All Gave Some - Some Gave All

On the surgical floor of the large Army Regional Medical Center at Joint Base Lewis-McChord (JBLM) is a lounge named, "Warrior Lounge."  It is so named for Captain Jennifer Moreno, an Army nurse that worked on this floor, that was killed in action in Afghanistan in 2013.  This plaque in momory and honor of Captain Moreno is on the wall of the entry to the Warrior Lounge.

Greater Love hath no woman than this,
that a woman lay down her life for her friends.
John 15:13
(gender changed)

The story of Captain Jennifer Moreno is one of honor, patriotism, heroism, and love!!!

Captain Moreno became a commissioned officer through the U.S. Army ROTC as a nurse in 2010.  Prior to that she completed the Army Airborne Course (see the parachute wings on the plaque) in 2009.  This is an exceptionally demanding course.  In January 2011, Captain Moreno was assigned to the Madigan Army Medical Center, Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Washington as a Clinical Staff Nurse on a 32-bed medical susrgical unit.

One of her fellow nurses at Madigan was a member of the Lacey First Ward (one of the wards we serve) and knew Captain Moreno very well and has a great love and respect for her - his young children 'adored her' in his words.  He told us that Captain Moreno always had a great desire to make a difference in  people's lives - it was her character to do so.  'There was something about her that made her want more, to give more, to do more,' said Colonel Ramona Fiorey, Madigan Commander.  Consequently, she volunteered for and was selected into the Army Special Operations Command Cultural Support Team (CST) program.  Cultural Support Teams are women volunteer soldiers.  Their primary task is to engage a host nations's female and adolescent population in support of Army Special Operation Forces missions where their interaction with male service members may be deeemed culturally inappropriate.  Jenny had a great desire to make a difference in these women's lives.  She completed the CST course in April 2013, and deployed in June with a 75th Ranger Regiment assult force to Afghanistan as a CST leader.  The 75th Ranger Regiment is an elite, selective, and highly trained Army Special Operations unit.

In Octber 2013 Captain Moreno's assult force was assigned a high priority mission.  They were to kill or capture a known Taliban attack network leader operating in Kandahar Province.  This leader was planning to conduct a high profile attack in Kandahar City with the aims of killing innocent civilians and undermining Afhgan government authlority.

During darkness on 5 October 2013, the assult force moved on the targeted compound.  When the attack started, inhabitants of the compound moved to exit and caused four explosive devices to detonate.  These initial explosions caused eight friendly casualities.  In spite of being exposed to three large explosions at a range of no more than 25 meters, Captain Moreno began treating the assult force wounded soldiers.  This caused her to move about an area that was a known Improvised Explosice Device (IED) belt, which she did with utter disregard for her own life.  She contributed to the safe evacuation of severn wounded members of her assult force.

In the last moments of her life, Captain Moreno heard two orders.  One was a call for help for a soldier wounded in the first blasts.  The other was from the assult force commander for her to stay put lest she hit another IED in the bomb belt.  Captain Moreno chose to help the wounded soldier and struck an IED that caused the fifth explosion that night and that took her life.

A total of 12 explosions occured in the assult.  Four members of the assult force were killed, at least 25 were wounded, and none of the insurgents in the compound were taken alive.  At great expense, these four American lives and the wounded of the assult force disrupted a major attack on Kandahar City that would have resulted in deaths of unknown multitudes of innocent civilians.

Captain Jennifer Moreno was posthumously promoted to captain and awarded the Combat Action Badge, Bronze Star Medal with the valor device, Meritorious Service Medal, Purple Heart, Afghanistan Campaign Medal, and NATO Medal.













Colonel Ramona Fiorey, commander of Madigan Army Medical Center said, "We've lost a superb officer and a caring nurse who served with marked distinction and honor throughout her career."

Lieutenant Colonel Patrick J. Ellis, Commander of 3rd Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment, described Captain Moreno as "a talented member of our team who lost her life while serving her country in one of the most dangerous environments in the world.  Her bravery and self-sacrifice were in keeping with the highest traditions of the 75th Ranger Regiment.  She was making a difference in Afghanistan and that legacy will live on."

