The other day, I made a submission to the "Saints At War" Project, which is being conducted by students at BYU. They ask for submissions for those who have fought in each major war in history, or submissions from family members who had/have loved ones serving. The submissions, along with photos (if you send pictures) go into an archive at BYU for students to use as references when studying members of the LDS faith in each war. They have also published many submissions into books, but I'm not sure how they decide which submissions go into the book and which do not. Here is what I submitted about Kyle, along with the picture I sent in, and it will be going into the archives!!




Last year, my fiance, who is now my husband, was deployed to Iraq with his Company in the USMC. His tour was 7 months, full of action and combat. Upon returning home, we were married, and a year later he has been sent to Afghanistan. This deployment is even more stressful, busy, and combat filled than Iraq was. Shortly after my husband, Kyle, left for Afghanistan, I sent an e-mail to the district president in Afghanistan. He later replied by telling me, out of the 750plus members of The LDS Church currently serving in areas all over Afghanistan, Kyle is the only one in his entire district. Talk about standing alone! This has served as a testimony to me that even in times when Kyle is litteraly alone, surrounded by combat, bad language, and many other things that would be easy for him to give into, he stands firm in his beliefes and listens to the promtings of his heart, and makes the right choice every time. Because Kyle is all by himself, he has been given the authority to bless and partake of the Sacrament for himself. Unlike others who are able to go to church on Sundays, despite being deployed, Kyle is in the middle of no where, in a combat zone, with no chuch in sight. For this reason, I send him Church Magazines in each package, share favorite scriptures with him in my letters, and always try to remind him that just because he is the only LDS member does not mean he is really alone, because Heavenly Father is always with him. During this deployment, I have recieved a strong testimony of Heavenly Father truly caring about each and every person's individual situation. I do not think either of us, my husband nor I, could get through this without the guidance and protection of God. Kyle has called me more than once, sharing frightening expiriances where the outcome should have indeed been death. But because of a loving and caring God, who listens and answers the prayers of Kyle and I, and our families, Heavenly Father is keeping a watchful eye on him. One such expiriance Kyle had told me about, was an RPG landing just a few feet away from him and his friend, while in a firefight, a few months ago. They both looked at it, stunned, because it never went off. What are the chances of that? That is not luck, that is a god thing! My testimony of prayer, tithing, fasting, and scripture studying has grown so much due to my husband's deployment. Most things in life really are blessings in disguise, if we just take the time to really look and think about it. I heard a quote in church on Sunday, where a father asked his daughter what she felt the hardest thing about being the only member of the LDS church in her school was. She replied "The hardest thing is believing that something is right, when everyone else thinks it's wrong, and believing that something is wrong, when everyone else thinks it's right." I, too, imagine that would be the hardest for my husband, as he faces this deployment with no other LDS members by his side. He does, however, assosiate himself with good people out there, who may not be LDS but share some of the same standards when it comes to certain issues. I am thankful that there are good people all over the world, and even though they don't belong to a specific group, they help strengthen their friends and are supportive and understanding. I am thankful for a loving Heavenly Father who I know answers prayers. I know he knows each of us. I am thankful for my husband Kyle, and the example of strength he is to all that he meets. I know that having the gospel in his heart is certainly a blessing for him while in Afghanistan.