Elder Mark and Patricia Ballantyne arrived in Guam on May 16, 2023. They are MLS (member, leader support) missionaries in the Micronesia Guam Mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Elder and Sister Ballantyne moved to Guam from Richland, Washington. They have five children and ten grandchildren. They both enjoy spending time outdoors camping, ‘overland’ camping in their jeep, and all kinds of water sports. They even took a maiden voyage with their sailboat to the San Juan Islands! Elder Ballantyne is quite the handyman and together they built a small cabin-type structure on some property that they own in the mountains.
Sister Ballantyne was born and raised in British Columbia, Canada. Elder Ballantyne was born in Boise, Idaho and raised on a farm in Nyssa, Oregon where he learned how to work hard. He retired from the Hanford Nuclear site in November 2022.
Mark and Patty met at a dance while they were both attending Ricks College (Now called BYU-Idaho) in Rexburg, Idaho. They have had many callings in the Church. Sister Ballantyne has served as a Relief Society President, Primary Pianist, Stake Young Women’s camp nurse, and served on youth treks on the medical staff. Elder Ballantyne has served as a mission leader, Family History leader, and on 3 stake youth treks as security. They both have served together as temple prep teachers.
They have been called to serve on the island of Chuuk and work with the Facility Management (FM) working on and repairing the junior missionary apartments.
A fun fact about Elder Ballantyne is that He and Elder John A. McCune of the Seventy were best friends in high school and even served in the same mission when they were younger!