CANCELLED CHURCH!

    The storm that flooded California, Nevada, and Arizona is now in the East in the form of snow.  I just went out and measured 12 1/4 inches so far and it is supposed to keep snowing a few more hours.  Church was cancelled, so we didn't have to get out on the road.  People do not know how to drive in weather like this so the roads are really dangerous.  It is nice to stay home where it is warm and cozy and watch the snow fall.  Next week it is supposed to be in the 50's.  This is an interesting winter.

    We just watched some people making a snowman.  They made a large mound of snow, about 3-4 feet high, then carved the snowman "ball" shape into it before adding twigs for arms.  I've never seen anyone make a snowman with that method.   Do the people out here not know how to roll balls and stack them?  Hmmm.

We made a snow lizard on our car.

Did the geese come for a nice skating spree on our lake?

MISSION CONFERENCE

     Yesterday we spent a wonderful day at a Virginia Richmond Mission Conference.  There were lots of musical numbers by various missionaries, and even the Mission President and his family.  We were taught some great truths by President Perry and his 2 "Assistants to the President".  It was all very sweet and spiritual.  When it started, the assistant who conducted told us that throughout the day we would laugh, and cry, and feel The Spirit.  It was all true.  We were fed a wonderful meal by the Stake Relief Society ladies, and our spirits were fed too.
     One of the lighter moments was when it was announced that the next musical number would be by the Virginia Beach District, singing "O Holy Night".  So they all stood where they were, in the congregation and grabbed their hymn books.  The pianist had a funny look on his face, and the announcer realized he had made a mistake.  He got back up and said, "Oops! Wrong district!  The Chesapeake District will now sing for us."  The Virginia Beach district looked visibly relieved and sat down.  The Chesapeake District then went up to the front and sang the song that they had practiced. The really funny thing was that the Virginia Beach District was going to do it.  They were all looking in the hymn book for the song, but it's not in there.  We laughed about that one for the rest of the day.
     The senior missionaries (at a fun senior missionary Family Home Evening activity) had put together some stockings for the younger Sisters and Elders so we were able to present those at the end of the conference.  It was fun.  The stockings, goodies and gifts had been gathered by the Relief Societies all over the mission.  I'm sure we got some of them wrong too.  Some Elder is going to find some pink fuzzy socks in the bottom of his stocking and some Sister will undoubtedly find some nice black dress socks.  Oh well.  We did the best we could.
     When we were stuffing all those black dress socks into the stockings for the Elders, I couldn't help but think, "It's too bad that I don't have time to write 'sock notes' for all of them."  When my kids went on missions, they found little personal notes in their socks.  It was a fun thing for me to do, to let them know that they were loved.  There were a few  Christmas stockings from one ward that did have notes written by Primary children.  Too bad all the wards didn't think of it. 
     We plan to have one set of Elders over for dinner tomorrow evening on Christmas.  That should be fun.

Flooding?

     It is interesting to read of FLOOD WARNINGS in our hometown in Nevada.  Six years ago we were evacuated from our home but were fortunate to not have any damage to our house.  The flood went through our yard and our shed, but sandbags at the basement windows kept the water out of the house.  We can read of the warnings but can't do anything about it except wonder.  Will the worst happen, or will it all wash downstream this time?  100% chance of rain in Caliente is pretty rare, but that's what the weather reports say for the next couple days. 
     Here in Yorktown today it felt quite nice in the 40s, warmed up from the 20s and 30s that we've had this past week. There is still a little snow on the ground in the shadows.  The lake looks almost thawed out.  We'll see what the rest of December brings, along with Christmas.
     We feel almost lazy this week because our soldiers are all gone home for Christmas.  The base clears out for a couple weeks for a "block leave" they call "Exodus".  We attended a regular ward on Sunday because we had no one to teach.  It felt weird not taking lunch to church with us.
     It was cool to be in attendance in this regular ward.  They sustained a new member of the bishopric.  It just happened to be our friend Seth Holloway, that we knew from Caliente.  Sherri said it was like having family in the ward with us sitting there in the congregation.  It sure felt like home to us.  How fun to raise a hand to sustain someone that you know and love.   The world gets smaller all the time.

Snow in Virginia

Here's our frozen lake with a layer of snow on top.  32 degrees here is a lot colder than 32 in Nevada, especially when the wind is blowing!