The following tribute (which says it all) to Captain Jennifer Moreno was written by her CST commander and friend, Captain Amanda King:

"Jenny Moreno, you had a smile and laugh that could light up any room.  I remember the first time we met at our CST Qual course when we, by a lucky twist of fate, became roommates - you walked in and sheepishly asked me 'Ma'am, what side of the room would you prefer?'  When I asked you to just call me Amanda you immediately transitioned to the relaxed, friendly, warm Jenny we all came to know and love, and I knew that we would be close friends.  You had that effect on people where you just immediately put them at ease, but at the same time, you were a fighter, a 'pitbull trapped in a chihuahua's body.'  The love you had for your family was apparent to everyone around you - we all loved to hear stories from your childhood and see the adorable pictures of your little nephew - Ivan - who shares your same beautiful smile.  You shared that same love you had for your family with everyone around you - which quickly earned you the respect of the Rangers, enablers, and of course your fellow CSTs.  Jenny, you were loved so much in this life.

I have so many amazing memories of you even though I only knew you a few short months.  I'm not alone in this - everyone you ever touched has amazing memories of you - because you left such an incredible impression on everyone you met.  I will always treasure one of the last conversations I had with you - we were laughing and planning our future New Year's antics in Seattle when you had to go, you told me, 'you're my favorite Captain' and I told you, 'you're my favorite Lieutenant.'  Jenny, I wasn't lying.  You always saw the best in others and looked up to them - commenting on how great they were at one thing or another - but really - you are the best of us all, though - and everyone of us looked up to you.  We are better people because of the way you saw us.  You took a litle piece of us with you the day you left, but we got the better trade off because we all now carry a part of you in our hearts.  Your friends will always be with you - even now as Kat takes you home to your family.

In the days since we lost you, I've heard several of your teammates say, 'It should have been me out there, not you Jenny.'  I've even thought this myself - but the truth is it couldn't have happened any other way because none of us posses the courage that you do.  None of us would have done what you did..... running into hell to save your wounded brothers, knowing full well that you probably wouldn't make it back out.  You are a true hero and I know you're up there right now watching over and protecting all of us with that 100 watt smile.  In closing I want to read the quote you hung in our office and lived by every day:

Be strong when you are weak

Be brave when you are scared

Be humble when you are victorious

We all love you Jenny -- the world is a better place because you were in it."

With Dedicated Young Heroes Like This

America is in Good Hands!!

Catching Up

Well, it is now February 13th and I have not posted a new blog in too many months.  Therefore, I am going to try and catch up with some of the more significant happenings in our mission, and there have been many.

September 6, 2014 to January 31, 2014 (this is quit long, but it is clearly one of the choice experiences of our mission and so instructive regarding the power of faith, prayer, and love).

We received a call from one of the JBLM LDS Chaplains on Septermber 6.  He said a mother-in-law of a soldier was trying to get in touch with the military relations missionary couple for the Lacey Stake.  Well, that would be us, so we immediately called her.  She was from Arizona, and  told us her daughter's soldier husband has an extremely demanding work schedule and her daughter was having a horrible day and needed some help.  When I hung up, I told Ilene what had happened.  I then said to Ilene, "do we call and make an appointment or just go over to their home?"  Ilene, as you would expect, said, "let's go right NOW!"  So we went right over.  The young mother came to the door and was on her cell phone.  She talked a bit and then hung up.  She burst into tears and said, "in my prayer this morning, I plead with Heavenly Father that someone would come, and here you are!!"

Her name is Katie McGuire and they have four wonderful children (Abbie -11, Eliza-9, Bowen-5, and Darcie-3).  Her husband Steve is a para-legal specialist for a special operations aviation unit at JBLM.  The parent unit is at another Army Post, so Steve is the only legal person at the Battalion here, and his workload is just over the top.  He often only gets home a time or two a week for a few hours at a time.  Anyway, we visited with Katie and kids for awhile, and gave her a blessing.  She felt much better and we left with the promise that we would check back and see how things are going.

Missionary McGuire kids (L to R, Bowen, Darcie, Abbie, Eliza)

Steve McGuire and Kids

Katie and Kids doing Ginger Bread Houses at Christmas

The finished product!!!!

