I am a Mormon

We have had zone conferences going on for the last week or so, and one more coming up.  At the zone conferences the missionaries were able to watch “Meet the Mormons”, a full length film that comes to theaters Oct. 10.  Here is what it says on meetthemormons.com:

Meet the Mormons examines the very diverse lives of six devout members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Filmed on location and across the globe, Meet the Mormons takes viewers on a journey into the day-to-day realities of individuals living in the U.S., Costa Rica, Nepal and beyond. From their individual passions to their daily struggles, each story paints a picture as rich and unique as the next while challenging the stereotypes that surround the Mormon faith.

The Sisters loved seeing it.  We are working during the middle of every zone conference so we will wait to see it.  The Battalion is supposed to get it sooner or later.  We look forward to being able to watch it.

It looks good.  Here is the trailer:

Last night was the semi-annual General Women’s meeting broadcast for all women, young women and girls eight years of age and older.  Here is the broadcast:

 Next weekend is General Conference!  We really love hearing from a prophet of God.  And all of the other wonderful speakers, too.  It strengthens us and uplifts us.  You can watch on tv or on lds.org or at your local LDS church.  There are sessions on Saturday and Sunday, October 4^th and 5^th.  You won’t be sorry!  It will be some of the best time you have ever spent. Here is an invitation for you.

We are showing it in the theater at the Battalion.  Because we will be working during parts of conference, we will catch what we have missed online.  We are so glad we can do that.

 

The temple has been closed for the last two weeks for the semi-annual maintenance.  We still go to the grounds for our shift to answer questions and talk to people.  They do deep cleaning and this time they replaced all of the chairs.

Lots and lots of boxes of chair parts waiting to be installed.

The people who install the chairs came to the Battalion last week and asked about church schedules.  They needed a ward with an afternoon schedule.  I gave them the information about the closest one and told them I’d see them there since that is the ward we attend.  We ended up sitting right next to them.  We chatted a bit and found out they live in an even smaller town than Midway and just over US route 40 from us!  They install chairs in many temples.  The company that makes the chairs they install does not make the unusual chairs wanted for the new Provo City Center temple so they won’t be working on that one, but they did bid on and got the job at the Rome temple!  So cool.  They were very nice and I’d love to see them again when we get home.

This was the cool view I had from the front desk at the Battalion the other night.  It was dark outside so the lighting is weird, but I liked the sliver moon and watched it until it was out of sight.

These people passed by the Battalion this morning.

Today you meet talented Sister Cazares, originally from Mexico and now from Salt Lake.  She went to SLCC and is a CNA.  She LOVES to sing and dance.  She also loves working on cars!  She is not afraid to get her hands dirty.  Her dad is a mechanic and so it is in her genes.

Her brother is also on a mission now.  He is serving in Boise, ID.  They share miracles and blessings with each other.  Both of their parents were missionaries and were good examples to them.  Sister Cazares loves being a missionary and being able to serve at the Mormon Battalion.

Old Town

Look what we saw in the sky this week!

The Mormon Battalion Historic Site is part of San Diego’s Old Town.  Old Town is known as the Birthplace of California.  Old Town consists of the Historic State Park and a lot of shops, museum and restaurants.  I think the Mormon Battalion is the best museum there.  I might be biased, though. 

Can you see Craig waving from the rocking chair in front?

There are many, many special events that go on in Old Town all year long.  Many times both the Sister missionaries and the Elders help out at special events.  Twice a week, two Sisters go clean the Courthouse in the State Park.  The Battalion showed the local Californios how to make fired brick and built the first Courthouse from them.  Here is the reconstructed Courthouse.

And here is a sign in the courthouse about the Battalion.

Old Town is a fun place to go.

The flag is on Presidio Hill, where the Battalion was stationed.  There is a statue of a Battalion soldier and some plaques about the Battalion there.

Craig and our Director at the Wells Fargo museum in Old Town.

View of Old Town from the Battalion Tower.

