TEXAS—On August 25, 15 Philadelphia Church of God members from the Houston and Dallas-Fort Worth congregations visited the San Jacinto Memorial Monument to learn about the final battle of the Texas Revolution, which took place on Apr. 21, 1836.

The monument is located in La Porte, Texas, on the grounds of the San Jacinto battlefield. It stands at 570 feet tall, which is 15 feet taller than the Washington monument in Washington D.C.

The group first took an elevator ride to the top of the Monument for a bird’s-eye view of the battleground, Buffalo Bayou to the north and the San Jacinto River and marshes to the east and south. Upon returning to the ground floor, the group entered the museum’s theatre to watch a presentation. With the topography and key events before and during the battle fresh in their minds, the members immersed themselves in the battleground environment through a guided driving tour. The guide brought various locations of the battlefield to life and expertly answered the group’s questions along the way. At the end of the tour, the members had a picnic and talked at a nearby pavilion.

Dallas-Fort Worth member Martin Monsalve offered these thoughts on the visit: “Don’t let your guard down. We can see what happened to Santa Ana [the Mexican dictator in the battle]. Let he who thinks he stands take heed. We must always be on the offensive and not complacent.”