We did not get very far and Ilene said, "we need to figure out a way to get her and the kids out of the house today to just relax."  As we talked, we decided to call Katie and suggest that we return in the afternoon with a picnic dinner and go to a park and just play.  Katie agreed, so that is what we did.  We were not at the park long before the kids were calling us grandma and grandpa.  Obviously, Ilene and I were thrilled with that.

They are a wonderful active family that we have done a lot of things with in the four months we have known them.  They have had us over for Sunday dinner, we have taken them out to eat twice, and taken them to "Meet the Mormons" movie, and made ginger bread house with them to mention a few.  We were finally able to meet Steve for the first time at Christmas due to his insane schedule.  Bottom line is that we love them dearly and they love us.

Motor cycle ride games in "Meet the Mormons" Theatre foyer.  This was the exciting part
of the day for Bowen - not the movie.  About five minutes into the movie Bowen turned to me and
said with a bit of disgust in his voice, "I though this was a movie!!"

Steve got out of the Army in late December.  We said a temporary good-by to them on New Years eve about 4:00 p.m. when they left for their new home in Lincoln, Nebraska.  We will miss them terribly.  Katie has said more that once, with tears, that we have been such a blessing to them.  It's interesting how that works because we feel they are blessing to us.

The McGuire Halloween kids L to R: Bowen,
Darcie, Abbie, and Eliza

Katie's extended family started an email group to share experiences where they have seen the hand of the Lord in their lives.  Follwing are Katie's comments in an email she sent to her family on December 27, 2014 [italicized words are added by K. Foulger]:

"Our time here in Washington [2 1/2 years] has been challenging for our family. Steve’s job has kept him extremely busy, more than I could’ve imagined or that we could’ve foreseen. With this trial, I have dealt with disappointment, frustration, and loneliness [This speaks volumes because Katie is extremely active in the  Gospel, outgoing and friendly, has amazing friends, and great support from the Ward, yet she experienced all these things because of Steve's job]. I have learned to rely on prayer and I have a sure testimony that our Father in Heaven answers our prayers. The answers come. I have seen answers come to my prayers almost immediately, others as a process or in time, and always in ways that amaze me. I have on numerous occasions witnessed that I am not alone. I have always been aided and uplifted and always answered when I have prayed in faith for help."

"One of these experiences occurred a few months ago. We had recently purchased a new computer. . . .  It was an opportunity for many new blessings:  family history, bank account access, bill payment, helpful information, emailing, lessons for my Young Women’s calling, world cup soccer, netflix, and entertainment for the kids and me. It helped the kids and I not feel so isolated up here."

"At the beginning of football season I had a desire to see a football game. We don’t have any t.v. access and I was hoping to see a game online.  I looked into watching a Husker game and when I went to an ESPN site it looked like it might be possible.  It seemed like after downloading a program called Key Player, I would be able to view a game.  I downloaded it and shortly after a screen came up that I couldn’t close out. . . .   I was completely frustrated!"

"After calming down and saying a prayer, I called my friend who owns a mac computer too. She and her husband came over to look at it.  Her husband was able to close out of the screen. . . .  There were [still] pop-up ads all over. . . .  After my friend left, I went to my room to pray.  I asked Heavenly Father for help. I prayed telling Heavenly Father I had the faith necessary for a miracle if this was His will, thinking maybe He would bless the glitch in my computer to go away.  After my prayer, I went back into the living room and turned on the computer to see if He had blessed me with that miracle, but the problem was still there.  I realized He was not answering my prayer with that blessing, but I had no idea He was going to answer my prayer in more amazing and wonderful ways.  I would see His hand in my life and an answer to my faith-filled prayer with much more than I expected.  Miracles beyond what I imagined.  My prayer would be answered with people."

"Later that day there was a knock on my door. It was a senior missionary couple, the Foulgers. They are Military Relations Missionaries here serving military families in the Joint Base Lewis McChord area in the Tacoma Washington Mission.  I said it was amazing they had come, because I had thought of them that day. . . .  They said they were there because of a phone call they received from my mom that day.  She told them about me and our family and the circumstances of the day that I was struggling with. . . ."

