Hail and Farewell

In the military there is a party called "Hail and Farewell" where an outgoing person is honored and incoming people are welcomed.  This usually happens with heads of departments and other officers.  Today we attended the farewell party for Chaplain B - chaplain for the 1/222 (triple deuce) battalion.  He is the chaplain over the soldiers that we serve plus about 1500 more, so you could say that we take part of his load off by serving some of the soldiers for which he is responsible.

As we walked into the restaurant back room where the party was being held I was dismayed to see that the room was full of men in uniform and not a single other female.  I wondered if I should really be there but thought, "I am just as much a missionary as my husband and we were invited".  I began thinking--what if this is a male party where they start telling bad jokes and things I don't want to be around?  Then I realized:  "I'm in a room with 20 chaplains!  Ah ha ha ha ha ha!!!

Yes, they told jokes, but they were the cleanest kind you could hear.  One chaplain was telling a story and wouldn't even say the name of a restaurant with a "colorful" reputation in his story.  They were a happy bunch and the dinner and conversation was delightful.  After a while Chaplain B's wife and little daughter showed up, so it was OK for females anyway.

 

Battalion Chaplain B who is on his way to Germany and Chaplain B who is the Garrison Chaplain over the Battalion Chaplains (arrived about 6 months ago).

Hail (welcome) also to Elder D about 6 weeks ago and Farewell to Elder S who transferred to Chesapeak yesterday.  He was a "greenie" here and is now going to his second area.  Missionaries who serve here usually leave kicking and screaming.  They love Newport News Stake and the soldiers. Elder D will finish his mission here and be on his way home in just a few weeks. How wonderful it is to know these fine young men. 

Aren't we just the luckiest missionaries in the world?

Planning Week

I just want to say that I am a little crazy this week because we are planning for our next DC trip on Saturday. When we start I am always afraid that we won't get enough soldiers to make the trip worthwhile, then it changes to hoping that everyone doesn't show up because there are too many on the list.  We have 50 seats on the bus.  Today we had 52 names.  Then we got some calls and information that added 3 names and dropped 2.  Ahhhh!  That is still too many.  We don't want to have to turn anyone away.  There are always some who don't show, but we never know which ones those will be.  One trip we had 12 soldiers show up who hadn't even signed up! 

It always works out but I'm sure I'll lose my mind worrying till it is over and another successful trip is accomplished.  We also take lunch with us so preparing for that is a challenge.  We take the fixings for sub sandwiches, drinks, and cookies for 50 people, packed in coolers.  If I could arrange for the weather, I'd be working on that too.  Actually I guess I have been - praying that is.  The prediction changed from rain to partly cloudy.  That is better.  It will be a little cold, but their uniforms are pretty warm so they will be fine.  We will have 4 children on the trip this time.  Hopefully they will be OK.

This little trick-or-treater was reluctant to get too close.  We only had about 20 all night.  Not a real big activity in our complex.

These are our new neighbors.  They did a little trick-or-treating too.  Daddy is a Navy man so you can see he has the military haircut.

Interesting and Fun

On the way to Norfolk there's a bridge that we pass over and enjoy the seagull perched on each light.

See, a seagull for each light.  Sometimes they share but usually have their own individual lights. 

The HRBT (Hampton Roads Bridge Tunnel) is an interesting bridge that goes UNDER the River!  Ships actually pass OVER the tunnel and it is huge!

Our chapel recently got a portable baptismal font!  The chaplain even said we could use it if we needed to.  :)  We would probably go to the stake center but that is a nice invitation.  That little round thing is a heater for the water.

It is filled with a hose connection and drained from the same hose.  

Elder S is showing how the person doing the baptizing stands on the outside and the lucky person climbs in (nice matching portable wooden stairs), first standing, then sits down in the water on this built-in bench.  Then the baptizer lays the person down in the water.

The chaplain actually used this font last week and told us that it still has a few kinks to be worked out.  When he laid the person down, the seat was so slippery that he slipped off the seat and down further into the water so the chaplain had to pull him up. 

I guess they'll have to install some of those bathtub butterflies for traction.

Brother B, who recently returned from Afghanistan said that they would have LOVED to have something like this to use over there.

A common sight around the base is a "company" of soldiers.  These are preparing for or just returning from PT. (Physical Training).  They wear this outfit for all physical activities in the summer and also wear them to bed for "jammies".  They are often awakened at all hours of the night for inspections or formations, so they have to be dressed for immediate action.

This is an interesting sight that we don't see too often in our "Christian services" building.  This Jewish soldier has an army styled yarmulke (or yamaka, kipot, kpppah, or bencher). He has been attending the Protestant service held right before our meeting.

