Not Goodbye, just See Ya Later

I'm not big on change, and so this mission is stretching me a bit because every six weeks we have big changes.  One change I love is to see the growth in the new missionaries from arrival day to the 5 week new missionary meeting.  We had that meeting on Wednesday and I told them it may be my favorite meeting of the entire transfer cycle. To see the growth in the new missionaries in just a short 5 weeks is, well, a miracle.  Not that they aren't great when they get here, but after 5 weeks in the mission, there is a remarkable transformation and addition of wisdom that can only be gained by experience.  We had each 'new' missionary bear testimony of one thing they have learned over the past 5 weeks and it brought tears to my eyes to hear them testify of things they have learned and ways they have grown.  I absolutely love that meeting.  

Another reason I love it, is because it is a graduation or a rite of passage of sorts for them.  They only have one more week of being the youngest in the mission and it is usually a place of honor they are happy to pass on to someone else.  This time they are passing it on to 14 others, who will be arriving on Monday.  

One reason I hate that meeting is because it means it's time for another group to go home.  I tell you, I get so attached to these Elders and Sisters that it is really hard to say goodbye.  That's why I tell myself, and them, it's not goodbye, it's just see ya later.  

In contention for another one of my favorite meetings of the transfer cycle is the testimony meeting we have with the outgoing missionaries at our home after we have gone to the temple with them and had dinner.  There is a circle of life, even in a mission.  The young ones come in full of faith and fire and enthusiasm, and the old ones leave full of faith that has been tested in the furnace of fire, wisdom, and conviction, and a rock solid testimony.  

This past Friday, we had that meeting with our departing missionaries.  It happened to be our 34th wedding anniversary, and we were grateful to spend it with a few of California Sacramento's finest.  It was a wonderful evening.  How we love these missionaries.  

We first meeting in President Hymas' office for a few instructions and words of wisdom.  By this time they have said goodbye to their companions, dropped their luggage and are pretty nervous about going home.  Then we head to the temple. 

The temple is a place of love and peace and it is amazing to see the transformation that occurs after the temple session.  They come out feeling settled, calm, peaceful and with an assurance that Heavenly Father has accepted their offering, and they have a feeling of being ready to move on to the next stage of life.  I love that this happens every single time!

 President with Elders Fudge, Worthen, Ross and How

 Me with Sisters Johansen, McDonald, Kaufusi, Cha and Turner

I love these happy faces!!!

 We had to take some anniversary pictures

After the temple we bring them back to our home for dinner, have a testimony meeting, they sign the mission banner, and Scott and I give them our best advice for a happy life, and then we have some fun.  Because it was our anniversary they wanted to see pictures from our wedding.  We pulled out some photo books and they had some good laughs over our various looks over the years. They could not believe Scott at one time had, almost black hair.  I asked them if they thought his hair was always the color it is now, and it hadn't occurred to them that it wasn't.  

The next morning it is off to the airport.  Next stop: happy parents, families, friends and HOME!

                               Always look up!

Elder Worthen and Elder How

Elder Fudge and Elder Ross

The airport is the only time I get to hug the Elders and Scott gets to hug the Sisters.  We look forward to that.  I'm a hugger and not giving these Elders a big hug every time I see them might be the hardest thing I do out here.  

Sister Cha and Sister Johansen

Sister Turner

Sister McDonald

Sister Kaufusi.  Sister Kaufusi's parents came to pick her up so we took her to the airport with us and then took her back to the office to meet up with her parents and her sister.

Sister Pyatt

There is a big hole these Elders and Sisters are leaving in the mission. They have been truly consecrated missionaries and we are so grateful for the blessing it has been for us to serve with them.  They will always have a place in our hearts and we will love them forever.  

Christmas Joy

This is the first Christmas of my very many years of life that I have had a Christmas outside of Utah.  That's pretty remarkable, due to the fact that I've had A LOT of Christmases.  While we missed being with most of our family, our extended family and friends, we definitely were filled with Christmas Joy.  It has been a wonderful month full of miracles and we have felt blessed to be full time representatives of our Savior Jesus Christ as we celebrated the season of his birth.  I have absolutely loved being around our missionaries during the holiday season.  They just glow and are so incredibly happy to be here sharing the wonderful message of the restored gospel through Jesus Christ.  It's almost impossible to feel anything but pure joy when we are around them. 

We talk a lot in our mission about JOY. The joy of sharing the gospel, the joy of bringing souls to Christ, even, and maybe especially, our own souls.  We talk about the difference between joy and happiness.  Joy is eternal.  It doesn't mean we are going to be skipping happily through daisies every single day, but as we focus on the joy that comes through and from Jesus Christ, it helps us in the hard times to see the eternal picture and find happiness.  I felt that this Christmas, even though there were a few hard times and even a few tears were shed due to missing family and friends, it was overshadowed by the great Joy I find in testifying of Him who brought true Joy to the World. 

