Today was a very busy day. It was full of training and a great field trip. We got to the mission office at 7:30 and got home at 8:30. Whew! Another long day, but well worth it.
Our day started out with a training session for the just the Senior Couples. We met at the Stake Center with President and Sister Belliston. We each got a chance to talk about what the mission means to us so far. It was nice to hear how the other Senior Missionaries felt about their missions. Of course, we all said that we miss home and family, but we know that the work we are doing here will help our families so much more than if we were home with them. I truly believe that. 
After the training we had lunch at everyone’s favorite pizza place. It was good to just sit back and enjoy everyone’s company.
After lunch we went on a tour of the site of the Civil War Antietam National Battle field. This was the only battlefield in U.S. History that had more causalities than any other battle. The Bloodiest One Day Battle in American History - 23000 soldiers were killed, wounded or missing after 12 hours of bloody combat. Some of them had no identification on them so their grave just reads ‘soldier’.
The first place we visited was called Dunking Church. They believed everyone should be baptized by emersion – thus, Dunking Church. This was a landmark for the soldiers when they were fighting. The women came through the back door and then sat in the pews off to the side. The men came in the front door and sat in the front. Boy, things have changed.
After Dunking Church we saw the battlefield that was fought in fields of corn. In each of the battle fields the Confederates put monuments in memory of the soldiers who had fought and died in that area. There are monuments all over the place. I don’t think I can want to go back to Antietam. It was such a somber feeling. When you look out over the battlefield you can feel the sadness and you know that there are soldiers who are buried and bodies that have never been found nor named. It is an overwhelming feeling that you are standing and looking at sacred ground. You feel reverent.
The next area we came to was called Sunkin’ Road because it was used so much by the heavy wagons that it literally sunk down and was like a gulley. In this road the fighting was so bad that when it was over you could walk across it and never touch bottom because there were bodies three feet deep. It was the worst part of the battle. I tried to get a picture of the scene on the plaque that was put up and I tried to get a picture of the road that could be understood, but truly, nothing was as real as being there. Young boys, average age of 19, both Confederates and Union soldiers. When the Confederate soldiers were killed they were buried where they died. When the Union Soldiers were killed they were taken to graves sites. Who knows what bodies are left there.
The park built a tower for visitors to climb up so that you can get a fantastic view of the battlefield. The stairs were unbelievable. We climbed four stories, but when we got to the top, it was so worth it. As we stood looking out at the scene there was a huge storm coming and we were able to watch the clouds build up and the lighting strike. Awesome! Oh, yeah, and the wind was blowing also. It kind of added to the mood of the scene.
The final section of the battle field was a bridge that the Union soldiers tried to hold, but they got slaughtered. There is a tree next to the bridge that was still standing all these many years later. It was a beautiful, green section of the field and the bridge was all original. We could have walked across it, but the storm was brewing real bad by then.
FINALLY, we ended up at the home of our tour guides. The home was there when the battle was being fought. It has original rooms and the owners feel like it is haunted. It was owned by an elderly lady who died in the house during the war. Spooky. It was fun to see all of the antiques and Sister Marvel, one of the tour guides made us a great lunch. I am not sure how much the antiques in the home were valued at, but they were old
The tree in the second to last picture has a cannon ball in it. Funny, but true.
