We got 5 new soldiers today at In-Processing. That is more than our usual 2 or 3, so we are excited. It is always really fun to get to know these men. One said that he has been inactive from the church for 8 years and is "deciding whether to get active or not". We hope that we can help in that decision. Another one said, "My week just doesn't feel complete unless I go to church." (Cool!)
Yesterday one of our newly activated soldiers walked in the door to church and in walked another soldier right behind him with the same name on his uniform. That surprised us. The first one said, "This is a new soldier who just got here yesterday, and he is my cousin!" What fun to have his cousin join him at the same base. We also found out that this cousin has been inactive so we were happy to have him in attendance.
It is so interesting to see how some soldiers join the army to get away from the church, then we meet those who have been inactive for a while and are finding the church again by joining the army. What a privilege to help these men in their search for happiness.
Your last comment was very interesting. I'm glad you get to be there to help those that are deciding to come back to church.
ReplyDeleteSisters' Conferences are fun! I don't remember ever doing exercise on my mission at a conference, but I did get to play a lot of soccer, and even a little tennis with my mission president, ha ha. You didn't say though--how did the yoga go for you? Don't worry, I probably already know (about as well as it would for me--not great!).
ReplyDeleteGood luck with all of your fellowshipping efforts! It will be interesting to get to know those new people. Thanks for letting us know about them. I love to hear their stories.
Notice, there are lots of sisters in the picture, even some senior sisters. There was another brother in the lobby with me, he is the husband of the sister from Norfolk. The Gardners are serving the Naval Base in Norfolk and a couple of smaller places near there. Both of us drove the 60+ miles to Richmond to be there for the "sisters conference." We were specifically invited NOT to attend. Now, we'll see if there's a "brothers conference" to make up for it.
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