What Do We Want Most?

Everyday at the Mormon Battalion Historic Site, the story of the Mormon Battalion, US Army of the West is told.  It is an amazing story of faith, sacrifice, and service. Answering a call to serve for one year in the Mexican-American War, and at the encouragement of their prophet leader, these men, and women, left their loved ones in Iowa and marched nearly 2,000 miles to the Pacific Ocean.    

As we listen to and read their story of faith, sacrifice, and service, we cannot help but see the similarities in our lives.  Although we are not having to endure the physical hardships the Battalion did, we too have exercised faith in sacrificing time away from our home and family to serve a mission in an effort to help bless others.  We too trust that God is mindful of our loved ones and will bless them in ways that we could not, even if we were with them.  

One of the lines in the presentation at the Mormon Battalion is, "We got what we wanted most where we least expected it."  What do we want most?  We want our posterity to know God and feel His love, peace, and guidance in their lives, in their families, and with their fellowmen.  

Unlike the Mormon Battalion our family members can come visit us! And it has been a joy to have them come!  Below is a recap of who has come so far.  We look forward to having more visits! 

Aubrey & Cassidy - June 5-10 -- We picked Aubrey up from the San Diego Airport Wednesday evening and she attended a devotional meeting with us with Ben, Gary, and Aaron from the Church Historical Dept.  On Thursday Aubrey picked up Cassidy from Anaheim where she had been doing some nannying. We enjoyed having Aubrey and Cassie join us for some of our missionary meetings and activities as well as have a tour of the Mormon Battalion.  We enjoyed some beach scenes, Coronado Island and Hotel del Coronado.  Aubrey and Cassie kept busy when we weren't able to be with them.  They rented bikes and rode around Mission Bay.  It was so nice to have them with us! 

Taylor, Kate, Will, Ada, and Nel visited us on May 25th - 29th.   We enjoyed going to an organ concert at the largest outdoor organ amphitheater in Balboa Park on Sunday afternoon and listening to some amazing organ playing.  It was fun to see the family enjoy the tour of the Mormon Battalion.  In fact the children enjoyed it so much they went two more times just by themselves so that all three of them could take turns dressing up as a soldier.  Despite the overcast skies and cooler weather we had a poolside BBQ on Memorial Day and the children swam in the pool and warmed up in the hot tub.  It was worth getting up  early to go to La Jolla Beach during an extra low tide to find sand dollars and clams! Taylor and Kate also took the children and had a great time at Sea World.  

 

 

On May 12th we received a text message from Don asking us what we were doing about 11a.m. our time.  Assuming he wanted to FaceTime we told him we were available.  He replied with, "A little face time is exactly what I have in mind." and proceeded to tell us that he had a cyber security conference in San Fransisco he was attending.  He changed his return flight home to have a layover in San Diego with just enough time to stop by for a short visit and a hug.  Such a great surprise and much appreciated boost to our spirits. Exactly the "something we wanted most"!  About one hour later we were driving him back to the airport to catch his flight.  

With David and Jessica living the closest to us they said they would come and see us more often.  Their first visit was just the two of them on an anniversary get-a-away May 3-6.  It was so nice to have them come and use our place as their home base as they went out doing activities together and returning in the evening to play games with us.  

Just about seven weeks after starting our mission at the Mormon Battalion Historical Site Dallin, Whitlie, Brynlee, and Clayton were our first family members to come see us.  (March 30th - April 4th.)  We were still pretty "green" and blown away with our schedule, so I'm afraid we weren't very relaxed or a lot of fun, but we did enjoy having them with us.  Bryn and Clay were real "troopers" on Easter Sunday attending both our Church meeting and then a special private Easter service at the Battalion with our missionaries.  That was a lot of sitting still for me, let alone them!  Dallin and Whitlie made it a fun Easter for them by hiding their Easter basket in our small apartment with the announcement of a surprise trip to Disneyland.  So they were able to take part of their vacation time with us and go to the "happiest place on earth."   Swimming in our pool, seeing the seals at La Jolla beach, and visiting the Midway aircraft carrier were a few other things we did together.  