Isn't this an interesting name for a church? We haven't been inside so we just call it "The Swimming Pool Church" since it looks like a gym more than a church at least from the outside.

The following pictures are mushrooms that spring up everywhere after a wet and humid summer.  The gardeners routinely remove them but they are kind of cool to see for a few days.

We have to remember to take pictures of the interesting and new things that we see so that we can keep enjoying them after we leave this wonderland.

Let me count the ways...

We started out the week with a soldier who blessed the sacrament for the first time, ever.  He has been recently reactivated and already held the Priesthood but just needed the opportunity and encouragement.  What a sweet experience. He has been very faithful here at Ft. Eustis.

Some previous Ft. Eustis Senior missionaries (the Adamsons) came to the area and stayed with Brother & Sister Lord.  They attended our meeting last week and were pleased to see how things were running since they left 2 1/2 years ago.  We were invited over to the Lords' home along with some other friends for pie and visiting.  Brother Lord entertained us with some magic tricks.  We are still laughing.

These soldier dinners probably look the same to the readers of this blog, but they are all different and very dear to us.  Each picture has different soldiers with different stories.  Let me tell you about some. 

Soldier F is going home this week because he could not pass his PT tests. (Physical Training)  He did fine with the academic course work, but without passing the physical tests (running fast enough) he is getting "chaptered" out.  He is considering serving a mission and will be speaking with his bishop when he gets home.  He has been leading the music in our meetings. We will miss him.

Soldier N is a faithful member who has been newly activated after joining the Army.  It is interesting how often this happens, and so wonderful.  He is hoping to pass his PT test this week then graduate.

Soldier X was activated as a young man by a friend who cared enough to keep inviting him to church.  He serves as an assistant to the Group Leader, Elder Elkins. He misses his wife and baby. He can't resist the brownies at our Family Home Evenings.

Soldier K is a returned missionary soldier who is getting married in the temple in December when he finishes his training at Ft. Eustis. He is our faithful sacrament coordinator on Sundays.

Soldier O is graduating this week and moving on to his new assignment.  He is the only soldier that we have known who bought "church clothes" to wear because he didn't feel good about coming to church in his uniform or jeans and tee-shirt.

Soldier Z is newly activated in the church and attends faithfully.  He misses his wife and daughter and gets a sweet smile on his face when talking about his little girl.

Soldier T is an RM and is serving as an assistant to Elder Elkins.  He is fun to play games with at Family Home Evening - says his family likes games too. Sounds like our own family! He is so helpful and nice to be around.

Elder D is one of the full time Elders assigned to our group.  He and his companion, Elder S take turns attending (we pick him up at the ward building) because the ward and our group meet at the same time. The Elders enjoy the games at our Family Home Evenings also. (lots of laughing out loud)

Soldier C arrived recently from Idaho.  He plans to begin his mission papers when he goes home for Christmas. (He is National Guard so he'll be able to leave for 2 years after graduating here.)

Soldier S is our most faithful non-member.  He has been attending regularly since he arrived at Ft. Eustis in June. He loves to learn about Jesus and soaks it in like a sponge. He never goes to sleep in the meetings - even general conference. He sometimes says the closing prayer.

Soldier F is new here.  He will be getting baptized by his father-in-law when he goes home for Christmas.  His wife is a member of the Church.

Can you see why we love every one of these people?

Oh Happy Day!

   Six months ago we expressed the desire to have internet in the chapel annex where we hold our Sunday meetings.  We were told that it would be possible and certainly would be working before General Conference rolled around again in October. For six months we've hoped and prayed and requested that internet hook-up.  In September a big screen TV was installed, but no internet.  This week we were wondering if it would ever happen, especially when the chaplain said that he has been requesting internet in the building for years and didn't expect it to happen while he is here.
   Sometimes the Lord puts special people in our lives to help move his work along. We have a chaplain assistant who has been extremely helpful to our cause.  He pushed the right people and pulled the right strings and was successful in getting the internet hooked up on Thursday. We will be forever grateful for his determination.  Because of the internet connection we were able to provide live general conference for our soldiers on base for the first time. 

   In the past, the only way to allow the soldiers to watch conference was to arrange for an Army van and an Army driver (preferably LDS) and take some of the soldiers off base to the stake center.  The driver who has served faithfully in that capacity was transferred out of the area in July.  Only a few soldiers could get the pass necessary to make the trip on Saturday and/or Sunday and be away from the base for such a long time.  Also, a meal would have to be served to them in between sessions. Last conference we had 5 soldiers on Saturday and the same 5 on Sunday.