A Disappointing Day

     A few weeks ago one of the chaplains told us that a meeting was held and it was decided that the Protestant Group which meets before us in the Chapel Annex would hold a lunch for the soldiers at 11:00 on Dec. 12, and wanted to know if our group would like to join them.  Our services are scheduled for that building from 11:00 to 1:00.  Since it didn't appear that we had any choice, we graciously accepted the invitation to be included and asked what we could do to help.  They said they'd let us know.
     A couple weeks later we asked what we needed to do and they said the committee was going shopping the next day, and they would let us know.
     Last week we came early and ran into one of the ladies on the committee and asked what we could bring or do.  She said it was all planned but, um, would we like to bring a dessert?  So I said that we would.  We said that we had announced it to our soldiers and planned to attend.
     So we reminded our soldiers to all come at 11:00 today for the lunch.  We didn't know how long it would last, or take to clean up, so we would hold a short sacrament meeting afterwards, if it worked out, with Elder Elkins as the speaker. 
     So we arrived shortly before 11:00 today and when we walked in, we were dismayed to see that the dinner was pretty much over and they were starting to clean up!  A couple people said, "We thought you were coming, where were you?"  We stated that we had been told that the lunch was going to be at 11:00 so that is what we told our men, and planned on.  (Who has a turkey and ham dinner and finishes by 11:00am anyway?!!)
     So a few of our soldiers and the full-time elders showed up after us, and we scraped together enough left-overs to feed them.  It was embarrasing and disappointing.  A couple of the people apologized but I was pretty unhappy with the whole situation. 
     It is kind of typical of the treatment we get from some of the people on the base.  I know they didn't tell us the wrong time on purpose, but they sure didn't go out of their way to include us in any plans, after announcing that they were using our time slot!
     I'm almost over it now, almost calmed down.
     Next time I will double check everything. 

Missionary Mail

Here are a couple examples of the mail that missionaries receive and love.

Working with the Chaplains

See the pretty trees around "our lake".

Our Christmas tree and a bear, of course.  :)

     This past couple weeks have been very challenging.  In an effort to try and give the LDS soldiers a nice Thanksgiving Day, we tried to arrange a nice day for those who didn't have the opportunity to go home.  Some did go home, but many can't afford to fly home at Thanksgiving, and then a month later for Christmas.  (The weather was bad for flying that week anyway.)
     We tried to arrange for some of the soldiers to go to homes of LDS memers for the day.  So we asked for permission to do this.  One person told us that it would be better to use families of service members that live on the base so that we wouldn't have to worry about how to get them to the homes.  Then we were told that was not allowed, because it would be "fraternizing" if these soldiers ended up in an officer's home.  So we then pursued finding non-military families off post.  We were told that we could do that if we gave the names of the families so that background checks could be done on the heads of families.  But they would not be able to be picked up by the family because none of these soldiers in training are allowed to ride in a POV (privately owned vehicle).  They could hire a taxi, for $20 one-way, but not get in anyone's car. 
     Well, we didn't have enough time for these background checks, and the transportation was a problem.  So we thought we would have a dinner at the church in town.  The only reasonable way to get them to the church is to have someone with a military drivers license volunteer to drive an army van.  The person who sometimes does this for us was unavailable for Thanksgiving, due to family travel plans.
     So we thought OK, our last resort is to have a dinner on post, in the building that we use for church services.  Travel would not be an issue because the soldiers could walk to it.  So we formally asked for permission to use the building that day.
     After the request passed from one person to another, it ended up on the head chaplain's desk.  He called us and formally denied our request.  He said that since all chaplains would be off duty that day, he couldn't allow us to use that building and have an event there, "in case something happened, and a chaplain was needed".  So we gave up. 
     Next year we will start earlier if we decide to pursue the "Adopt A Soldier" program.  The thing is that we want our soldiers to go to LDS homes so that they can relax in an acceptable atmosphere - not to just any home that might volunteer. 
     This week we got a call about a problem in the Chapel Annex that we use.  The furnace broke and it was thought to be dangeous to use because of a gas leak.  We were pleased to note that the chaplains had already arranged for another place for us to hold our meetings.  We felt that they were being very helpful and we appreciated their efforts.  Later we got another call saying that the building has been cleared and that we can use it after all.  It was a good week though, knowing that they do want to help us carry out our purposes.

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

Our Back Yard

This lake is right behind our apartment.  It is a beautiful view each time we walk to our door on the side of the building.

Our Apartment

OUR FIRST WEEK IN VIRGINIA

The first few days in Yorktown were spent setting up our apartment. Elder and Sister DeLaney gave us some kitchen items, 2 chairs, an old recliner, a folding table, dresser, and a king-sized bed. They will be giving us a few more things when they leave on Nov. 18. We also bought some end tables, desk, night stands and lamps from thrift stores. Thrift stores here are plentiful but the prices are about double what we are used to seeing at Deseret Industries in the West. It is interesting to set up a home without any of our own things, since we came out here in our Buick, and didn’t have room for much more than our clothes, Bryan’s computer, and some books.

We stayed the first 2 nights at the home of Buddy and Lu Lord. He is the third counselor in the Newport News 2nd Ward Bishopric assigned to Fort Eustis and is the presiding authority in our meetings. He can conduct interviews and priesthood advancements. They have a lovely (immaculate) home and have been wonderful. He even found a desk and dresser on the side of the road and picked them up for us.

