We have so enjoyed our past week! We started out on Memorial Day by going on a picnic, riding our E Bikes and then going for a swim. We fed 5 missionaries and challenged each other with some "Celestial Pursuit" questions. The next night we fed 4 missionaries and enjoyed singing "Come Come Ye Saints" with the guitar. We began by just singing 1 verse, but it was such a sweet moment that we continued through all 4 verses, feeling the spirit of the pioneers. What a privilege to be here supporting these young missionaries in this great work!
Next was our day on Temple Hill. We did sealings at the temple, some work at the Family Search Center and then served at the Visitor Center. It is such a wonderful blessing of our mission to have all these opportunities so close and available.
At the end of our week, after visiting 2 new wards, we drove up the steep windy road to the top of Mt. Diablo which sits in the middle of the huge valley east of the San Francisco Bay. From there, we could see Antioch where we live, and all the communities we have been visiting the last 7 months. We could see out west to Oakland, San Francisco, and even the Golden Gate Bridge way off in the distance. On a super clear day, we could have seen northeast to Sacramento and east to Yosemite. It was so cool to be on top of this mountain and see that incredible 360 degree view.
This weekend we got to go on a Church History Tour with a local member who loves church history and knows all about the Ship Brooklyn that landed on July 31st, 1846 in a cove of San Francisco. She took us to a bunch of different markers and plaques that showed where the ship landed, where the first homes were built, where the first newspaper was printed, and where the first hotel, bank and school were built. All of these are several blocks away from today's waterfront as there was a ton of debris that was packed down into landfill to fill in the cove and build the city on top of it. A lot of it consisted of old ships that were abandoned to get to the gold fields!
The Ship Brooklyn had 238 people on board when it left New York on February 4, 1846, the same day the Pioneer Saints began their exodus out of Nauvoo. One baby born onboard was named Atlantic and the other was named Pacific. Eleven people died. They sailed down around the bottom of South America, up to Hawaii, then after a 6 month journey, they landed in what was at the time called Yerba Buena, now San Francisco. Once ashore they were very industrious, helping to build a new community and planting crops to welcome other saints they hoped would continue to travel west to make this their new home. Many helped rescue and care for the remaining members of the Donner Party. Once learning Brigham Young was settling in the Salt Lake area, these destitute saints had to work once again to try to outfit themselves for the trek over the Sierras to the Salt Lake Valley. The discovery of gold actually helped the faithful "Ship Brooklyn Saints" have the means to gather to the Salt Lake Valley with the main body of the church and the prophet. It was a fascinating day to learn about this history while people hustled past us on the busy streets of San Francisco.
Elder Jerman and I are currently reading histories about our ancestors. It is so incredible to learn their stories such as the long, hard, dark days working in a mine, wives having babies while their husbands were away, many deaths in a family, or being 10 years old and left for months to care for the sheep herds out in remote areas far from civilization and family. It is amazing and humbling to read and learn about them. We would invite you all to find something to read about your ancestors before Pioneer Day comes up next month. Perhaps get on Family Search to explore their lives and work on your own family history.
We are so blessed to be a part of the restored church on earth and have so many wonderful blessings in our lives. We can read the Book of Mormon every day. We can pray to our Heavenly Father every day. We can attend church and partake of the sacrament, blessed by those with the priesthood, every week. We can attend the temple often. We can share our testimonies and welcome our friends to learn about the gospel. As we love, share, and invite, we take part in this great and glorious work of Gathering Israel which prepares the earth for the return of the Messiah.
All the Best to You!
Love, Elder and Sister Jerman
Memorial Day outing - we biked around taking pictures with flags and flowers
Feeding missionaries
Our view from Mt. Diablo
Our Church History Tour about the saints who arrived on the Ship Brooklyn
Site of the first public school/church now in the heart of San Francisco
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