EASTER -- A TIME TO CELEBRATE THE GRAND MIRACLE

Some Easter thoughts 

When we served at the Hill Cumorah Visitor Center (10/2018-3/2020), I gained a greater knowledge and appreciation for this Christus statue by Bertel Thorvaldsen. In 1820, the same year God the Father and His Son, Jesus Christ, appeared to Joseph Smith, God inspired Thorvaldsen, a Danish artist, to create a unique Christus statue.  At a time when most renditions of Christ portrayed Christ suffering on the cross Bertel is inspired to portray a living Christ who gained victory over death and, with arms wide open, invites all to come unto Him.  Only the wound marks in his hands and feet testify of the indescribable agony He endured to save all mankind. ("A Living Witness of the Living Christ," by Bishop Gerald Causse, Liahona, May 2020) 

I think that because C.S. Lewis’s spiritual search for truth took him on a journey from his childhood belief in God, to atheism, to agnosticism, to theism, and then finally to belief in Jesus Christ as the Son of God, he was able to articulate key distinctions between Christianity and other religions. In an essay entitled ‘The Grand Miracle,’ He observed that "if one takes away the miracles attributed to Buddhism, there would be ‘no loss’ to the religion.  If all miracles were eliminated from Islam, nothing essential would be altered.  But it is impossible to do that with Christianity.  The Christian story is precisely the story of one grand miracle, the Christian assertion that Christ came into human nature, descended into His own universe, and rose again, bringing Nature up with Him is precisely one great miracle. If you take that away, there is nothing specifically Christian left.”(C.S. Lewis (1898–1963) was a British writer, literary scholar, and lay theologian -  cslewisinstitute.org). 

We have been invited to celebrate Easter as our greatest Christian festival.  "Take Christmas away, and in biblical terms [we] lose two chapters at the front of Matthew and Luke, nothing else. Take Easter away, and [we] don’t have a New Testament; [we] don’t have a Christianity.” (N. T. Wright, Surprised by Hope: Rethinking Heaven, the Resurrection, and the Mission of the Church (2008), 256

TENDER MERCIES ARE REAL

The following are some thoughts from March 3, 2024

I know that Heavenly Father knows who we are and is mindful of our need to learn and grow.  Being the Great Multi-tasker that He is, he uses each of us to help one another on our life’s journey.  Thus, we are all interconnected to each other and to Him. This truth was once more made evident to me again this weekend. 

Serving at the Mormon Battalion has been wonderful, yet it has also been very challenging.  We have been stretched beyond our normal capacities.  Several times in the last few weeks feelings of inadequacy and incompetency have washed over me and threatened to diminish me to a lump of useless worry with thoughts of, “I don’t know what I’m doing. Can I really learn it all and do a good job?”  Each time this has happened my dear friend, Joanne, have come to my mind and rescued me from my despair.   

Joanne and I have been friends for over forty years but have been busy raising our families.  Last year we reconnected and started having lunch dates as couples after temple sessions at the Provo City Temple.  Both Stan and I have thoroughly enjoyed this rekindled friendship.  

On several of our visits Joanne has shared with me a little bit about the debilitating and isolating effects of the anxiety she has had.  Thus, accepting the call to serve as one of the matron’s and now the matron of the Provo City Temple has been an extreme act of faith on her part.  She knows serving in the temple is a blessing, but even after several years of doing so, she still has anxiety episodes which threaten to incapacitate her, and she would rather stay home than go and do all that her calling requires of her.  As she is learning to turn her life and will over to the Lord and trust Him, she is being blessed one day at a time.  He is truly helping her do the things she cannot do on her own.  

Each time I feel myself slipping into incapacitating discouragement Joanne has come to my mind. Thus, thinking of my friend doing difficult things and exercising her faith has helped me stop from slipping into the threatening incapacitating discouragement I feel coming on.  Her story has helped me remember that I too can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.   I believe she came back into my life at this time for a purpose. 