So, what do we want or like most? To see our family!  

Selfless Service = Love

"How do you know, love, and serve God?  How do you prove that you love Him?  In the family, the father proves his love by all that he does for his children, for his wife.  We prove our love for Jesus by what we do, by who we are.” (Mother Teresa)

Besides giving tours at the he Mormon Battalion Historic Site seven days a week the sister missionaries also give service around San Diego.  One of the services that they do is to clean the public parking lot across the street from battalion historic site.  They do this every Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday mornings by cleaning up all the trash and emptying the large barrel garbage containers.  You can imagine how dirty and disgusting it can be to do this service. On the most part our sisters heroically do it without grumbling. 

Since cleaning and yard work are things Stan likes to do and is naturally good at, he eagerly jumped right in and joined the sisters in this service, and it didn't take him long to expand it to weeding and trimming trees too.  The sisters come from 7-7:30 but Stan goes from about 6:45 - 7:45.  Besides giving him a bit of exercise in the out-of-doors, it's satisfying and even therapeutic. An added benefit is that he meets some of the neighbors out walking, is able to strike up a conversation with them and makes new friends.   All things he loves doing.

Stan anticipated, before we even arrived in San Diego, that he would be helping in the parking lot, so he had brought his old pruners and gloves from home. Noticing the condition of the pruners and Stan's enjoyment of pruning, Elder Bob Ottley bought him new pruners with a holster to hold them in and presented him with a "concealed pruners" card.  Maybe this contributed to his exuberance on Saturday, May 11th when he went to cut a branch off a tree, he misjudged the force of his thrust and the distance between clippers and branch and sliced his hand open.  

With his left hand hurt and his right hand trying to stop the bleeding it was tricky trying to get into the car.  A homeless man must have been watching, knew Stan was hurt, and came over to the car to try and help open the door for him; a very touching jester.  You can imagine my surprise when Stan walked into the apartment with blood on his clothes and bloody napkins wrapped around his hand. He knew it was going to need stitches, but we had a meeting we needed to be at.  So, he cleaned up, and we wrapped up his hand and went to the meeting.  After giving a very stirring message about the importance of the words we use, we drove to an emergency care center in La Jolla to get the stitches.  One of the PA's on duty was a member of the Church and noticed his missionary tag and requested to tend Stan's hand.  Of course, they made connections and a picture was taken of his new friend.   

As most of us know, it isn't always easy or without pain, but we can come to know and love God when we loose ourselves in selfless service to others.  

He had 5 stitches which have healed up very nicely.

Sister Anderson and Sister Stoddard 

Sister Azpeitia & Sister Polanco

(Stan carries this in his wallet.)

Flag Day at the Mormon Battalion

 
A Flag Day ceremony has been a tradition at the Mormon Battalion Historic Site for the past eleven years.  Under the direction and expertise of the Public Affairs Committee of the San Diego Stake Stan conducted the ceremonies on Saturday, June 15th at the Battalion.  Besides conducting he gave a talk and told a little bit about the lives and service of four veterans. 'These veterans were SGT Timothy Allen Woodruff of the US Army, MCPO Ray Flores, US Navy (retired), MSG Carlos Ignot, US Army (retired), and LTC Susan D. Simpson Inot, US Army (retired).  Their service and dedication exemplify the highest ideals of sacrifice and service, and as a gesture symbolizing gratitude and respect, they were each inducted as honorary members of the Mormon Battalion.  

Patriotism is a noble characteristic for all citizens to aspire to.  It involves an awareness and willingness to act for the benefit of all. We are grateful for the men and women who are willing to serve all of us by serving in one of the branches of our military forces.  We are all blessed by the men and women who are not only willing to serve, potentially sacrifice their very lives, and who also exemplify the qualities of faith, sacrifice, and service.  These qualities of character are so needed in our nation and world today. Developing them is something we can all do, and when we do, we are also exemplifying our patriotism as citizens.  