"While they were at our house we talked and I cried and told them about our situation.  They were so kind and after we visited, we hugged and Elder Foulger offered to give me a blessing. I accepted and felt the Lord’s love through His servants and in the blessing."

"That was only the start to the miracles and the love the Lord was showing me. They called me later after leaving and asked if they could take our family to the park and provide a picnic dinner. I said that sounded wonderful. This was just the start to a wonderful friendship that has grown with them. Their love and kindness have blessed my kids and me over and over again and it continues to bless us. The Lord blessed us with an adopted family that will always be so special to us through this trying experience and the inspired phone call of family far away in Arizona". 

"Heavenly Father answered my prayer greater than I had imagined. The miracle was not an immediate, miraculous fix of the computer that I had been ready to receive. He blessed us through people. Others that were willing to serve and followed promptings and could help. The miracle was seeing the hand of the Lord and how He blessed us more richly than I had imagined. The Foulgers are part of that and they continue to bless us."

"I am grateful I went through the trial of having those computer issues because the experience brought people into our lives that we will be forever thankful for and most importantly, it showed me the love of the Lord for me and how he wants to bless us. I testify that all we need to do is ask in faith, believing that we shall receive. “Whatsoever thing ye shall ask in faith, believing that ye shall receive in the name of Christ, ye shall receive it.” (Enos 1:15)."

You can tell by reading Katie's own words that she is an amazing young mother of faith.  I (Keith Foulger) testify that we were guided by the Lord in the things that we did with this wonderful family because of Katie's prayers of faith.  Ilene and I don't take any credit for this.  When she would tell us how much she appreciated us and our love for her and her family, we would tell her that was a sign of how much her Heavenly Father was aware of them and loved them.  We are so thankful and blessed beyond measure to have been in the right place at the right time to be instruments in Heavenly Father's hands.  We will love Steve, Katie, Abbie, Eliza, Bowen, and Darcie forever!!!  If we have only this one experience of helping the McGuire family while on this mission, it will have been a success!!

A Hero Laid to Rest

Army Sergeant First Class and Brother Larry Nelson was laid to rest in the Tahoma National Cemetery in Kent, Washington on August 21, 2014.  Larry is the veteran we spoke about in our blog post, "tender mercies."  These pictures are of his.graveside service at the National Cemetery.

Left is Sonja Brown, Larry's daughter.  She is an active
duty Air Force Medical Technician stationed in Mississippi.
Right is Larry's wife, Ursla.  She is German. They met while
Larry was stationed in Germany.

The honor guard was active duty Army soldiers from Ft. Lewis.  The active duty people do such an awesome job!!

Military grave side services are so professional, so precise, and so very emotional.

The family requested an LDS Chaplain so they sent Chaplain Duwors.  He gave a short, but very inspired talk about eternal life. Chaplain Duwors is rather unique.  He was a line officer (combat guy) before he became a Chaplain.  Over his left pocket are airborne wings, and he has two bronze stars (a high decoration).  This is Larry's daughter talking with Chaplain Duwors before the service started.

This was a veteran from the Veteran of Foreign Wars organization.  From the medals on his vest, he was a highly decorated Army combat veteran.  He gave just a few short remarks - very personal to the family.

The honor guard firing the 21 gun salute - so precise. Each volley sounded like one weapon going off as the five soldiers fired in unison.

Immediately after firing the 21 gun salute, soldiers assume "Present Arm," meaning they salute while taps is played by a soldier bugler hidden in the trees. This is such an emotional moment.  A good friend of mine, a Marine veteran of Viet Nam, told me at his World War II veteran father's funeral, "that is the saddest song ever written!!"













Folding the Flag - done with such precision!!

Flag presented to Ursla, Larry's wife.  The wording by the soldier
is something to the effect, "I present this flag to you in behalf of the
President of the United State and a grateful nation for the service
of your husband."

Truer Words Never Spoken!!

     I have never been to a National Cemetery that I do not feel that I am on sacred ground!!!!