Elder Elkins had to constantly monitor the internet connection.  It wasn't always a smooth stream but if he kept his finger on the mouse and moved it a little every few seconds, we didn't get too many glitches. 

   We did arrange for a driver and a van just in case the internet connection didn't happen in time.  However, he called on Friday saying that he would be unable to drive this week after all because of military obligations out of town!
   We didn't know if we'd get much participation on a Saturday for our own little conference broadcast, but 14 soldiers attended the first session and 8 attended the second. We were thrilled!  They were able to return to their barracks or check in with their company or just stretch out and take a nap on the benches between sessions.  We provided sandwich fixings, cookies, and snacks which were gratefully consumed as only soldiers can.

   For the Priesthood session, we were sad to tell the soldiers that our van driver had cancelled and it was too late to locate and get another driver approved.  Five of the soldiers were able to get the proper passes and jointly hired a taxi to get them to the stake center.  (Army regulations will not allow us to transport the soldiers in our car for this type of thing.)  So a few of them got there anyway.
   On Sunday 19 soldiers attended the first session and 14 returned for the second session.  What a blessing to have the internet available for these soldiers! And what a great conference.  We had one non-member who attended a session on Saturday and another who attended both sessions on Sunday.
   Between sessions Elder Elkins conducted a little official business.  As authorized by the Stake President, and Bishop, we sustained two assistants to the Group Leader (Elder Elkins) of the Fort Eustis Servicemen's Group.  Then Soldier T and Soldier X were set apart.  Our new bishopric requested that we use soldiers for assistants now instead of retired military people like we've had in the past.  The reason is to train these men to be leaders and give them experience in leadership.  It will be a great program, challenging because of the constant turn-over, but still great. (Our AIT soldiers are here for 8 weeks to 6 months)

   Then the newly sustained assistants and Elder Elkins ordained Soldier P to the Aaronic Priesthood.  He was baptized in January just before joining the Army, but when he came to us had not received the Priesthood.  We were able to arrange for his interview and get authorization for the ordination.  He loves the gospel and is planning to be married in the temple in the Spring.  He will prepare to receive the Melchizedek Priesthood at his next duty station.

   Two blessings were given to soldiers this week-end also.  Soldier K for help with his final testing this week and help getting medical and dental requirements taken care of so that he can submit mission papers.  Soldier Z needed help dealing with a tragedy in his wife's family. We arranged for Soldier N to be interviewed to prepare for his Patriarchal Blessing. He has been inactive for years and now that he is getting back into activity, greatly desires that blessing. 

   What a great week it has been! 

The Chaplain called us!

     Monday was a busy day even though it was a holiday (Labor Day).  Many of our soldiers had left for the 4-day weekend. In the morning we picked up Soldier M from the Newport News airport, then took him around to some apartments to find a place for his family to live. (Some of our soldiers have training for 6 months, so they can move the family to the area if desired - even though they themselves still stay in the barracks most of the time.)  He was successful in securing a place that had a fence for the 3 kids and a dog only a few minutes drive from the base.

     In the afternoon we drove to the Norfolk airport (1 hour away) to get Soldier K.  After a couple calls and 1 1/2 hours of flight delays we were finally able to pick him up.  The poor man had been travelling all day from California and had a major headache. I knew how he felt because flying makes me sick too.  We finally got him delivered back to the base.

     At 10PM we drove back to Norfolk to get Soldier L.  His wife gave birth to twins the previous week so he was happy to go home for a few days.  We didn't know if he would be depressed for having to leave his wife and babies, but he was very happy to have been home. His flight finally came in at 11:30PM.

     We fell into bed just after 1AM, having missed the Senior Missionary Couples dinner earlier that evening.  Most of the missionaries have P-Day on Monday, but we take our breaks when we can get them and Monday isn't usually that day!

     Tuesday we had to be on base early for In-Processing which is usually on Monday, but was delayed because of the holiday.  We received 8 new LDS soldiers from the group.  Normally we get 1 to 4, so eight at once is a fun surprise.  All of these new soldiers are 18 years old, just out of High School.  They are so young!  We really pray that they will choose to attend church and make their army life much easier.

     Next was our mid-day Family Home Evening.  We usually bring sandwich fixings and share with the full-time Elders while we wait to see if any soldiers show up.  This FHE session is not as well attended as the evening session. We had been too rushed to bring food so we took the Elders to the food court at the PX (Post Exchange or base "mall") to buy some lunch. As we were preparing to leave with our take-out lunch a female soldier walked up to us with a big smile. "I haven't seen missionaries on the base for years!" she said. Obviously she was an inactive member.  Elder R took down her contact information and will follow up because she said, "Call me!"  We decided that was why we needed to be there that morning. 