It added to my great joy that Stacie, Thomas and Charlotte were able to spend a few days with us right before Christmas.  Bennett's misfortune of having to be out of town the week before Christmas turned into our great fortune to have them here with us.  It made it feel a lot more like Christmas to have them here with us during the holidays.  They were good sports and tagged along to two days full of our Mission Christmas Conferences, which I think they loved.  Thomas and Charlotte were the hit of the conference, especially when they passed out all of our gifts to the missionaries.  But we were also able to do a few non-missionary things with them while they were here. 

Stacie and Bennett surprised the kids and they found out they were coming to visit on the day of their visit, which was Thomas' birthday.  They had gotten him a new suitcase for his birthday and were so excited for the surprise.  It was a little anti-climatic when they told him to pack his bags, that he was going to visit Mimi and Pop and he said "oh cool" and continued to play with his new toys, but it was sure fun to get them here.  

We got to be part of his birthday celebrations. 

One of the evenings we tried to go ice skating and to the zoo lights.  Charlotte lasted about 10 seconds on the ice, Thomas about 10 minutes.  But some of those 10 minutes included him yelling "this is horrible".  We thought it was hilarious, that is the joy of being the grandparents. We left there to go to the zoo lights, but ended up at the food truck roundup instead.  We find joy in flexibility.  

We made it to the zoo the next day, and found joy in watching the bears eat their lunch and the cougars prowl around their cages.  

Charlotte found more joy in eating the candy than putting it on the gingerbread house!

 These children spread joy wherever they go.  Thomas was so happy to be with the missionaries. His favorite part of the week, though, had to be getting to 'swim' 3 days before Christmas!

The week ended all too soon, but how grateful we were to have them for the short time that we got them here.  It has also been so joyful to have Ethan and Preston here for the holidays.  We love when they come from BYU to stay with us.  It feels more like home when they are here and they bring much joy to Scott, they can loosen him up in a way that I can't.  Ethan says his favorite part of Christmas is eating sugar cookies.  Not to break tradition, I waited for them to get here so they could participate in sugar cookie making.  And, when they are here, it seems we spend a lot of time eating, which isn't such a good thing for my waistline, but it brings us quite a bit of joy. 

Every year we have a tradition that we have our nicest dinner of the year on the 23rd of December in honor of Joseph Smith's birthday.  This year I took off cooking that dinner for just the four of us and we went out.  When the waiter asked us if we were celebrating anything special I tried to get someone to say we were there celebrating Joseph Smith's birthday, but no one took the bait. 

We had a quiet Christmas Eve with just the four of us, but were able to have the Office Elders, Elder Ludlow and Elder Manalansang, and our assistants, Elder Murphy and Elder Yorgasen over for Christmas brunch.  And, since Elder Murphy and Elder Yorgasen didn't have dinner plans, they came back for Christmas dinner as well.  We love having the Elders in our home. 

This weather is another thing that brings us joy.  66 degrees in December is something I can get used to.  

The joy of seeing and recognizing God's hand in this work and in each of our lives is the very best joy of all.  Here is just one example of how we saw that happen this week.  On the day after Christmas we had to do the transfer board.  I have probably explained this process before, but it is an incredibly spiritual experience.  Scott and I, and the assistants all come to the meeting fasting and praying.  Scott and I generally look at the transfer board and have ideas of trainers, leaders, etc, as do the assistants.  It never ceases to amaze me how our lists usually line up almost exactly.  That part I have been very aware of, and I know that there is revelation in where elders and sisters are transferred to, but sometimes we don't know exactly why, or see the 'rest of the story'.  

A few days after we had transfers ready to go, Scott and I got a message from some sisters that live and work in a neighboring zone to where we live.  We had heard about one of their investigators before, but they were letting us know that this particular investigator was moving, and had bought a house in the ward we live in, in order to better help her keep the commandments.  She is a single mom and they thought we would be good fellowshippers for her because she was worried about finding friends in this ward (no worries, it's a great ward).  They sent us her new address and it turns out, it is on the exact street where the most amazing, and loving, kind and compassionate woman I may have ever known lives.  She is a young widow and single mom in our ward and just emanates love.  I told them it was no coincidence that this investigator bought a house on her exact street, that God led her there.  

What we didn't tell them at the time, (because it wasn't out yet) is that one of the sister missionaries who has been teaching her and who loves her deeply, is being transferred into our ward.  She can continue to teach her and be part of her baptism and fellowshipping, both of them transferred to a new, but the same ward.  What joy it brings me to know that God is in the very details of each of our lives.  

I want to thank so very, very many of you who have reached out in kindness and love to us this Christmas season.  We received more cards, gifts and wishes of love than we have ever received.  We felt of your love and support and for that we are most grateful.  You certainly filled our hearts with joy and we love you all so very much.  We are grateful for a God who has put so many wonderful people in our lives.  We are mostly thankful for a God who so loved the world that He gave us his only begotten son, that we might have JOY in this life and in the world to come.  Merry Christmas from our home to yours. 

Joy to the World, the Lord is come, let earth receive her King.  Let every heart prepare him room!