Senior Missionary P-Day

The normal mission P-Day is on Mondays, but we take ours on Saturday.  The experience of other military relations couples is that Saturdays are not good visit days to the military families, because that is a family day for them and it is hard to visit on that day.

 . . . . . . so we visited Mt. Rainier National Park on a P-Day

This Mountain is just massive!!!  It is 14,410 feet high.  Put this in perspective like this.  Our house in Lacey, Washington is just a little above sea level so Mt. Rainier towers above our house here over 14,000 feet.  Mt. Ben Lomond just north of our home in North Ogden is a mere 5,000 above our Utah home.  Soooooo, stack just under two more Mt. Ben Lomonds on top of Ben Lomond and that would be the same as Mt. Rainier above our Washington home!!!




There are 25 active glaciers that cap the mountain.
At Paradise at 5,400 feet they get 126 inches of precipitation (not snow, but water) a year.

It is an active volcano.  In fact, the top of the cone is so warm that snow does not stay on the rim at the top.

This is a zoom photo to nearly the top of the
Nisqually Glacier, one of the larger glaciers
on the mountain.  Note the large chunks
of snow and ice being moved by glacier action.

This is the headwaters of the Nisqually River that
comes from the glacier.  Note the "U" shaped
valley that was formed by the glacier as it moved
down the mountain over thousands of years ago.  The
glacier has receded now to the upper part of the
mountain.  This is at the 3,800 foot level.

This is the Nisqually River taken from the bridge where
the sign in the picture above is located.  Note how close
the color of the river is to the rocks.  That's because the
glacier action grinds up the grey volcanic rocks so the water
picks up the grey grindings.  The Nisqually River dumps into
the Puget Sound (the ocean) about 5 miles from our house.  The
is crystal clear at this point because the sand and silt all
settle out as the river flows to the ocean.

Now that you have endured the Howard geology of Mt. Rainier, just enjoy the beauty of the mountain!

Tender Mercies

This has been a hard week, but one with many tender mercies to sustain us and the family of a veteran.  It started Monday when we visited the Madigan Army Regional hospital.  For about a month, a retired Army veteran, Larry, who is a double leg amputee, has been in the ICU on a ventilator.  We have visited Larry each Monday and Wednesday since he was admitted.  In talking with his wife, we found out that Larry was from Cedar City, Utah where Ilene grew up and my family moved there when I was in High School . Larry's brother, from Bountiful, was there shortly after he was admitted.  The brother remembered playing football with my brother, Brent - small world.  His brother also indicated that Larry and his family had not been active in the church for years.

Anyway, when we arrived at the hospital this past Monday, Larry was not doing very well.  Ursla, his wife; Sonja, a daughter from Mississippi; and Bonnie, granddaughter from Germany were there.  At one point, Ursla took Ilene out of the room to speak to her privately.  While she was out, Larry was trying to communicate with us by hand motions.  He even tried to write what he wanted, but he had lost all coordination in his hand so that didn't work.  I became impressed that Larry wanted a blessing, and was going to say so when Ilene and Larry's wife returned to the room.  When they came back into the room, before I could say anything, Ursla said Larry wanted a blessing.  So, I gave Larry a blessing.  It was not a blessing of healing, but was a blessing of comfort and love from God for Larry until he finished his work on this earth.  When I finished, Larry had relaxed and was peacefully sleeping.   Everyone in the room was in tears.  The Spirit was definitely witnessing to us all that God was aware.  We visited with the family a little longer.  As we departed, we gave them our card with our contact information, and told them to call us if they needed anything at all.

On Wednesday when we returned, Larry and had continued to go downhill, but he recognized us and wanted to hold our hands.  He then started motioning for something, so his daughter began asking him questions to see what he wanted.  He wanted us to have a prayer.  He then motioned that he wanted me to say the prayer.  What a humbling experience.  We know that it was not me, personally that he wanted to do that, but Larry's spirit recognized who I represented.  All of Larry's family was there this time - his wife, three daughters, and the granddaughter, so we all gathered around Larry's bed and held hands including Larry.  At the completion of the prayer, Larry was sleeping, and again tears were being shed because of the undeniable presence of the Holy Ghost.  We left after the prayer because we had a teaching appointment with one of the soldiers in the Wounded Warrior Battalion.

