Our Soldiers

A couple of weeks ago we got the sweetest oppurtunity to go onto Fort Campbell Army Base with some recent converts to the Church. These recent converts happen to be the Thompsons and I LOVE the Thompsons! They were baptized into the Clarksville 3rd ward last month, and are some of the coolest people that I have ever met. We were invited to go onto post with Sister Thompson and to go see what Brother Thompson does every day of his life. We got to the hangar and he showed us around. He showed us the helicopter engine and how it works. He showed us how the rotors work and what the helicopter is made of. He showed us the different weapon systems on each bird, and he even let us sit in them and he showed us how to control it.

This was probably one of the coolest things that I have done as a missionary. I got to see how a copter works, spend time with people that I love, and I had some time to think. As I stood in the hangar and looked out at the airfield I couldn't help but think of all of our soldiers fighting for our freedom on a daily basis. I couldn't help but think of the sacrifices that our servicemen and women are making, especially within their own families. I couldn't help but think of all the hard times that each soldier has to go thru out in the field. Emotionally. Spiritually. Physically. As I missionary we go thru some things as well. Homesickness. Tried testimonies. People attacking our religion left and right. I guess you can say that we are soldiers in God's Army. But we aren't getting shot at on a daily basis. (Well...at least that's what I tell my Mama. What she doesn't know won't hurt, right?) We don't have the threat of getting bombed day and night. We don't have to worry about potentially losing our life every day when we wake up. Our soldiers go thru everything that we go thru, PLUS the physical threat too. I thought about some of the soldiers in the Book of Mormon and in Alma 43:47 it tells us what they fought for: themselves, their lands, their country, their rights, their families, and their religion. Isn't that exactly what our modern-day soldiers are fighting for today? It is. And I have the upmost respect for these soldiers. I'm so grateful that I get this chance to serve a mission right here next to Fort Campbell and that I get to bring them the hope that comes from restored gospel of Jesus Christ. Being here in Clarksville has taught me about sacrifice. Sacrifice on many levels, but especially on the level of what our soldiers are willing to sacrifice for our freedom. For MY freedom. With the 4th of July coming up I hope all of us can celebrate our nation's birth, but let us all remember our soldiers who are diligently fighting for us everyday.

I Stand All Amazed....and our soldiers and what they sacrifice for all of us.