Transfers were on Tuesday.  We had one Sister go home and no new ones from the MTC, so Sister Brown was called back from full pross to fill the hole.  The traffic was really bad the day of transfers and Sister Schmitt, the Mission President’s wife never made it to the transfer meeting.  So President Schmitt stood on the stairs with the rest of us for the pictures.  He is the only one wearing a regular suit.  During the transfer meeting, I gave the tour to the 5 new Sisters and 16 new Elders in the California San Diego Mission.  They were delightful.  

Already time again to inspect the cars during zone conference.  We heard the President got the award for the cleanest car.

Senior missionaries checking cars.

This is what the missionaries get if their cars aren't as clean as the President's car.

 At the Battalion we have quite a few books about the Mormon Battalion.  I am into the second of two volumes of Historical Fiction about the Battalion.  The other day I got a call from a man wanting to talk to the Director, who was not in.  As I was taking the message, he gave me his last name and I asked if he was related to the author of those books.  He IS the author of those books, Sherman Fleek!  We had a delightful conversation for about 45 minutes.  He asked what characters I liked, what I thought about specific characters, and how I liked the format of the books and then he told me some stories about who some of the characters were based on.  He also told me a story from his own life that was inspiration for a pivotal part of the first book that even his own wife didn’t know!  I was happy to hear there will be 7 more books in the series, although the one I am currently reading is the last one with the Mormon Battalion.  Time marches on and the Battalion’s enlistment comes to an end.

A Sister had me take a picture of the phone with Sherman Fleek's name and the book next to it during our conversation.  Cool!

Today you get to meet our whistling Sister, Sister Lehmitz from Wyoming.  She is the champion at waving and greeting people.  She stands in front of the Battalion waving at everyone that passes by and whistles while she works.  She is good!  She attended the University of Wyoming before her mission.  She loves language.  While she was called English speaking, she has also learned the tour in Spanish and that has come in very handy.  She wants to learn the tour in Mandarin and just this week she was learning a few signs in American Sign Language. 

She likes to read, ride bikes, cook and bake and eat.  She loves giving tours and gives a lot of them!  She is thankful Sister Rasmussen fixed her skirt and blouse so they can be worn again.  (The skirt and blouse is the coolest costume and in San Diego September is summer!)

Sisters!!!

This week we had an End of Summer barbecue at the Battalion.  Some Sisters were on shift and still had tours to give, but they came in as they could and had some dinner.  All of the senior couples brought the food.  Craig grilled hamburgers and hot dogs.  MMMMmm  Sister Romero is leaving for home on Tuesday and so there was a little program for her, too.  It was a fun evening.

Sister Romero getting her end-of-mission binder from Sister Rasmussen.

We think the Sisters are the very best part of our Mission.  They are all different and they are all wonderful.  We thought you might like to see them at work around the Battalion.

They stand outside and wave and tell people what we do at the Mormon Battalion Historic Site.

Of course, they give the tours.

They take souvenir pictures of our guests.

They show people how to pan for gold.

This picture is the picture on the Mormon Battalion Facebook page.  Go and like us here!

Sometimes after the last tour of the evening, the Sisters who are done with their tours study and read scriptures.

They input information on the computers.

 

They chat with each other during their meal breaks.

They always have fun.

I have a screen of everything the security cameras see.  I was looking at all of the feeds one day and saw two Sisters waving right at the camera.  I hurried and got out my camera and got these blurry pictures of the screen.  (Sorry!  I was in a hurry!)  The Sisters then began to dance!  How cute is this?

Then I could tell the instant their guests came down the stairs from the tower where they were looking out over Old Town.  I laughed and laughed.  They made my day.

Yesterday, Elder Cecil O Samuelson of the First Quorum of the Seventy came through on a tour just as we came on shift.  Craig and I both wish we had seen him!  You may not know that my dear nephew was involved in selling these tee shirts and they gave one to President Samuelson when he was president of BYU.

Today you get to meet sweet Sister Huang from Taiwan.  She speaks Japanese, English, Tagalog, Mandarin and wishes she knew Spanish.  She lived in the Philippines for 2 years.

She is the first missionary in her family and she is sassy!  She loves to eat, watch movies (when she is not on a mission) and go on tours.  She could be a professional at hiding and scaring people.  She is a good missionary and makes me laugh.  One Sister described her as a firecracker!  That is a perfect description.