Category: Missionary

This week’s letter to Timothy

Timothy is currently serving his mission in Palau, and this was my letter to him this week. I think these are words I would like all of my children to have.

Dear Tim,

I have taken President Nelson’s counsel to write down the thoughts that come to my mind when I pray. I had some experiences with personal revelation recently that support patterns that I have experienced throughout my life.

* Answers are never complicated. Simplicity is the language of the Spirit. Simple phrases or basic clarity are common for me.

* Even when I am wrong, God is always encouraging and gentle.

* Peace comes when I submit to what God tells me, even if it isn’t what I wanted to hear. This weekend I second-guessed some revelation about a talk I was giving. When I finally trusted the original impression, my mind became settled and calm.

* Sometimes Heavenly Father helps me step away from the experience and see a wider perspective on an issue. He helps me see that yes, today might be hard, but the difficulty is there for my benefit.

Keep showing love to people and be your charming self, and miracles will happen. There will be miracles that you won’t see because they are taking place in people’s hearts and minds, but they are happening.

Love,

Mom

Guam this week

Tim is serving on the southwest side of Guam. There is red clay soil and lots of vegetation, and their P-day hikes are beautiful. He is able to attend the tiny temple on Guam. I think the building pictured here is their ward meetinghouse. He is the trainer for his companion who is from the Philippines. They mostly speak English everywhere they go, but his companion is able to help Tim with his Tagalog. Tim is very thankful to be on an island that has fast food restaurants. I think the one pictured here is Taco Bell. 😄 They are teaching and loving the people and celebrate when their friends show up for church.

Beyond studying Tim’s face, I am focusing on this beautiful scenery. He is a 24-30 hour flight away. I guess you have to be that far away to escape winter.

Just the Baby

Here we are at Hale Center Theater to see A Christmas Carol. It was wonderful.
Temple Square
Tim turned 20 this week.

To celebrate Tim’s birthday, Richard and I made a temple appointment. As I finished our temple session and entered the celestial room, I was greeted by a temple worker as I never have before. He simply said “Hi,” not a more formal “hello” or reverent nod, but a joyful “Hi!” It made me think of the welcome I hope for in heaven, just a familiar “Hi.”

Last Sunday at dinner, I gave a simple baby in a manger to each of our children for Christmas, a reminder that Christmas takes different forms during our lives, and sometimes it feels incomplete, with a loss or absence of a loved one. I have learned that Christmas can still be celebrated without the full scene. The simplest Nativity, without any of the other characters surrounding Christ, is still complete because of the Baby in the manger. Christ is the only essential, and he is always there. I also believe He wants a familiarity with us, a relationship that will continue forever. I believe he also wants to greet us with a familiar, “Hi,” someday.

tender mercy

One year ago today we said goodbye to Timothy at the missionary training center in Provo. I cried the whole way home and Paige and I collapsed in our living room. I fell asleep, but awoke to this little ornament that had turned on while I cry-slept. I didn’t know it would be the comfort I would need in that moment, and for many days, all the days of December 2021.

The ornament is still here a year later, with fresh new batteries that arrived this afternoon, just in time to commemorate a year of tender mercies for my Timothy and for me.

A glimpse

The Timothy iteration of Elder Ross is super funny each week in our video calls. He talks about his service in understatements and we have to draw out the things a different missionary might bring up right away. He is serving in Palau on an island called Koror. He welcomes the rain on the hot, hot days, and he is training a missionary and finding plenty of people to teach. His latest video call was interrupted by a little boy (a frequent visitor on his calls) trying to get his attention by stealing his phone and running away with it. There were scenes of a little palm, then ceilings and hallways whizzing past on the screen, and a final interception by another missionary, a hello, and a handoff. This happened twice.

A lot happens during a mission. There are a lot of emotions. There is a lot of heart stretching taking place on both ends of the weekly call.

summertime snaps

We are in the final week of summer break. This morning I took some time to look over some snapshots and screenshots from the last few months, and chose a few to share. These are some of people and places I want to remember. Two really good friends passed away. We have been really focused on wedding preparations. Mark was gone a lot, and his social connections got stronger. Richard worked from home. I lived my own version of The Secret Garden, increasing my strength. We planted a lot of flowers, and I am especially proud of reclaiming my favorite corner of the yard, the one that feels like a forest. We sat beneath outdoor lights on many nights. Paige and Michael were especially helpful hanging the lights. Tim made it to Guam. We said goodbye to friends who are going on a mission. Lots of lasts and firsts this summer. This means growth.

Thou crownest the year with the goodness.

Psalm 65:11

watching a flight

We changed the flag in front of our house as our missionary flew from Vancouver to his original mission assignment in Guam this week. It is a time of competing feelings, and we are thankful for the kindness of so many people in Vancouver, and look forward to hearing about Tim’s mission experiences in Guam.
9 pm
around 10 pm
1:30 am
3 am

Because of an email error, when Daniel arrived at his mission, I didn’t hear from him for a week. I just wanted to know he had arrived safely.

This time, Google automatically added Tim’s itinerary to my calendar, so I had updates on my phone for the 27 hours he traveled. I could also check the progress of the flights on a website. Don’t judge me, I was desperate for news last time. I didn’t want the same story this time.

It is a tender mercy just to know.

The kindest thing

On this wedding week, there is no such thing as the single kindest thing someone has done, but this story ranks near the top.

This is the Hernandez family. They live near Vancouver, British Columbia, and they love missionaries. They consistently and lovingly invite our missionary and his companions into their home to feed them dinner and offer support. Bishop and Sister Hernandez recently welcomed home both of their sons from missions, and they are enjoying a road trip in the western U.S.

Tim is flying to Guam on Monday night, experiencing the biggest transfer of his mission, and has a lot of winter gear for Canada that he will not need in the South Pacific. The Hernandez family arranged to drive his and another elder’s extra clothing to Utah.

They drive a sedan and there are four of them, so there was not a lot of room, yet they took Tim’s Blundstone boots and two bags of clothing, plus a similar amount for the other elder. Sister Hernandez reassured Tim that she wouldn’t mind holding a bag on her lap if there wasn’t enough of room in the car.

So, I met these lovely people at the Payson temple. They carried his bags to my car for me, smiling, and then we took pictures. I consider them instant and forever friends.