Because I have thought of her so much and am grateful for her example, I had the impression I should send her a text this morning and tell her.  The following was her reply: 

“Oh Shirley! You have no idea how grateful I am that the Lord inspired you to reach out to me!  Just this morning I have been filled with doubts about having to speak at a stake conference. We just learned that it will be in the Marriott Center. That knocked me over. I was just reviewing my message when you texted. Thank you for helping me. The Lord truly does know us doesn’t He!  Thank you, my dear friend,”  

So, when I have my next wave of incompetence wash over me, I will envision my friend being able to stand at the pulpit in the Marriott Center speaking to a congregation of YSA’s for Him and enabled by Him. She told me later, “He held my heart in His hands, so it didn’t race like it does sometimes when I speak.”   He didn’t say earth life would be easy, but He did say He would be there for us, and it would all be worth it — in the end.”

A REAL BIRTHDAY!

Serving a mission requirers sacrifice, and I think one of the hardest sacrifices we face is not being able to participate in family events; especially family events like great grandchildren being born, graduations, plays, concerts, missionary farewells, anniversaries, birthdays, etc.   

Having a birthday on Leap Year is kind of unique and most people tend to remember it and reach out to wish Stan a Happy Birthday.  This year he received about 100 birthday messages through emails, phone calls, phone messages, texting, cards, etc.  He appreciated them all, and it took a while for him to get to them all and respond.  

Yes, he tried hard to respond to each person in some way.  Why?  Well, I think it is  because he is like his father.  Even though Stan's father died when Stan was about five weeks old, Stan has some characteristics that I have noticed in a few of the documents we have of his father.  One of these is that his father cared about people and relationships and made an effort to keep friendships alive -- that is Stan too.  (Another characteristics is Stan's attention to details and liking things a particular way. I believe Bill, his father, was this way as well. And I won't be surprised when we all get to meet "Daddy Bill" someday and see how many characteristics his children have had in common with him.)  

As family we have all become accustom to wishing Stan a "Happy Birthday" on February 28th only to have him reply along the lines of, "Thanks! But it's not my birthday."  So, since we could not be with family for Stan's REAL birthday this year, I decided I would see if the missionaries would like to help celebrate it with us.  Of course, Stan made it very clear to me that he didn't want any kind of party, but by the time he had actually voiced that to me, it was too late. I had already enlisted the help of others to put together a surprise for him.  

With February 29th being an actual day this years, and after 18 days with no breaks, I decided we could make an appearance at the MBHS and then take the rest of the 29th off. I arranged for a us to tour the aircraft carrier, Midway, in San Diego Harbor.  We spent about four hours on the ship and then walked to Sea Port Village to get some lunch. Gratefully, it was a beautiful day for this.  (It had been cloudy and rainy.) As we walked to Sea Port, a street musician started playing the clear, beautiful notes of "Happy Birthday" on his trumpet.  What are the odds!? It was enjoyable to stop and visit with him and find out that he always makes sure to play "Happy Birthday" on February 29th. He said someone usually comes along with that birthday.  

After lunch I casually suggested we go back to MBHS to see one of our new sisters, Sister Azpeita, give us the last tour of the day; 4:15.  While we were on the tour the sisters set up the party.  The following pictures of the famous "Kissing" statue, the Midway, and the surprise party help to capture his birthday memories.

 

Grandchildren birthday art now adorns our frig.

ENRICHMENT THOUGHTS

A Cairn is made by the intentional and mindful placement of stones.  Each one is meant to tell another person someone else has traveled this place and they are on the correct path for reaching their destination.  I like seeing the pattern of how intentionally and mindfully marking the path for another person is an eternal principle for us to follow.  I love the scriptures where I can see God's mindful and intentional help for all mankind.   Truely, He has "marked the path and led the way," (Hymn #195, "How Great the Wisdom and the Love")

As a prophet and speaking for our Savior, President Russell M. Nelson has invited us to “think celestial” a process which requires us to be mindful and intentional in looking for the cairns to following. (Oct. Conf. 2023). 

In an article in the Liahona (March 2023) Elder Dale G. Renlund spoke on the value of recognizing and  following cairns put in place by God.  

Cairn #1 -   Know who we are - "Knowing who we are is a cairn of fundamental importance. Our most important identity is that as children of God, regardless of how else we choose to identify ourselves."

