Charge!

Friday, May 22, 2014

This week we had a very unique experience. One of the chaplains that we work with on Post is involved in B Troop Cavalry (memorial) which is a commemorative organization on post to recognize and remember the cavalry soldiers at Fort Huachuca for more than 120 years. Thursday, a graduation for three new soldiers into the organization was held and we were invited to attend. It was kind of fun to watch the soldiers in their time period uniforms riding and performing a charge with weapons  blazing. For a moment I thought I was back in the wild west. It was actually quite impressive watching eight mounted cavalrymen charging up the parade field with pistols blazing away and the bugle playing charge! this is the same grassy field from which the soldiers of the 4th Cavalry departed in search of Geronimo

Chaplain McFarland

Here comes the cavalry charge

The charge approaching the crowd

Troops moving into formation following the charge

Three soldiers preparing to receive their spurs in recognition of their graduation into the Cavalry

and his band of warriors back in 1886. I will include a few photos of the ceremony and individuals involved.

Other than the cavalry graduation, it has been a typical but good week. We completed the latest round of apartment inspections in preparation for transfers next week. Institute was fun with our newest member and a couple of her friends. Our numbers are not great but the spirit is.

Saturday, May 24, 2014

Today we attended another baptism in the zone. This month, I believe every missionary in the zone has had a baptism which is pretty amazing compared to just a few months ago. The Lord is really preparing people for these great young missionaries to teach.

Last Sunday we had two new soldiers attend church. One was a young man who has been less active for quite a while.

New soldier who got permission from  his Sgt to have missionaries come be his battle buddy

We were so pleased to see him make the effort, and it is a tremendous effort sometimes to find a battle buddy to come to church with them. It is kind of like telling us that we cannot come to church each week unless we bring an investigator or guest with us. How active would we be?

It is heating up!

Saturday, May 17, 2014

It is heating up! Yes, the weather is getting warmer too. This month our missionaries are on track to have 10 baptisms in the zone. The first few months we were here, there were less than that number over a period of six months. The missionaries that have been serving here the past couple of transfers are outstanding. We have enjoyed meeting with them in zone and district meetings. It is very clear as we listen to them teach, which have been trained and were ready to serve and which ones were less prepared. We have observed one missionary, who by his own admission was not ready to serve when he came out, struggle to become an effective missionary. He has some other issues as well that impact him. We have watched him grow during the past 3 months and he is improving and wants to be an effective missionary. If I can give any counsel to my grandsons and granddaughters who choose to serve, prepare yourselves now! Study the scriptures, become familiar and comfortable with Preach My Gospel and be able to teach from it. It is inspired. Learn to recognize the spirit in your life and understand when it is whispering to you. Accept opportunities to lead and learn how to be obedient. I know that you are all well on your way. We have worked with some powerful missionaries here who were prepared and hit the ground running when they arrived. They have touched many lives including ours.

This week started off really busy for RoLayne. On Mother's Day she spoke in sacrament meeting, played the piano for sacrament and priesthood/relief society, and then fed the soldiers by herself as the other two sisters who usually help were gone. She was ready to relax after church. 

Tuesday, we trained a new lady at the Turnaround Point.  They are hoping to open the facility on Wednesdays in addition to Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday. We had quite a few customers and a lot of donations to sort through.

Wednesday we drove to Wilcox and inspected the St. David zone missionary vehicles. Each month we inspect 13 vehicles between the Sierra Vista and St. David zones. We try to catch them at zone meetings which saves us several hundred miles of driving. The missionaries are scattered all over southern Arizona.

Thursday, our soldier who got married last month, graduated and we were able to attend. He is a great young man and we have grown to love him almost as a son. We also taught institute class. Our newest member was there which pleased us greatly. 

Our soldier receiving his diploma as he graduated

This young man was always positive and smiling. He is a great young man!

The entire class reciting the army creed and singing the army song, very touching.

Group leader and wife on left, assistant group leader in uniform next to graduate, Senior Missionaries on the right

Friday, we drove he and a fellow soldier to Tucson to catch a flight home to Virginia for a week or so before he heads to Korea. He is hoping that his new bride will be able to join him. We have lost seven soldiers through graduation the past month. We were sad as our numbers dwindled. Yesterday we were rewarded as I received notice from Fort Sill that 7 LDS soldiers are coming our way. In addition, there are two from Fort Jackson and two from Fort Leonard Wood. Hopefully, most or all are active.

Today, we attended three different baptisms. The first was a 9 year old convert baptism. The second baptism had a mother and high school age daughter baptized. The daughter had a high school friend baptize her. Afterward, both daughter and mom bore very tender but powerful testimonies about their conversion. The final baptism was for a child in the Huachuca ward. Her father is a counselor in the bishopric and battalion commander on post. One of the Post Chaplains came to the baptism. Afterwards, I gave him a tour of our building and explained our Sunday services. It was nice of him to come and support the commander of the battalion he ministers to.

We hope that you are all well. We would love to hear from you. Please feel free to drop us a note or give us a call. I was really pleased to hear from a dear friend this past week. We are not restricted to mother’s day and Christmas phone calls like the young missionaries. Feel free to call us any time. If we are busy leave a message and we will call you back.

Senior's Conference

Saturday, May 10, 2014

Last Sunday we had a very spiritual Fast and Testimony Meeting. I continue to be amazed at the spirituality that these soldiers are able to maintain in the midst of adverse conditions. We had two new soldiers attend. 

