They are just so good!

My nephew Zander entered the MTC (Missionary Training Center) yesterday.  I am so proud of him.  He is the first of all my nieces and nephews to choose to serve a mission for our church.  It really is a great sacrifice, but one that is rewarded with amazing blessings.  Young adulthood is a time when most are focused on themselves.  Young adults have traded their childhood homes for the independence they craved during their teenage years.  They frequently are focused on themselves, trying to "take advantage" of this time when they only have to worry about themselves.  They want to pack in as much fun as they can before they decide to marry and once again have to concern themselves with the needs of others.  I don't mean to assert that all young adults are completely selfish, but that it is one of the times in life that is often very self-centered.  It is a very fun and exciting time--a time of growth and exploration.  As I think of all the millions of young adults in the world, I am always touched by the sacrifice of the relative handful, about 60,000 at a time, who choose to sacrifice the fun of being a young adult to serve their God and others.  They sacrifice dating, music, electronics, studies, family, sports, comfort, etc.  They choose to give a year and a half or two years of their life.  They do not choose where they will serve and at times they are initially a little disappointed in their assignment.  They go whereever they are asked and devote nearly all their time to serving others and sharing a message about Jesus Christ and His love.  They only have about three quarters of one day off each week and during that time they do their shopping, cleaning, laundry, etc.  They do find time to have fun on their day off, but by dinner time, they are back to teaching and serving.  They are amazing!

Mission life is not easy, it is demanding and results in much soul searching, but these young people rise to the occasion.  They grow to love the poeple who they serve and are loved in return.  They learn about themselves--their strengths and their weaknesses.  They work hard and invest much physically, emotionally, and spiritually. They stretch and grow which at times is painful, but they are rewarded with much joy.  The result is that these young men and women who started out their missions as amazing young people become extraordinary.  I feel so priviledged to be able to work with them.  So many times we have had people not of our faith come up to us after having some association with the missionaries and almost be at a loss for words.  They are clearly moved and say something to the effect of, "They are just so good" not knowing how else to express what they are feeling and observing.

Zander is one of these great young people.  He has worked hard to prepare himself for this opportunity.  After he graduated from high school last spring, he went away to college and had a fabulous time.  He made many friends and had lots of FUN.  He was experiencing the freedom and independence that all teenagers dream about and loving it.  He had determined that he wanted to serve a mission for our church and planned on doing so when he turned 19--the age at which the young men were asked to serve.  He had a year of good times ahead of him.  About a month after he turned 18, Thomas S. Monson, the prophet of our church, announced that young men were able to begin their missions at the the age of 18 if they desired.  Because he is so wonderful and he had put forth the effort to prepare himself, he immediately began filling out and submitting the paperwork necessary to be able to serve a mission.  This handsome, intelligent, fun young man chose to give up his year of fun, so that he could work to try and bring happiness to others.  I love him and am so proud of him.  "HE IS JUST SO GOOD!"

Family Update

The following was originally written on October 12, 2012

We are all doing well.

Wesley is growing fast and has become a very smiley baby. He still has times when his tummy causes him trouble, but he is definitely improving for which I am very thankful.

Daniel is super cute and such a happy kid. He is lonely with all his siblings at school, but loves playing with his trains and cars.

Ethan started kindergarten which is all day here. He had a little bit of difficulty adjusting to having someone tell him what to do for seven hours straight, but he has adjusted now. He walks home from school with Jacob and Elli which he loves, but keeps asking me if I can pick his siblings up so he could walk by himself. He just loves being independent.

Elli of course has made tons of friends and has invited several of them to church. She loves sharing the gospel and was jumping around the room with excitement when President Monson announced that girls would be able to go on missions at 19.

Jacob is Jacob. Happy and confident--taking things in stride. He has been a great helper to me doing things like coming out to carry in groceries without me asking.

Braeden is loving playing tackle football. I am so thankful that he was chosen to play quarterback. He has made many friends and is quite a leader.

Spencer is also enjoying playing football--tight end and draws a lot of social attention especially from the girls. He is handsome and confident.

Brian is very busy, but loves teaching and of course is doing a great job. He has really tried to take Saturdays off to be with the family and has done amazingly well at that. He also has made it to all the boys games except one when we were out of town for a mission presidents conference.

I am just my normal self, frazzled, exhausted and disorganized. Trying to keep up with all my kids and wondering how I got myself into this mess. Lol. All in all, life is good.

A Time To Serve

I have always loved the scripture in Ecclesiastes 3:1-8, "To every thing there is a season, and a time to every person under the heaven..."  By nature I am always trying to cram as much as I can into each season of my life and at the same time always seem to be looking forward to the next season.  As a result, I often forget to enjoy my current season.  When I read this scripture in my youth, I realized that I needed to focus on and enjoy the good of each season of my life.  This realization has positively impacted my life and lead me to find more joy and happiness.

When Brian and I received the call to preside over a mission for our church, I was perplexed to say the least.  We are relatively young with young children; our oldest is 13.  As one might expect, we are extremely busy just trying to care for our children, so it was surprising to be asked to leave our home to watch over and care for over a 160 young missionaries in addition to our own children.  I felt overwhelmed and under qualified and wondered how I could possibly manage such an assignment.  During the following weeks, as I sought support through my faith, this scripture kept coming to mind.  I knew from past experience that God does not require us to do that which is impossible, and even those situations that appear impossible are possible with His aid.  Furthermore, we can find great joy even in the most trying and growth promoting circumstances.  This is our family's "Time to Serve" and I have no doubt that it will be a great blessing in our life and one of our favorite "seasons".

In this blog, I hope to be able to share the "joys" of this season--the things we learn, the experiences that change our hearts, the growth in our faith, the struggles that teach us, the happiness of serving together, and the love we develop for the people of the Texas, Houston South Mission.