfert
Aug 9 Elder Jared Ure
Aug 11 Elder Lee, Grantsville UT
Sep 13 Elder Lee
Sep 15 Elder Lee
Sep 20 Elder Wolfert
Jan 7 Elder Adamson
Jan 25 Elder Wolfert
Feb 16 Elder Ewark (sp), New York
Feb 25 Elder Wolfert
Mar 4 Elder Anderson, Colorado Springs
Mar 8 Elder Gutierrez, Stamford CT
Mar 11 Elder Monnett, Dayton OH
Apr 4 & 5 Elder Thurman, Orem UT
Apr 15 & 16 Elder Gutierrez & Bro Austin Kincade
Apr 22 Elder Munford(sp), Asst to Mission Pres
May 5 Elder R (?)
May 25 Elder Roberts, Salem IN
Jun 3 Elder Thurman
Jun 20 Elder Roberts
Jun 22 Elder Ortiz ('mini' missionary from Turlock, serving Woodward Park ward for 6 wks, exploring what Elder life is like)
Jul 11 Elder Tua'itanu
Aug 10 Elder Prince

Fourth companionship

Elder Burstall and
Elder Cook
Nov 18, 2010

Elder Cook, Slanket King

Elder Cook, Josh, Katie

Haircut time!

Christmas presents!
Yay!!

Third companionship

Elder Ashton and
Elder Burstall
Sept 29, 2010

November can be a long 'year' in Fresno.



Shed almost closes!
Nov 9 Elders informed about housing changes
Nov 13 Elders leave shed
Nov 18 Elders return

Second companionship

Elder Flournoy and
Elder Burstall
July 19, 2010



Cavanaugh Family supplies the Elders farm-fresh eggs!
Sep 4 – 18 eggs
Oct 10 - 18 eggs
Nov 17 – 24 eggs
Jan 6 – 12 eggs
Feb 5 – 24 eggs
Mar 17 - 24 eggs

Josh, Elder Flournoy and garden-fresh cantalope

Bottle caps from a 'few' Jarritos, to quench the summertime Fresno heat!
Top flavs? Tamarinda, Mandarina, Toronja, Jamaica


Random notes left in kitchen -
You’re a glazed hole
Turn lights and stove off when not using.
Do not sticky note the Dahv-hole (written on a sticky note)
Cheese squares in microwave
Congratulations! You’re still alive!
Wafers in microwave

Josh, Elder Burstall & Elder Flournoy

Home-made smoothies for the shedlings on a hot August day!


Early blog names for ldseldershed -
Missionary Shed
Mission Shed
LDS Mission Shed
Mormon Shed
Mormon Missionary Shed

First occupants

Elder Wellbaum and
Elder Burstall
May 26, 2010

4th of July zucchini pizza & steaks

Masterpiece ready to share!


Burstall’s stuffed zucchini ingredients
Mozzarella (enough to stuff)
Pepperoni (pizza-sized, not too much)
Ragu pizza sauce (tomato, garlic, onion) – should be with spaghetti stuff, one small jar should be fine
Ground beef
Medium yellow onion

Wellbaum grocery order: 3lbs bacon wrapped filet mignon

Original shedlings first sighted!
Mar 14, 2010 Sacrament speakers: Elder Burstall & Elder Wellbaum
Apr 2010 - Elders golf with Tigs & Dahv
May 2010 - Shed opens and Elders move in.