Cairn #2 - Know Heavenly Father's Will - "We learn God’s will for us in the scriptures, from the words of living prophets, and through the whisperings of the Holy Ghost. But we need to desire to be with and commune with God in prayer, as Jesus did. Knowing our true relationship with God, that He is our Father and we are His children, makes prayer natural. . . ."

Cairn #3 - Align our wills with Heavenly Father's will - "We need to conscientiously align our will with the will of our Father in Heaven. Prayer is one of the ways we do so. 'The object of prayer is not to change the will of God' but to help us learn and accept His will."

Cairn#4 - Make and keep covenants with God - "In life, we cannot create our own path and expect God’s promised outcomes. We are free to choose, but we cannot choose the consequences of not following the revealed path. . . ."

Cairn #5 - Endure to the end - "By knowing who He was, knowing and aligning His will with His Father’s, making and keeping covenants with God, and enduring to the end, Jesus Christ “marked the path and led the way” to how we return to our heavenly home. Our task is to follow those cairns. . . ."

We all, but especially women, play a vital role in recognizing and teaching others how God has "marked the path" for us to follow.  The faith and goodness of these young women who serve at the Mormon Battalion Historic Site is inspirational!  I love being around them.  They give me hope for the future.  

SITE TRAININGS

During our very first interviews with the sister missionaries, we learned that they had been challenged to elevate their communication with others by not using some commonly used slang words like “cool,” “awesome”, and “you guys”.   The first time we used these slang words they gasped and told us about the invitation they had received.  Despite being aware of this "rule" we were both surprised with how many times we used these words, and the sisters seemed to delight each time we slipped-up.  Soon they wanted to know if we were going to change this little “rule.”  After giving it some thought, and not wanting to lose what our predecessors had started, we decided to try and build upon it.  We discussed some of the principles behind elevating our speech as well as encouraging them to set their own personal goals and invited them to self-govern in this area.  

Drop a pebble in the water: just a splash, and it is gone; 

But there's half-a-hundred ripples circling on and on and on, 

Spreading, spreading from the center, flowing on out to the sea. 

And there is no way of telling where the end is going to be.

Drop a word of cheer and kindness: just a flash and it is gone;

But there’s half-a-hundred ripples circling on and on and on,

Bearing hope and joy and comfort on each splashing, dashing wave

Till you wouldn’t believe the volume of the one kind word you gave. 

(Part of a poem by James Wm. Foley, Am. Journalist, 1973-2014)

We talked with the sisters about the power of our words, elevating our speech, and the importance of developing our mission language.  We usually think of missionaries serving the Church for 18 months or for two years but in reality, we are each serving a life long earthly mission.  And since we are actually spiritual beings having an earthly experience and not earthly beings trying to have a spiritual experience, we should ask ourselves, “What is our native language, our mission language?”   I believe God, as our Father, speaks the language of love. And He conveys his love to us by the power of the Holy Spirit. Thus, love is our native language and should be our mission language. 

GROWTH IS UNCOMFORTABLE

It has been said that “Education is learning what you didn’t even know you didn’t know.” (Daniel J. Boorstin, 1914-2004, Am. Historian)

Enjoying the San Diego weather and loving who we serve with is the easy part of our mission.  The challenge is the sharp learning curve we have had with learning all the mechanics of running the historical site smoothly.  From learning new computer programs, to learning the events we have responsibility in or for, to meeting new people and remembering who they are and what they do, etc., our brains feel like they might explode, and we drop into bed weary each night and hope we can sleep. Gratefully, there is some balance.  Along with the mental growth our hearts are being enlarged to include an abundance of new and wonderful human beings who make it all worth it.  

Both Stan and I are good at organizing so despite the fact that we feel discombobulated most of the time, the need to feel and be organized each day is a driving factor keeping us going.  Recently, while putting away some brochures, Stan found a quiet space that needed organizing, and it became not just a job to be done put was actually a comfort task because he knew he knew how to do it and could do it. 

"Organize yourselves; prepare every needful things; and establish a house, 

even a house of prayer, a house of fasting, a house of faith, a house of learning, 

a house of glory, a houses of order, a house of God" (D&C 88:119). 

