WE ARE HERE FOR YOU!

     One night after we were asleep, about 11:30pm the phone rang.  It was one of our soldiers.  He is one of the few who has a family staying in the area.  His wife was having some problems and he asked us to go check on her.  He could talk with her on the phone, but couldn't leave base and was worried about her and their baby.  So we quickly dressed and drove about 5 miles to their apartment.  We found them to be fine, but she was scared to be alone that night because of some unusual circumstances.  So we bundled up the sleeping 6-month-old baby and took the two of them home with us.  She slept on our couch, and baby on the floor nearby.  It worked out, and we were glad to help.  The crisis passed and all was fine.
     This week we attended the graduation of the only female soldier that has attended church since we got here.  We only saw her one Sunday.  So when we walked into the graduation and she saw us, her face lit up and she exclaimed, "I DO have someone here!"  Few of the graduating soldiers are fortunate enough to have family members attend.  She was so pleased that we would support her in that manner.  We took pictures to send to her.  It was a good feeling to represent her family.
     Last Sunday we had homemade stew, bread, and chocolate chip cookies.  It was funny when I brought out the food, they were so excited about the home baked cookies that they started grabbing those first.  One soldier said, "Hey, you can't eat the cookies before the dinner!"  Another soldier said, "My mother's not here."  A third soldier said, "Besides, it has been a long time since my mother has been able to tell me what to eat, anyway!"  They ate their fill of stew and bread, then cookies for dessert again. 
     Today we had Shepherd's Pie, rolls, and pies for dessert.  We always have a Chaplain Assistant who is present in the background who helps us set up and clean up, and is the "official chaplain presence" in the building.  We usually invite them to eat with us, but they always decline.  Today, the Assistant couldn't resist the Shepherd's Pie.  He took a little bit, then came back for seconds.  Ha ha.  I loved it.
     Today we took a soldier to the AT&T store to solve a problem with his phone.  Normally we can't take the soldiers anywhere, but because of the Thanksgiving holiday, he had a special pass.  He had to go in the mall to get to the phone store to solve his problems.  So we were feeling pretty weird walking through the mall in our missionary clothes on a Sunday. I debated about taking my name tag off, but decided to leave it on.  As we were standing there waiting for him, a young lady said, "Hey, what does your name tag say?"  So I walked closer for her to read it.  She said, "I've been looking for you.  I need to know how to find the church so that I can start attending. It's been a long time and I want to get out of the situations I'm in now."  She looked like a really nice girl, not like she was in very bad trouble.  So we took her phone number and told her that we would have someone get back to her.  We felt much better about being in the mall.
     When Elder Elkins was set apart as the Military Group Leader, the Stake President said in the blessing that he would know why he is here, "in the next 10 days".  We thought that was an interesting thing to say.  That was 11 days ago.  So what have we learned?  It is mostly that "We are here for the soldiers." They each have unique needs and circumstances.  Some need Priesthood blessings.  Some need a father figure.  Some need a friend.    Some need a place to get away from the Army for a couple hours once in a while.  All need to feel The Spirit.  We fill many different needs and it is great to help the Lord's children when they need us.  We will also be getting to know people at other military bases in the area, to make our presence (the Church) known.  We are so blessed.
     One soldier announced today that his wife gave birth to their 4th child on Thanksgiving Day.  He was planning to be home for the planned C-Section on Dec. 10, but for some reason they had to do it early.  He was sad to not be there for her but glad that mom and baby are OK. 
     We had a dinner with other senior missionaries on Saturday.  There were 3 couples in attendance who serve the military.  It was interesting to learn that even with the same calling, our mission duties are vastly different because of the different situations we are in.

Jumping In

Elder and Sister Elkins, Sister and Brother Lord, Elder and Sister DeLaney

 Yesterday I was thinking. 
     You know how, when as a youth, you go to the swimming pool with your friends.  They all jump in and start having fun.  You stand there at the deep end, wanting to jump but knowing that the water will be cold and quite a shock at first.  As a younger person you would have waded in from the shallow end, but you now know that it isn't any easier than getting it over with all at once. 
     So you hold your breath and close your eyes and with a rush of adrenalin you jump.  It was just as you expected, a cold shock!  Success!  You did it!    In a few short moments the water feels good and you join your friends for fun and games.  It was worth it.
     Just as you are starting to have fun, you look around and see the lifeguards packing up to leave.  Do you still feel safe?  Will you survive without their guidance?  But you know how to swim and you aren't completely alone after all.  Isn't this why you took all those swimming lessons?  You take another deep breath and swim...