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#RealMissionaries

Who is a missionary?  According to the 1828 Noah Webster's Dictionary a "missionary" is one who "propagates religion," which means, someone who cultivates and carries from place to place, by word and example, the word of God.  Thus, a parent, a teacher, a colleague, as well as those serving as a service missionary, a temple missionary, a historic site missionary, or a missionary in the proselyting field are all missionaries.  Really, any person striving to make and keep covenants is a missionary by their very example of word and deed.   

Unfortunately, too many sister missionaries serving at the Mormon Battalion Historic Site find themselves battling the feeling that they aren't real missionaries.  These thoughts creep in when the historic site mission leaders pictures are not on their mission portals. The thoughts are nurtured when they go to the MTC and the Historic Site Mission Leaders are not up on the wall for sisters to point at and say there are my historic site mission leaders. The feeling that they don't start their real mission until they are in the proselyting field continues when they receive welcoming and preparing letters from their future proselyting fields that don't acknowledge they have been out in the field serving already.  But I think the hardest one is when people say to a historic site sister missionary, "So, when do you go on your real mission?" or "Where is your real mission going to be?" 

Sister Chan, from Hong Kong, came to the MBHS in late November 2023 and left us in mid May to finish her missionary service in the Hawaii Laie Mission.  During the six months she was with us she gave 304 tours with people from 20 different states and 21 different countries.  She gave away 54 copies of the Book of Mormon to visitors who showed an interest in having a copy.  Thirty-seven of those were in Chinese, 11 in English, 2 in Thai, 1 in French, and 1 in Vietnamese.  Sister Chan was and still is an amazing missionary! 

Sister Logo-Vaelua, from American Samoa, came the same time as Sister Chan and is now serving in the California Anaheim Mission.  She did not share with me how many copies of the Book of Mormon she gave away to interested people, but she did share that she gave 270 tours to 1,910 individuals from 46 different states and 39 different countries.  Anaheim is receiving a powerhouse of a missionary!

Sister Christensen, from Bluffdale, Utah, leaves to serve in the Hawaii Honolulu mission the end of June.  I asked her to share her Battalion stats with me last week.  Up until May 30th she had given 220 tours to 1,705 individuals from 32 different states and 31 different countries.  This quiet and humble sister will impact people in Honolulu for good. 

Now as much as these numbers are impressive and fun to recite, we know that "The real success is not measured on a chart--it is [what is etched in a missionary's] heart and in the hearts of those whose hearts have been eternally changed because of [her]." ("To a Missionary Son," Elder Neuenschander, 1991)

Not only do the sisters at the Mormon Battalion Historic Site serve a 4-5 hour shift at the Battalion seven days a weeks they also give service in the community, study their scriptures and PMG, attend meetings, and open their mouths in teaching and testifying like all other missionaries.  Before every tour they stop and pray and often continue a prayer in their hearts throughout their tours.  I have heard them excitingly and often reverently sharing an experience they had with an individual, friends, or family where they felt the undeniable guidance from the Spirit to say or not say certain things.  Of course that doesn't happen everyday for every sister.  But everyday someone is experiencing it in some way.  When a tourist asks questions or shows interest they are able to respond, and they feel like a "real" missionary engaging in a gospel conversation.  Naturally, they absolutely relish in the spirit of it! 

It isn't easy serving mainly in one rather small building and saying the same historical story over and over every day for six months, so I think the Lord sends us sisters He knows can handle the challenge and learn from it too.  I think one of the greatest things they learn is to trust the Lord (Proverbs 3:5-6) He knows them and these people.  They are in His hands.  When they walk in the door for a tour, He knows their hearts, their needs, their dreams, their hopes. And He knows how an experience at the MBHS can help them.  God is working through these young women to help gather Israel.  They are most certainly "real missionaries"!

(The pictures below are of Sister Logo-Vaelua, Sister Chan, Sister Christensen, Sister Hernandez, and Sister Pope.  All six were are departing sisters in May.  The last picture is (L/R) Sister Polanco, Sister Azpeitia, and Sister Christensen.)

    

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