Second Lieutenant from Washington

Soldier from Utah National Guard

They are attending the basic officers course so are Second Lieutenants rather than new soldiers right out of basic training. I think they will add tremendously to the group as they have “been there, done that” and are able to relate and counsel the young soldiers what to expect and to not get discouraged. This is really the only environment that the young soldiers get an opportunity to mingle with regular army folks as opposed to just their drill sergeant. Both the new soldiers are married and have 5 and 4 children respectively so I think that they will be a blessing to the newly married soldiers as well.

Tuesday, we had a senior missionary conference that included all the senior missionaries in the mission. We met at the chapel next to the Gila Valley temple for a couple of hours of instruction, then enjoyed lunch together and attended a temple session. 

Senior Missionaries of the Arizona, Tucson Mission

Senior Missionaries at lunch. Couple on left just arrived, couple on right going home next month

Senior couple that we found with Heningers three generations back in their ancestry

Moment of relaxation and discussion

It was a very enjoyable day. We do not get to mingle much with other senior missionaries other than the Tanners who are in Douglas. It was nice to get to know some of them better. To those who may be considering a senior mission, the church and the leaders are so appreciative and so kind to us. They respect our experience and give us a lot of latitude to live our lives as we serve. It is like moving from the telestial world at least up to a terrestrial and sometimes celestial experience being out here and putting the cares of the world aside.

Wednesday we inspected all the vehicles in our zone, attended the zone training meeting, and had an interview with President Killpack. The zone leaders lead the training and really did a great job.

Thursday we met with the member who is working on getting active again and taught her a lesson about "learning by faith", based on a talk that Elder Bednar gave in 2007 to a CES group of teachers. We also talked about being resiliant in the gospel and overcoming adversity. Elder Bednar's talk is very insightful; I encourage all to read it. 

During our interview with President Killpack, we discussed the two sisters we are working with. It was really amazing; he had met both these sisters and knew their stories. The one we taught this week was baptized the first week he and Sister Killpack were on their mission and they attended her baptism. I was impressed with his memory.

This was a particularly challenging week for the soldiers, they had a PT test as well as a large phase test. As a result they were not able to attend Institute Thursday evening, so I have next week’s lesson already planned. It is starting to warm up here in Sierra Vista, we have hit 90 degrees a couple of times. The wind continues to blow every day. It is still very pleasant in the mornings for our walk, usually sunny and about 60 degrees.

Friday night was spent at the Coffee House activity with the soldiers. We must have had at least 300 soldiers come for the fried chicken. We spent quite a bit of time talking with some of our LDS soldiers, which we always enjoy.

RoLayne has been preparing a talk for Sacrament meeting all week. Since the other two couples are gone this weekend, she has to play the piano in both sacrament meeting and Priesthood/Relief Society and be responsible for all the food for the linger longer after church. I have helped by mostly staying out of the way.    

We are still having a wonderful time. It seems that our family is all doing well so we feel very blessed. We hope that you are doing well and we wish all you mothers a very Happy Mother's Day!

Challenges

Friday, May 02, 2014

About a week ago, I was in the parking lot of a fast food restaurant when approached by a homeless man. He asked if I had some extra change that I could spare. I asked him if he was hungry. He answered yes. I told him that I would be happy to buy him some lunch, he accepted. As we were waiting for the order to be processed, I spoke with him and discovered that he was a member of the church who was born and raised in Bountiful, Utah. As we talked, I told him that he should talk with his bishop who could help him get out of his situation and find work. I suspect that he has other issues beyond living on the streets. We had a nice conversation and he was a pleasant individual. I have since thought about how we have brothers and sisters who are dropping through the cracks because they are not living in a specific ward and are not really contactable. Some are there because they want to be invisible, but some, I think have simply lost hope and see no way out. There are a lot of homeless folks here in Sierra Vista. I suspect one reason is that the weather is such that they can live outside year round and there is a lot of empty space. It is sad and I have pondered often what can I do to assist these folks. I need to see if there is a transient bishop here. Our missionaries do participate regularly with a community group that distributes food to those in need. I have heard good reports from some of the participants in the program, I also talked with the assistant director of the program who spoke very highly of our missionaries and their support.

We had a good training session with our mission president and his wife on Tuesday along with the missionaries of the Sierra Vista Zone and the St. David Zone. Tomorrow we are taking the soldiers to the Mesa Temple, at least those who are able to leave post. It will be interesting to see how many can get approval to go.

 Next Tuesday we will meet with all the other senior missionaries at the chapel next to the Gila Valley Temple for a Senior Missionary Training meeting. Following the training, we will attend a temple session together.

Saturday, May 03, 2014

We got up early this morning to meet soldiers at 6:00AM for our temple trip to the Mesa Temple. Unfortunately, due to one reason or another, none of our soldiers were able to attend so we cancelled the trip. Hopefully, we can find a Saturday that some will be able to go. It is very difficult for these young men and women as the army, or more accurately, some NCO’s like to control every aspect of their lives. It is disappointing that some of these young Sergeants act like the scripture in the Doctrine and Covenants Section 121:39 which says, "We have learned by sad experience that it is the nature and disposition of almost all men, as soon as they get a little authority, as they suppose, they will immediately begin to exercise unrighteous dominion" We had high hopes to take our new convert to the temple to do baptisms for the dead.

One of the things I have noticed is that Satan has a good foothold in the military in general and in the Army specifically. It is a constant challenge for our young people to live their religion. The ones who stay true are solid, but sadly, we see some who find it too difficult and simply fade into the woodwork. We do not have the ability to do an intervention. We are not able to visit their dormitories. The only contact we have is by phone or email, if  they choose to answer. We can only invite and encourage. Sometimes that is just not enough. 

 On the positive side, since the church has started the Military Relations Missionary program, retention has improved dramatically. It is encouraging to know that we do make a difference, but it really hurts to lose any of them.