     Our lifeguards left this week.  Our trainers, mentors, and friends.  The missionary couple we are replacing completed their 18 months and left for home.  It was a bittersweet moment for us, seeing their joy and longing to see grandchildren, yet knowing that it's our turn to serve. 
     I have felt like we jumped into the deep end by embarking on this senior mission.  Yet, we do know that we aren't completely alone and we do know how to serve.  The water is getting more comfortable and we are loving everything that we learn. 
     We had no idea that we could love people so fast as we do these soldiers.  They are like our own sons.  We understand their fear.  We feel their longing for family.  We feel the anticipation of the unknown.  We swell with pride when they succeed and overcome.  They are the reason we are here.
It is worth it.

Way to Go Mom!

A touching scene at the graduation yesterday.  This little girl gave her mom a big thumbs up when she graduated from her AIT training.  The graduation speaker told how much the soldiers appreciate the support and prayers of families. Our soldiers sacrifice much for us.

Magnificent Show

We are official now!

Monday and Tuesday of this week we attended SCTC Training. (Support Cadre Training Course) It is required of all personnel who work or do anything with the soldiers on the base. Our instructor had a heavy Spanish accent (seemed kind of funny since he claimed 22 years in the US Army). After we got used to his accent it was easier to understand his words, but he still had funny sentence structure or words at times. The course was about rules, laws, offices, reporting, sexual harassment, suicide prevention, punishment, and all things to do with soldiers. Most of those in attendance were platoon leaders, so we were the odd people there. Most things didn’t apply to our job, but it was interesting to learn what the soldiers have to deal with.


After Family Home Evening, on Tuesday,  Private G___ asked for a blessing because of his big tests coming up. He asked Elder Elkins to give it. It was special and sweet. What a privilege to help these young men, and see their faith.

A new soldier had also asked for a blessing but didn’t stay around long enough on Sunday for it. Two returned missionary soldiers in his unit were asked to give him the blessing. It is also sweet to see this happen, soldiers supporting each other in the gospel.

After lunch we went to the base chapel and met the Garrison Chaplain, Colonel Garrison. (funny name for that position) We were impressed with him, and he was very gracious about our position and the LDS people. He told us about his brother who is an active LDS member. They have a good relationship with each other, and that sure helps us! It will be good to work with him.

Friday the mission cell phone was turned over to us. Elder DeLaney showed Bryan all of the forms on the computer, and Sister DeLaney explained lots of other paperwork to me so that we could completely take over now. They are really getting excited about going “home”, and we are glad to be here to continue the work.

Sunday there were eleven soldiers in attendance, including one female soldier. Private F__ taught the RS/Priesthood lesson and did a great job. He mentioned that he has 4 children and another on the way. He said that sometimes when he feels like quitting, and when he is doing push-ups or other hard things, he can almost hear his children saying, “Come on Dad, you can do it!” He told about a drill sergeant who got really mad at him because he refused to swear, even when ordered to do so. He said that the soldier was “forcing his religion” on him by not swearing. Private F__ explained that he was raised like that, and he wanted to set a good example for his own son. The drill sergeant swore that he would get him to curse by the end of Basic Training. (he didn’t) Times like that he said he would think of a Primary song to get the bad feelings out of his mind.

Fast and testimony meeting was wonderful. Elder DeLaney was conducting so he spoke of leaving soon and how much they have loved serving here. The soldiers bore their testimonies also of how much they appreciate the Military Relations Missionaries, and how much it helps them. Private A__ choked up when he said how much he appreciated all that the military missionaries do for the soldiers. Private T__ said that thinking of the beautiful wife that he is sealed to, gets him through the tough times, when he wants to quit. (He attends the LDS meetings faithfully) Private R__ told how he was greeted by the LDS missionaries at In-Processing (the day he reported here for duty). He was so grateful that they found him on that very first day.

Private T__ told about how he started attending church in Basic Training after 10 years away from the church. When he attended that first meeting he felt calm, and thought, “I’m home”. He said, "How nice it is to be able to slip away from military life on Sundays for a couple hours of peace and escape." If it weren’t for the Military Service missionaries, there would be no place for these LDS members to be together.