 

FIRST TRANSFER -DEPARTURES & ARRIVALS (AIRPORT RUNS)

“There are friends, and there is family, 

and then there are friends that become like family.” (Unknown) 

We like this sculpture at the San Diego airport, 

but the sisters we see depart and the new ones arriving 

are much more than the ordinary crowd of people.

Before the end of our first four days, we learned to say, “Hello” and “Goodbye” to five great, young missionaries: Sisters, Wieland, Smedley, Trembly, Tsou and Wood.  And the following week, Sisters Sapon and Lozano. Scheduled early morning flights to their various proselyting missions requires some sacrificing of sleep get to the airport on time.  Everyone’s heart strings are stretched as sisters leave this  place and friends they have come to love.  And for some it is their very first time of flying alone.  

 

      

 

One of the many things our STL’s do for us is help with the departures and arrivals at the airport. The arriving sisters usually come all as one group in the late afternoon.  Our STL’s Sister Hernandez and Sister Logo-Vaelua know how everything all works so they are our extra brains, hands, and feet.  (They also enjoy showing their unity by sometimes dressing a like.) We greeted the new Sisters; Sister Allen, Sister Anderson, Sister Azpeitia, Sister Ballstaedt, and Sister Hancock on February 22, 2024.

   

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A TIME OF GROWTH

 Just as the promise of new life is contained snuggly within tiny seeds lying dormant in the ground awaiting Spring’s signal to release all their beauty and purpose, there are seeds in each of us waiting the time and place to be nurtured and burst forth into new and purposeful growth.

Our Arrival & Welcome:  After arriving at our apartment we unloaded the contents of our car and went to the Mormon Battalion Historic Site for a welcome dinner and social. When we walked in the door, we were greeted by the missionaries smiling and singing the following song they had put together. After introductions and dinner we were given our special “Tour” by the STL’s (Sister Training Leaders, Sister Smedley and Sister Hernandez . And Stan, President Kauffman, was enlisted into the Mormon Battalion.  (Sister Logo-Vaelua replaced Sister Smedley as an STL.)

Welcome Song:

Welcome, welcome, to the Kauffman's.  We're so happy you are here.

Welcome, welcome, to the MoBat. This is your home for the next two years

We have heard you two are amazing, Serving the Lord so faithfully.

Now we get to ser-ve with you two. Here at the MoBat in San Diego.

Welcome, welcome, to the MoBat. We’re so happy you are here.

Thank you fo-r leaving Utah. To come out west to ser-ve with us.

                                

WHY A MORMON BATTALION HISTORIC SITE?

 After the martyrdom of the Prophet Joseph Smith and his brother, Hyrum, in June of 1844 tensions with members of the Church and their neighbors continued to escalate. The leadership of the Church sent representatives to ask the United States government for help in protecting their rights as citizens, but upon receiving no relief the Saints soon concluded they must leave their beautiful city, and they began making plans to move west. With escalating tensions, they were compelled to begin their exodus from Nauvoo in February 1946.  Due to difficult weather, it took four arduous months of travel for the first company of Saints to cross Iowa and reach the Missouri River.  The shortage of supplies necessitated they establish temporary camps along the way which they named Garden Grove and Mount Pisgah. 

With very little trust in the United States government’s interest in their well-being, it came as a great surprise for a government official, Captain James Allen, to seek them out in their Iowa camps requesting 500 men enlist into military service for the United States. They were being enlisted to fight in the newly declared war with Mexico. The men were hesitant to sign up until their prophet leader, Brigham Young, said the opportunity was an answer to prayer.  Thus, these men and their families, acting in faith, sacrificed both being with their loved ones and as well  as giving up part of their soldier’s pay in order to help raise the funds  necessary to outfit and expedite the western exodus of their fellow saints.   

The Mormon Battalion Historic Site was built to tell the story of the Battalion and their marching from Council Bluff to California, a distance of approximately 2,000 miles.  I will tell more about their contributions to California in forth coming journal entries.  (Mormon Battalion Statue in Yuma, AZ.)
 

TRAINING & TRAVEL

 

We received inspirational and instructive training in Salt Lake City February 6th-9th.  The focus of our training seminar was on the “heart” or purposes and messages of our historical site mission and not so much on the “head” or logistics of the day-to-day running of the sites. We are grateful our mission to the historical sites in Palmyra (2018-2020) had given us some experience with "interpretive" historic presentations, which is how the story of the Mormon Battalion is presented. 