On Thursday,  Elder Peterson, the other senior military relations missionary couple, and I had an assignment first thing in the morning to inspect missionary cars at a zone conference.  We had just completed the inspections and were driving out of the parking lot when my phone rang.  It was the Madigan Hospital Chaplain's office, and they said that Larry's family had requested that we come and give Larry a blessing.  We were in our casual preparation day clothing so I suggested we go home and change into our white shirts and ties.  Elder Peterson said, "no we are close to Madigan so let's go like we are;"  so, we were at the hospital in about 10 minutes and went directly to the ICU.  The staff in the ICU indicated that Larry was in the last minutes of life.  When we went into the room it was clear that that was true.  Sonja was the only one there; she was holding Larry's hand and sobbing.  Through her tears, she said, "I just want him to have one last blessing before he departs!"  She then asked me to give him a blessing.  Elder Peterson and I laid our hands on his head and I pronounced the blessing.  It was a blessing of Love from God for Larry's long service to this nation that is so important to Him, and that he should be at peace and not fear death because, while his body would die, his spirit would live on in a place that his Savior had prepared for him.  Before the blessing was complete, Larry passed away.  Sonja just clung to Larry and sobbed.  Our presence there at that critical moment was clearly a blessing from God.  Larry needed us and Sonja needed us at that tender moment.  Some would say the circumstances of us being there at that time just happened, but we know better.  God knows the beginning from the end and takes care of every detail.  It was no coincidence that we were asked to inspect cars that day at the church building closest to the Madigan Hospital.  It was no coincidence that Elder Peterson said we should go to the hospital now.  It was no coincidence that we arrived just before his passing.

The passing of Larry during the blessing was a tender mercy from a loving God, both for Larry and Sonja.  Before I gave the blessing, I asked Sonja if they were ready to let Larry go.  She said with considerable emotion, "yes, he has suffered enough."  As I said above, in both the first blessing I gave him on Monday and the prayer we had around his bed on Wednesday, Larry's spirit recognized the presence of God and he relaxed and went to sleep.  Therefore, I am certain that on Thursday Larry's spirit recognized the presence of God and he went to sleep, this time to end his journey in the this life, but to awaken as a spirit body in the Spirit World.

Ilene and I feel very blessed to have been guided by the Spirit in our visits and relationship with Larry and his family.  We have them in our prayers as they prepare for his funeral and burial in the National Cemetery in Kent, Washington this Thursday.

Blessed to Serve

Wow, time seems to just fly by.  Past time we gave an update.

In July there was a mission transfer for the young Elders and Sisters.  In addition, on the transfer day the mission received 28 new Elders and Sisters.  The bottom line is that it was a spiritual and logistic miracle!!! The drill is that those being transferred are notified on Saturday night of their transfer.  They all have until Tuesday morning to get their stuff together and arrange transportation to a church building in Tacoma.  Getting themselves there is no easy task because the mission does not have enough cars to do the job.  Therefore, each transferred missionary and their companion have to arrange their own transport.  Most of the senior couples in the mission help, along with various ward members.  All the elders have bikes so its no easy task.  We are glad we have a third seat and the bike rack.


This is the scene behind almost every car in the parking lot as they unload their "stuff" from the car that brought them and then upload it to the car that will take them to their new area.

The sister in red coat to the left is Sister Gehring.  She is an amazing missionary and was made a Sister Training Leader on this transfer.  We would also mention that she is a Utah State Aggie!!




The transfer meeting started about 2:30 p.m. and lasted three hours.  It was one of the most spiritual meetings we have ever been to in our lives!!  The 28 new missionaries were introduced.  There were three incredible musical numbers by various groups of missionaries - unbelievable talent!!  The bulk of the meeting was testimonies of the departing missionaries.  These amazing elders and sisters have very young bodies and powerful, mature spirits.  You had to be there to feel the full impact of their testimonies, but we share some of their powerful one-liners with you in hopes the Holy Ghost will help you feel a small bit of what we experienced.

