We Came, We Saw, We . . .

"Veni, Vidi, Vici" is the famous Latin response given by Julius Caesar in 47 BC to the question of how he had won a short war somewhere in Turkey. We've considered these three words in relation to our work in the mission office, though as we prepare to leave Trinidad for our “real” mission in Guyana, we cannot say “I came, I saw, I conquered” with the same assurance as this Roman icon.

Elder Sappington says of his experience in the mission office, “I Came, I Saw . . . I Complained!” In the 3 1/2 months we served in Trinidad, he enjoyed the social interaction and developed a real "bromance" with at least two of the other senior office elders – Jim Luster (Ephraim, Utah) and Jim Andrus (St. George, Utah) – but wasn’t at all happy as the WIM Financial Secretary. His dissatisfaction was due to the daily grind of trying to balance petty cash, pay bills and keep track of mission vehicles, apartments and cell phones while continually challenged by bureaucratic red tape, outdated records and a serious shortfall in the amount of training required to do this job effectively.

Sister Sappington describes her experience as “I Came, I Saw . . . I Updated (and Deleted)!” Assigned to a computer which locked up a minimum of 4 times a day, Sister Sappington discovered 7000 old e-mails (including "sent" and "trash" files) and about a dozen odd-ball software programs causing the problem - all of which she deleted in the first few weeks in the office. Then there were hundreds of old files on the computer (some dating back to 2006) which no one wanted to delete – because “they’re not mine” – so Sister Sappington took on the job. After that, there were two filing cabinets filled to the brim with more old files which needed shredding . . . and finally, dozens of documents needing to be updated, including the mission emergency plan, a packet of forms and documents for each mission vehicle, the Couples Area Book and lots of other paperwork.

Admittedly neither found much spirituality in these assignments, but recognized the need to get things done and were “willing to submit to all things which the Lord seeth fit to inflict upon” them (Mosiah 3:19). There will be more office work in Guyana but we both believe we “came, saw and conquered” in Trinidad and are now prepared for anything!

(Collage: 20' x 20' murals painted by local artists on the walls of the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Trinidad)