On February 10th we enjoyed a beautiful and familiar drive to Arizona to visit with family for the weekend.  We enjoyed staying with David and Jessica's family (Addilyn, Kate, Garrett, and Benjamin) and visiting with Tanya and Ron Cannon, (Stan's sister and husband) as well as visiting with Stan's brother, Bill, and sister-in-law, Connie. On Monday, February 12th we drove across southern Arizona to San Diego, California.  We stopped in Yuma to visit our friends, Mike and Jeanine Jarvis.  We couldn't help think about the Mormon Battalion taking months to cross this barren landscape that we crossed in a matter of a few hours.  (We are grateful for modern transportation!) 

PREPARING TO LEAVE OUR HOME, FAMILY, AND FRIENDS

In response to a call to serve God we temporally stepped out of our comfort zone and left behind our beautiful home, our loving family, and our kind friends. For us, leaving these things behind for two years is a small cost to pay for our many blessings. So much good can come from increasing our life's experiences and enlarging our circle of friends.  Each day we feel our hearts expanding with love for new acquaintances. 

We had five months from the time we received our call to serve to the time to left for San Diego.  We enjoyed spending time with family and preparing to leave our home.  The following are just a few pictures from the last couple of weeks before we left for California.

                  

Stan, helping to get our home ready to leave.  Meeting Cassidy at her work to say good-bye.

             

Enjoying lunch with Taylor and Kate's family (Will, Ada, and Nel) and staying with Dallin, Whitlie, Brynlee, and Clay after we were out of our home were treasured times for us.  

The Bangerter family drove from New Mexico to listen to us speak and spend a few more hours together. (Adam, Lindsey, Alina, Anna, Page, Sydney, Sarah, Jane, and Addy

A mother couldn't ask for more caring and helpful daughters. (Aubrey & Lindsey)

EXPLANATION & BACKGROUND

Now, after some deliberation of just how to communicate what is happening in our lives currently, I have decided to open back up my old BlogSpot, “East Coast Gratitude” and rename it, “East to West Coast Gratitude.”  I will use it as a means of establishing a written record and communicating with those interested in knowing what we are doing.   

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For years we talked of serving missions after Stan retired.  We were living in Elmhurst, NY when he retired in June of 2015 and we moved west and established our new home to Orem, Utah.  After a few years we were ready to serve, and we submitted our mission papers.  These few pictures represent our mission to the New York and Pennsylvania Historic Sites (Oct. 2018 – Mar. 2020).  It was a wonderful opportunity to immerse ourselves in knowing the people and places associated with the history of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and its beginnings.  We feel this mission helped to prepare us for our second mission.  

 

At the end of April of 2023 Stan and I put in our papers to serve. To show our willingness and ability to serve anywhere, we chose eight places around the world that we were willing to serve at, but said we were happy to serve wherever we were needed.  We expected to receive our call within three-four weeks.  When all of May, June, and July went by we wondered what was going on.  Then on August 31st we received a phone call from the secretary for Elder Gerrit W. Gong requesting a Zoom meeting visit with him and Elder Hugo E. Martinez.  That visit resulted in our being asked to serve as site directors for the Mormon Battalion Historic Site in San Diego, California from February 2024-February 2026.  

We would be replacing Brent and Wendy Top who were then serving as the site directors. Since we share three grandchildren with them, we were excited to call and tell them. Being able to communicate with them helped to lay the groundwork necessary for us to begin to understand what lay in-store for us.  In January 2024 we were set apart by Elder Gong and Elder Martinez and received training from the Church History Department in Salt Lake City.  Our training, coupled with the missionaries already serving when we arrived, has allowed us to jump onto the engine of a fast-moving train, take the controls and begin the process of learning on the job.  (And yes! We do have period clothing that we wear on special occasions.) What an adventure! 

      

For the next two years we have a rotation of anywhere between 14-24 young sister missionaries called to serve the first six months of their 18-month mission with us.  We also have three senior couples from outside of California who serve and two service couples who live locally.