• If you are not happy, work harder.
• A call to serve, is helping you to love, He who served.
• The Savior can do two things for us: save us from drowning like He did Peter, and help us walk on water like He did Peter - we just have to have faith.
• You are not your past.
• A mission is hard, but if you endure to the end it is worth it!
• This mission is one of the greatest gifts I have been given.  Here are my greatest gifts in order: the atonement, Gift of the Holy Ghost, family, my mission.
• Take your calling more seriously and yourself a little less seriously.
• The WATAC (Washington Tacoma Mission) is so great because we LOVE here.
• Be real, be yourself. Draw on the powers of your past experiences.
• A mission is a perfect place to heal.
• LOVE THEM
• A mission is the best university God could ever send you to.
• I have felt more joy and peace here than any other time in my life.
• Sacrifice changes hearts.
• You get to change the world.
• We are evidence that the gospel works.
• Let your mission change you.
• I love my Savior, Jesus Christ!
• What I know is that Love always works - when we love people, miracles happen.
• I want to be like Jesus.  I'm not very good at it, but I'm working hard.  I'm trying to save everyone just as He did.
• Work hard and love every minute of it.
• Nothing feels better than having the spirit with you.
• Obedience brings happiness and peace.
• Even when you go home, keep working.  Your mission is through. . .but not the work.

Following these 18 amazing testimonies, Sister and President Blatter addressed us.  Their remarks were very short, President Blatter said a few short words and then said, "I could not give you any better counsel than what you heard from these amazing departing missionaries."  He then sat down. WOW, a powerful mission president recognized that God had spoken to us all through inspired young elders and sisters!!!



There is hardly a day that goes by that we are not humbled - sometimes to tears - by the sacrifice for our nation that we witness from the soldiers and airmen that serve and their families,  Their service is truly a family thing.  This is especially true for those who serve in the Special Forces.  These soldiers serve in the most hostile of places in the world.  Last week one wife we met with said her special forces husband has been deployed at least once a year for at least three months at a time for the last six years  The Special Forces families never know where their soldiers are in the world during a deployment.  Another wife we talked to at church last week said she is the legal guardian for her husband who has extreme PTSD.  Their sacrifice will go on for their life-time!  Last week, on August 6, when we we came out of the Post Exchange we walked behind the car in this picture.  We paused to read the sticker on the back window - WOW, less than one month ago, and 27 years old!!!  This really made us tear up!

 

At most Army Posts with a major military treatment facility, they have a Wounded Warrior Transition Battalion where soldiers that require six months or more to heal are assigned.  Their wounds can be physical, emotional (PTSD), or both.  Their job is to become healed so they can return to their units or to civilian life.  Here at Ft. Lewis they have a Battalion.  It is organized just like a regular Army Battalion with a Lieutenant Colonel (LTC) Commander and a senior non-commissioned officer (SGM for Sergeant Major). We are currently working with two members of the church assigned here.  One said there are about 200 soldiers assigned to the battalion.  One is very new to the church so we are going to reteach him the PMG lessons.  He wants to get to the temple with his wife as soon as he can.  What an honor to do this!!  




There are six buildings like this one that are the barracks for the wounded warriors.

Last week we parked by the Wounded Warrior Battalion and noticed this large semi trailer in the parking lot.  As we looked, we were really touched.  It was a trailer full of bikes, some for physical handicap folks.   Wounded warriors were trying out various bikes.  The trailer was sponsored by U-Haul, GEICO, TREK bikes, and the Wounded Warrior Project.  It is amazing what people and companies are doing to support these American heroes!!

Wounded Warriors trying out various bikes

Foulger's Start Their Mission

Well, since we started our Military Relations Mission on June 9, 2014, we have been to the Missionary Training Center (MTC) in Provo for two weeks, and have been at Joint Base Lewis-McChord in Tacoma, Washington since June 25, 2014.

The MTC was an amazing experience.  The first week was training in missionary work as outlined in the Preach My Gospel Manual.  The best part of being at the MTC was associating with the 1,400 young Elders and Sisters.  They were so full of energy and love.  They all look so good and always greeted us wherever we went.  We were fortunate to have Elders Cook and Ballard talk to us at the Tuesday night devotionals.  The devotionals were beyond amazing when those 1,400 young missionaries sang Called to Serve.  I simply listened because my emotions were so out of control.  Two days of the second week were Church Education System (CES) training, with three days of military relations training.