Our apartment is on the bottom floor of a nice complex, Clairmont, in Yorktown. In the back yard there is a beautiful lake, which makes a pleasant view each time we walk to our door, since our entrance is on the side. We got a 2 bedroom place because the DeLaneys said that their one bedroom place was too small. So we have plenty of room, especially since we don’t have much furniture and other “stuff”. We are glad that we got ground level though, because there will be a lot of hauling of materials and food bins to our meetings. We use the 2nd bedroom as an office.

We were given a television. We weren’t going to worry about getting one, but the DeLaneys told us that we need to keep up to date on the news and watch the weather warnings so that we can be safe and also alert the full time elders of any dangers. (They don’t watch any TV) This is a hurricane area and this week we even had a tornado warning in our county. It turned out OK, but the local channel was adamant about the possible danger for a couple hours. We got a lot of rain, but that was all.

Sunday we attended services at Fort Eustis. There were about 6 soldiers, plus Brother Lord, the DeLaneys, us, and Brother Benoit, the assistant group leader. Bryan will be the Group Leader when the DeLaneys leave. The full time elders also came for Sacrament Meeting. There will normally be 2 to 25 soldiers in attendance.

The first meeting is a combined Relief Society/Priesthood for 30 minutes. (I haven’t met any female soldiers yet, but they could show up at any time) A soldier taught the lesson. Next is a ten minute break, then sacrament meeting for 45 minutes. Two soldiers bless the sacrament, another one passes the sacrament. A soldier gave the talk. Some Sundays we will have High Council speakers or other guests. The soldiers usually wear their uniforms, so that helps to get their names right, since they are written right there on the pocket.

I was really touched by the lesson and talk given by the soldiers. It gave me a better understanding and testimony of why we are needed here. Military life is so harsh and stressful, it is a blessing for them to be able to attend meetings with other members and feel the Spirit. I’m so glad that they have this program and that we can be part of it.

The soldiers here are in the second phase of their military careers. They have completed basic training and are now in AIT, advanced individual training. They specialize in helicopter maintenance and repair. They are here from 6 to 30 weeks and do not leave the base during their training, without special permission. That’s why we hold services on the base, because they can’t attend wards in town. Some are just out of high school. Some are returned missionaries, and some are college graduates. They are married or single, but they are not living with their families here. A few have brought the family and housed them outside of the base and can see them once in a while. They feel alone and stressed here and are glad for a chance to mingle with church members and feel the Spirit.

We learned that the Military Relations Mission was established in 2002. Before that time 10-15% of members who joined the military remained active in the church. Now, with the help of this program, 50% remain active. Our official job is called “Activation and Retention” and we do not generally get involved with proselyting. Since we have non-members in attendance sometimes, the full-time elders do the teaching for anyone interested.

On Mondays we attend “In Processing”. This is the day that all of the new soldiers who have come in that week are briefed, taught the rules, given their jobs and assignments, and fill out all kinds of forms. We have about 1 minute to introduce ourselves as “representatives of the LDS Church” and invite any members or anyone who wishes to be associated with the church to fill out a form. We get their phone numbers and a little information so that we can contact them and invite to meetings and activities. Sometimes we will receive an email from missionaries at basic training, telling of some that will be coming to our base. In our introduction we do not use the word “missionary”, nor do we wear our name tags, since proselyting is not allowed on the base, and that would seem to send the message that we are looking for converts. We do however, wear our name tags when we conduct services on Sunday, in the Chapel Annex.

On Tuesday we hold two Family Home Evening sessions in the morning and one in the evening for any soldiers who wish to attend. We have a short lesson, then games, refreshments, and visiting. The morning sessions are not well attended, but are offered because of the various class schedules.

Friday we attended 2 graduation ceremonies. Three LDS service members graduated this week. We take pictures and mail them a copy. It is nice for us to be there, since families aren’t usually able to attend.

So our first week was filled with gaining a wonderful testimony of our mission here. We are desperately needed for these service members to have contact with the church, a blessed relief from the stress of military life and worldly influences. Since Bryan is retired military, and we both have military ID cards, we can get on the base daily without hassle, which would be impossible for other people. What a great thing to know that we have been training for this mission all of our lives.

WEST VIRGINIA

As we're driving in the mountains we often have to stop,
If we don't pay at toll booths we'll get stopped by a cop.
Toll roads have a ransom we are required to pay,
We have already paid at three toll booths today.

Nevada lets the gamblers pay to pave the street,
A plan that I agree with and think is kinda neat.
I think I'll tell them next time, "A brilliant thought just struck...
Replace toll booths with slots, and let me try my luck."

ILLINOIS

(Or taking wrong turns)

We took a road to Illinois but found us in Missouri.
We turned around & finally crossed the mighty Mississippi.

We found Nauvoo then followed signs to "Joseph Smith Historic Site"
We walked around & looked at things but thought "Things just aren't right."
About then we both realized what we had failed to guess--
"Community of Christ" it said, (Ah yes--RLDS!)

We finally found the temple and felt much better there,
Magnificent and lovely and flowers trimmed with care.
A peaceful confirmation of why we're going east
A testimony to the truth, a missionary feast.