Since the soldiers have to miss their lunch to attend our Sunday services, we feed them afterwards. I made pumpkin bread (from our Halloween pumpkin), and 4 pans of enchiladas for lunch after church. The soldiers loved it! They all had seconds and said how good it was to have a home cooked meal.  I was glad they enjoyed my first official meal. It will be interesting to cook like I’m cooking for a family again. I’ll have to cook healthy things, so these soldiers can stay in shape for their training.

My heart is full when I see these soldiers giving talks, teaching lessons, blessing and passing the sacrament in their camouflage uniforms and combat boots. They are so reverent and grateful for the opportunity. The church is true. We are so blessed to be part of this great work. We receive so much more than we can possibly give in this service.

MAPS

This is the driveway to our apartment. 

MISSING MAPS

We drove across nine lovely states
With only one mistake.
Our trusty maps showed us the way
And which right turns to take.

We thought it might just take a while
To learn our way around.
But streets here don’t make any sense.
Some just aren’t to be found.

The people here are very nice
And show they really care,
But if you ask directions
They just stop and stare.

“Just ask your GPS,” they say,
“It’s really not too far.
Then you will know the easy way
To get there in your car.”

So where did all the maps go
We used to read and drive?
I guess they’re all locked up in--
The National Archive.

Remember back in grade school--
We used to color maps?
But now in school, do teachers say:
“Turn on your cell phone app’s?”

Don’t worry about us now
The simple answer’s “Yes,”
We did succumb to pressure.”
(We bought a GPS.)

DC TRIP

Saturday, Oct. 30th we (along with the retiring missionary couple, the DeLaneys) took a hired bus full of soldiers to Washington, DC. It was a “religious retreat”, so the army couldn’t deny them access to this trip. The DeLaney’s were still in charge, so we were along for the ride, finding out how to do this kind of thing. It happens 4 times per year, so the next one will be in February. There were 27 service members, 3 spouses, and 5 children of service members. Fourteen soldiers were not LDS, but friends and “battle buddies” invited by the member soldiers.


We took them to the DC temple. Some with recommends went inside to do some initiatories, or just enjoy the spirit in the temple. Others went to the visitors center and had guided tours and films. They were all very respectful and some were curious.

Next we took them to the tomb of the Unknown Soldier to watch the changing of the guard. Then the "mall" (no stores, it’s where the monuments and museums are). We were supposed to pick them up at the Capitol Building in 2 ½ hours. But there was a huge problem with that plan. Demonstrations were being held around the Capitol so we were unable to even get close to it. Police cars blocked off all the streets we needed to cross to get there. We drove that bus around for 1 ½ hours trying to get near, and also find a place to park till time to pick them up. There were so many millions of people walking and demonstrating that multiple streets were blocked off by police and it was really crazy. The poor bus driver was pretty stressed when we finally got to park for about 45 minutes.

The soldiers were warned to be careful because of the demonstrations. They were all wearing their BDU (Battle Dress Uniform, or camouflage), so they were easy to recognize. People might want to take pictures of them, so they had to make sure someone wasn’t holding a sign or something in the background, so that they didn’t end up on the national news. We didn’t hear of any trouble though. They were able to see the monuments and go through a museum or two.

I’ve never seen so many people in one place. There were two demonstrations being held. #1: “Return to Sanity” and #2: “Keep the Fear” I don’t even know what those things mean, and those people didn’t either because all of the signs we saw had really random and nonsense things on them. The best ones said things like, “I am carrying a sign!” There were many wearing costumes, all different. You’d have thought it was just a Halloween demonstration.

So we had to call all of the soldiers and it took two hours to catch all of them, since they didn’t all have their phones on, and they weren’t all in one group. The meeting place was changed and we were able to pick them up at the new place successfully. It was a challenge because the bus was not allowed to stop in any one place around the monuments for more than 15 minutes or he would have received a huge fine of $1000. They were at the new appointed place and quickly boarded the bus, without one soldier lost.

Next we drove out of the city and away from the traffic. About 6:30 we stopped at Golden Corral for dinner. The church paid for lunch and dinner. We all ate well, and the soldiers were happy to fill their plates numerous times. The manager made an announcement about appreciating our soldiers, and that pleased them. They perked up, smiled and shouted their army “oooOOOh!” (I don't know how to spell it.)

It was a long, stressful, but successful day.

Taking Soldiers to the Temple