"We're going to the State of Washington"

Our MTC District.  Sister Yazzi on left and Bro.
Zundel on right were our amazing instructors.

We were home for the weekend of June 20-23.  We packed for a Monday morning depart for Washington.  DeeAnne and family came Friday night.  They were life savers in cleaning the house and the car.  Cynthia, Scott, Lauren and Lindsey came Sunday evening and fixed us dinner which was also a life saver.  We were going to depart Monday at 8:00 a.m. sharp but that was not to happen.  It was 10:30, but that was ok.  We drove just a little over 400 miles and stayed the night in LeGrande, Oregon.  An interesting happening in LaGrande.  We went to a KFC for dinner and when we went to pay the girl said the boss said missionaries eat free - pretty amazing!!

Elder and Sister Foulger in our official senior missionary P-day traveling
attire.  Overlooking the Columbia River in Oregon.

We arrived at our apartment in Lacey, Washington, at 4:30 p.m. on Tuesday, June 24.  We were met there by Elder Jim and Sister Sandra Vermason, the couple we were replacing.  The mission had our apartment all furnished. The Vermasons helped us move in.  It took about 30 minutes and we had a new home for a year. The apartment is new and very nice - 2 bedrooms and 2 baths (so come see us).  We then went and had a sandwich with the Vermasons and Elder and Sister Peterson and Elder and Sister Searles, other military relations couples assigned to Joint Base Lewis-McChord.

Our Apartment building

Elder and Sister Vermason on
their moving day

Starting on Wednesday, June 25 the Vermasons started getting us oriented and introducing us to people.  They were such a help in making us more capable to hit the ground running.  On Wednesday we attended a mission conference to say good-by to President and Sister Weaver who were being released in two days.  Needless to say it was a very emotional meeting.  The meeting ended by singing, Amazing Grace, the mission song.  It was a special arrangement and so powerful - WOW!  Another one of those experiences you can only have on a mission!!!

This part of Washington is so beautiful.  It was quite rainy for the first week we were here so we didn't see Mt. Rainier (14,411 feet) for that whole week.  We were just driving one day and there it was.  It is just huge!!

Our first view of Mt. Rainier

Beautiful walking and biking trails

We were able to go to the Seattle Temple last Tuesday

Our mission is to serve the needs of the over 130 military families (mostly Army at Ft. Lewis) in 12 wards in the greater Tacoma area.  Eighteen of these families currently have the spouse deployed, most to Afghanistan.  What a sacrifice these families are making for our freedom!!!  We have a daunting, but wonderful task.  Clearly the Lord knows these families and cares for them a great deal.  Already, we have been lead to families who have amazing needs.  A few examples.  We visited a family that we felt needed a visit and found that their seven year old daughter is having brain surgery on July 21 and the father is deployed to Afghanistan. The good news is that the Army is letting him come home on emergency leave.  Another young Army wife we visited a week ago is expecting their first child next month and he is not able to come home from Afghanistan. Last week we visited a retired Army soldier in the Army Regional Madigan Hospital who is a Vietnam veteran.  He had congestive heart failure, diabetes, and prostrate cancer.  The cancer is a result of Agent Orange that he was exposed to in Vietnam.  Agent Orange was a tree defoliation chemical that was sprayed on trees from the air to remove the leaves so satellites and airplane reconnaissance could see the ground and enemy activity.  So, the sacrifices of these American heroes goes on for years.

This flag is an amazing story.  Elder and Sister Vermason visited a home while they were serving here
and this flag plaque was hanging on the wall.  When the Vermasons inquired, the soldier said he
was a helicopter pilot in Afghanistan.  At times, he would have nightmares and see faces of people he
may have killed.  He said this plaque with these title of liberty words from the Book of Mormon was the only
thing that would bring him comfort.  WOW, the power of the Book of Mormon to bring peace to an
American Hero!!!!

It is our honor and privilege to serve here and give back a little to true American heroes - those who serve and their families!!!