2008 Hill Cumorah Expedition Team Spring Trip testimony

I want to briefly share my testimony in connecting with the Hill Cumorah Expedition Team. I had a seed planted years and years ago. I believe that I was a Jr. High Camper at the time. A brother Steve shared with us about a man who went down to Mexico and ran into someone who told him that, “It was not time yet.” The story was so powerful that I kind of buried it in my mind. Years later in 1996, before my very first World Conference, I met a kind, older couple who acted as Temple Ambassadors. I shared with them this story. They replied, “You must mean Neil Steede.” So I wrote the name down on my bulletin for the WC Native American service held at the Family Life Center. I still have this bulletin today. I did a very cursory search, but I never figured out where this Neil was or he was. Another decade later, the seed planted over twenty years before then came to fruition. In 2006, I was active in the “Cybercongregation”, the church’s online chatboard. A “Cyber-member” referred me to the Hill Cumorah Expedition Team and their website. I was astonished to realize that this team had been going to Mexico for over 5 years, and this team was connected with Neil Steede! I began some communication with Tim and Kevin Brown so that we met in person at a Cybercongregation “get-together” before the start of World Conference 2007. We met at Ryan’s, a buffett place here in Independence. I was so excited that I hardly ate. I was elated to see a replica of the proclamation tablet and meet Kevin Brown and Tim & Carol Brown in person. Before the week was out, Tim Brown had graciously given me a copy of Neil Steede’s book, Why I Believe…In the Historical Veracity of the Book of Mormon, and even better, he had invited me to his home for supper to meet Neil and have the book signed following WC 2007. I had a wonderful meal of homemade Mexican food and thoroughly enjoyed meeting Neil and Dorene Steede. I even got to sit in on a planning meeting for the 2007 HCET Spring Trip. What a way to end at 20+ year journey! Or rather, what a way to begin a new chapter in my own journey! (A more thorough testimony is in the September 15, 2007 newsletter though with the correction regarding the WC Native American service bulletin rather that the WC bulletin.)

With that brief summary of my journey to join the Hill Cumorah Expedition Team, I want to share my testimony with you concerning the 2008 HCET Spring Trip. (See June 15, 2008 Newsletter)

http://hillcumorahexpeditionteam.com/files/NewsletterVol2Issue2.pdf

I really wanted to go on this trip, but for various reasons, I was unable though my heart was with them. In the weeks prior to the 2008 HCET Spring Trip, I began to ask God how I could be a support back in Independence. The inspiration that I received came through the Book of Mormon and the stories of the “sons of Helaman” who credited the teachings (and prayers?) of their mothers with keeping them safe in battle. See Alma 26:53-57—‘’…yea, they had been taught by their mothers, that if they did not doubt, that God would deliver them....” and Alma 26:94-104—“…and I did remember the words which they said unto me that their mothers had taught them….And we do justly ascribe it to the miraculous power of God, because of their exceeding faith in that which they had been taught to believe, that there was a just God; and whosoever did not doubt, that they should be preserved by his marvelous power.” These stories paralleled the stories of the sons of Mosiah who became missionaries to their enemies. The “sons of Helaman” were descendents of those converted by Ammon and his brothers, the sons of King Mosiah. I believe this is another story of how the prayers of Mosiah and others holding them up contributed to the success of their missionary efforts and their safety among their (former) enemies. See Mosiah 12:10-12---“…And the Lord said unto Mosiah, Let them go up, for many shall believe on their words, and they shall have eternal life, and I will deliver thy sons out of the hands of the Lamanites…” We see this protection evident in Alma 12:160-161 when Ammon could not be slain. I wondered about the teachings and prayers of the mother of these sons of Mosiah.

With these Book of Mormon stories as inspiration, I asked to do devotions about three weeks before the trip using these scriptures and stories regarding the “sons of Helaman” and the sons of Mosiah. I shared my idea and desire to coordinate and organize prayer support for the team going on the 2008 HCET Spring Trip. With the group’s approval and support and with the help of David Brown and Carol Brown, we began with a base of 80 photo cards (10 cards per team member) with the photo and name of the team members on the face and dates of the trip and website information on the back of each card. I decided to begin with the most supportive congregations and the congregations from which the team members originated—Buckner, Village Heights, Osage Hills, and Beacon Heights. We also developed backup cards for each congregation for possible increased demand. All 80 cards were distributed by the start of the 2008 Spring Trip, and all backup cards were distributed before the end of the trip. Thanks go to congregational coordinators Johnnie Brown, Elrey Goheen, Ruth Farrand-Cox, Joe Fera, and others who helped to distribute cards to 170 plus persons who took on the role of prayer partners/warriors for the 2008 Spring Trip. Other supportive congregations and groups included New Philadelphia, Ohio; HART Ministries; Celebration Ministries, Contemporary Christian Ministries, and many others.

Comments from those who traveled on the Spring Trip this year credited the prayer support for their safety, for a smooth driving trip including no problems during the border crossing, and for “God-incidences” related to experiences with Paula and persons of Piedra Ancha and the Santa Domingo river valley. I really appreciated the many persons who contributed to this prayer support during the 2008 Spring Expedition. The progress made will be manifested in the years to come.

I want to close with my personal testimony regarding acting as 2008 Spring Trip prayer partner/warrior coordinator. I decided to fast for the whole time that the team was down in Mexico. It would be the longest fast of my life. I do not testify regarding this to lift me up or brag because all glory belongs to Christ. I use this to explain the context regarding my prayer support coordination. I was blessed with numerous testimonies in support of the Hill Cumorah Expediton Team and the 2008 Trip. I really wanted to be there though I felt more involved with the team than ever before due to regular updates by David and email back and forth with Kevin and other team members. I was thankful to God for my small part in supporting the team, and thankful for the Spirit and blessings of God evident on this trip. One particular testimony stands out. An inspiration and testimony given to me by the Spirit was that I would be going the next year---that I would be a part of the 2009 Hill Cumorah Expedition Team Spring Trip. This was a dream come true from 2006 when I first learned about the Hill Cumorah Expedition Team and from being a Jr. High Church camper hearing the story about Neil! I would finally get to go on a trip with Neil and with other Hill Cumorah Expedition Team members.

http://hillcumorahexpeditionteam.com/index.html