     I am glad that I took this picture of our chapel a few months ago because the look is changing.  The cross has been removed and will be displayed someplace else instead of the front of the chapel.  The chaplain assistant has always been worried about it offending us, since we don't display the cross, but we have assured him that it is not offensive to us at all, since we do honor and remember the crucifixion.  The reason it has been removed is because of the large 60 inch screen TV that will be installed.  Those curtains will also be removed. I guess the drum set will stay since the Protestants use those for their service.  We are really excited that they are working to get an internet connection so that we can watch general conference in this building instead of transporting soldiers to the stake center.  Hopefully it will be more convenient and available for the soldiers - and ready in a couple weeks as promised.
     Wednesday we got a call from the battalion chaplain.  He said that he met with a soldier who should meet and counsel with US.  Imagine that!  We met with the soldier the next day.
     Soldier W is an inactive church member who has been at Ft. Eustis for nearly 2 years trying to complete his training.  He and a couple battle buddies became particularly close. The plan was for the 3 friends to go to Germany together for their next duty assignment. Through a series of test failures and medical problems, he did not graduate with his friends.  The two friends moved on and he stayed behind. Recently he learned that those friends were killed in an automobile accident in Germany.  He certainly would have been with them if he had succeeded in his training.  He was trying to figure out what God had in mind for him through all of this.  He had been raised in the church but at some point fell away.  He was one of those soldiers who did not identify himself as a member, so we were not aware of him on the base. 

     Elder Elkins gave him a blessing which told him how much his Father in Heaven loves him.  He seems like a really nice young man who is at a turning point.  He can choose to come back now and have some real peace in his life.  We hope that is what he will choose. We invited him with all of the energy and love that we could offer.  At his request I called his parents that evening.  They have been praying for him and love him very much.  There must be reasons for him to be here, and he is trying to figure it out.
    Soldier N is one who has recently come back into activity and has been attending faithfully.  By requesting his records we learned that he is a Priest.  He wasn't sure what Priesthood he had been given before he fell away.  He will now have the opportunity to use that Priesthood as the other soldiers guide him. His great desire is to receive his Patriarchal Blessing.  Because of the changing of leadership in the ward, we have been unable to get him an interview.  We had hoped for this Sunday, at Stake Conference but he will be in FTX (Field Training Exercises) and that makes it impossible for him to attend conference.  He only has a few weeks left here. Ahhh...the challenges of Army life at Fort Eustis.
     This morning we attended the graduation that was supposed to be for one of our dear soldiers.  He has been trying to pass his PT (Physical Training) tests, getting closer, but ultimately failing each time. Since he was not in attendance at the graduation we knew that he had failed once again.  He has such a tender heart it is sad to see him not be able to succeed.  His instructors must have felt the same way about him, since they have given him extra tries.  We don't know yet whether they will give him one more try or if they are processing him out of the army this time.  He volunteered to lead the music in our meetings for the past few months and we will miss him terribly.  The army is not the right place for everyone.
     Zone Meeting today made it a good day for feeling the Spirit.  Our young Elders and Sisters are so wonderful.  It has been a busy week and we will not get much rest till after Stake Conference on Sunday.  We had to find a new driver for the church van to transport soldiers to the Stake Center. (Brother D got transferred to Hawaii!)  Hopefully that will work out along with the meal and everything involved.
      Keep praying for us.  It does help.

Hurricane Irene - A Slight Inconvenience

Calm before the storm, a nice sunset and trees over the pond the night before Hurricane Irene arrived.

One of the drains on our apartment building.  You can see that it is putting down a LOT of water.  We got somewhere around 12 inches of rain in 24 hours.

The level of the drainage "lake" behind our apartment rose 5-6 feet during the storm.  The edge of the water is normally on the other side of those trees.  It could have gone up a few more feet before we would have been in danger of getting flooded.

In the afternoon the windows in the study began to spring leaks. We soaked up the steady rain with towels around the windows. Evidently the seal wasn’t adequate for this kind of torrential rain. We changed the towels often and wrung them out as they got soaked. We were grateful that I had thought to remove all papers and a small filing cabinet away from that side of the room, away from the windows, and also that we had decided to stay home. The carpet would have been very soggy and in need of being replaced, not to mention the mold which is a problem in this area. Eventually one window in the bedroom sprang a leak as well, but not till the rain had slowed down quite a bit.

This crawdad walked across the lawn and visited our patio.  I guess he was evacuating from the pond out back.

This was the landscape pretty much everywhere along with lots of branches and a few trees down.

Our power quit at 1:00pm on Saturday and came back on at 4:00pm on Monday.  We stayed away from the roads for 2 days because people don't know what do to without traffic lights and there were many accidents. We were disappointed that our land-line telephone quit working a few hours after the power went off.  We thought that would keep working and found out that the current technology only supplies battery power for a few hours.  Even the cell phones didn't work.  We were able to finally get a couple text messages out to let people know that we were  OK.

The entrance to our apartment complex is usually immaculate.  It took a few days to get back to normal.

This is just one small branch that broke off. All roads were lined with broken trees and branches.

On the army post, this used to be a covered area (gazebo) where the soldiers could get out of the sun when they were outside doing field exercises.  The tree that took it out is lying there.

Some of the smaller trees had problems too.

The top broke off of this poor tree.

On Sunday all church services were cancelled in the area.  We were encouraged to go out and help our neighbors with chainsaws and tools.  Since we didn't have any of those things we went outside at our complex with some bags and began picking up pinecones, branches, and debris.  One young couple saw us and asked if they could help.  We filled 6 bags in 30 minutes.

     Hurricane Irene wasn’t as fierce as expected, but it still took out enough trees to leave over 7 million homes without power along the east coast. The prediction was for a category 2 or 3 to hit our area but it was mostly a category 1 with gusts that would measure a cat. 2. We had prayed for safety and also that the hurricane would be turned away from the land. It was definitely moderated from what it could have been. The Mission President moved all of the young missionaries to the Richmond area to keep them out of the direct hit.  Richmond got as much wind and rain as we did here. We were given the choice whether to relocate or stay in our apartment for the storm. We opted to stay since we weren’t in a mandatory evacuation zone. We never felt panic or promptings to leave the area. We would have had to leave Thursday or Friday because once the storm began on Saturday, many roads were closed because of flooding and other major roads were clogged with traffic. We did know that we would likely lose power, and that came true. We had a full gas tank, batteries, flashlights, water and food. Fortunately it wasn't winter so we didn't have to worry about getting cold.  It did get hot though, without air conditioning.
     We went to Costco to print the graduation pictures on Friday and were amazed at the feeling of panic in the air as people grabbed armloads of batteries, bread, cases of water, and other provisions. I thought to myself, “Where have these people been? Haven’t they been aware of this hurricane for several days? Don’t they LIVE in a hurricane prone area?”  I heard one news reporter saying that she was in Walmart buying water and saw a lady put her hand over her ears and exclaim, “I just can’t deal with this!”                       IF YE ARE PREPARED YE SHALL NOT FEAR.
     We felt blessed during and after the hurricane.  We were a little inconvenienced by the loss of power, but knew that it could have been much worse.  We also missed meeting with the soldiers on Sunday because all services were cancelled on the base.  Our poor chapel building had some roof leaks and seriously needs repair. (They knew this long before the hurricane.) 

     We continue to pray for those up the coast who have been devastated much more than our inconvenience.

Earthquakes, Hurricanes and Snakes?

     On Tuesday we were in a Zone Conference at the Denbigh Chapel.  During the last discussion by President Perry the benches began to shake.  We looked around to see what somebody was doing to cause the benches to shake and realized that nobody was doing it.  We looked up and saw the chandeliers swinging.  We all realized together that we were in the middle of an earthquake.  About the time we began wondering if we should be worried and go outside, the shaking died down.  We didn't yet know whether the quake was local or really big somewhere else.  We later found that it was in  Virginia, closer to DC.  Some buildings had damage, including the DC Temple, but nobody was injured that I heard of.
     Now we are gearing up for Hurricane Irene.  It is supposed to come through here on Saturday and be quite severe.  We have been receiving instructions from our Zone and District Leaders in the mission.  First we were told to put a 72 hour kit with water in our car, fill the gas tank, put the phone charger in the car, and stand by for more information.  Later we were told that gas was being rationed, in fact some places were out of regular, and that the freeway was already at a standstill.  We are still more than 24 hours away from the hurricane in our area.  Fortunately we filled the tank this morning, before everyone got the same idea.
     I went outside to remove the patio furniture so it wouldn't blow around in the hurricane.  There was a snake in the corner staking out a secure place before the storm starts.  Elder Elkins said, "It's just a garter snake."  I said, "JUST a snake?  Just a snake? It's a snake and that's disgusting enough!"

     OK, he can have that corner, I won't challenge that, but when the storm is over, if he is still there, he'll have to go.  That's my patio.  I wonder if a snake would fly through the air in a hurricane.  hmmm.