England...Sacred Ground...

 

The Missionary Boy has been home for about 6 weeks now. I have thought many times I would sit and write about what it has been like to have him come home. Our life has been a whirlwind since the moment he arrived. Actually that would be true of his actual birth! He has taken us on quite a parental ride...That Boy! There are days that when I think if his mission, it seems like such a blur. There are other days that I feel the feelings again...those of a Missionary Mother.

  They are feelings that won't soon be forgotten.

(Pres. and Sis. Millar)

When he left for his mission, a very wise man told us that... "we would mourn the loss of the boy... and we would celebrate the man that returns to us." And he was right. He isn't our "boy" anymore. He is now a man. He is very physically different, he has a very different view of the world now. He is concerned for others...he feels the pain and sadness of others...he loves more deeply...he loves sacred things...he is quick to help...he loves his family...very simply...he is grown up!

 

I am sure that leaving England was bittersweet for our "boy" turned man.

That place will always represent beautiful change and growth for him. It will be sacred ground for him, as it will be for us, his parents. It will be a place that he remembers with love for the great learning that took place there...even though sometimes it was very hard.

As a mother of a missionary, England will always hold a very special place in my heart,

as the home of my son when he was away from me. Had he been sent to Mexico, I would have had some point of reference to understand the experiences that he was having,

the food he was eating...the weather he was enjoying. I did not have that for England.

 To imagine what the people, the food and the weather were like was very difficult for me.

  It was foreign for him and it was foreign for us.

  Now that culture has become comfortable and familiar to him.

  Now Mexico seems a little different.

 

And so he said good-bye, not only to England, but to a time of life that happens only once.

A time he will never revisit. He climbed aboard a plane and headed to a land that was familiar but now different. It is different because he is different...in a very good and blessed way. Although he is happy to be home, he longs for his England, and the life of a missionary that he knew there. He is learning how to be this new man in his old world. It has been so exciting for him to begin to plan his future, but it has also been very sad for him, to see that some things and some people have not changed and probably never will and yet so much has changed and how will he fit into it all again. Returning from a mission is a hard thing. It is a time of great transition.

 

 

Strangely, I feel the same. I am a missionary mother who is adjusting too. I loved every moment of having a missionary in the mission field. I could have never anticipated the joy and great blessings that would be ours as a family during this special time. It was a sacred time for sure. I still find myself drawn to "all things England"
 and maybe I will always be.

 It is a place that I will always have a deep affection for...and maybe..

.if I am lucky...one day I will walk on the very soil that "raised" my son into the

 "new man" that we are getting to know all over again.

I Think We Are Just About Ready....;)

Missionary Monday....4 More To Go...

 

I cannot believe we have only 4 more Monday's before he is home!!

I realized late last night...that it was exactly one month until our Missionary Boy completes his missionary service. I have such mixed emotions...We are ready to have him back... but it has been an amazing experience to have a child serve a mission. His service has blessed our family!

 

A very special baptism..

.

High Wycombe...

Missionary Update...

 

The Missionary Boy sent us a few photos last week...

I say, we NEVER tire of pictures of him

!

 

He loves his area...and he loves his companion!

He is having so many wonderful experiences and has grown so much!

 

 

He recently had the opportunity to travel to the adjoining mission for a special conference with Elder Ballard. He sure was happy to have that experience.

 

This is a special family that he and Elder Jones have become close to. He mentioned when he wrote, that the pictures might be blurry...because the Sister who was taking the picture began to cry as she saw her son in the middle of two missionaries;) I thought that was sweet...

and the pictures were a little blurry!;)

Missionary Thursday....;)

 

It seems that most any day is missionary day, around here!

 And I like it! If it isn't our own Missionary Boy...it is the local missionaries which we

 love very much! In fact, Tuesday our local missionaries joined us for lunch.

 They came to our office where we had planned to have lunch...and noticed right

away that I was not having a great day;)....it happens now and again...anyway,

like they often do, they asked how they could help, I thanked them for being

so thoughtful and assures them that I would be just fine;)

 They ate their lunch...and as they were leaving they came and asked if they could

share a scripture that they were just sure would be helpful.

They went on to read...discuss...and share a much needed laugh, through an unfortunate

story in the scriptures! Oh those missionaries can be creative!;)...

Really it was a thought that was so special.

The missionaries are constantly in our home, for one thing or another...

and we are grateful for them and the great spirit they bring to our home!

Also, a treat this week...pictures from the Missionary Boy!!

He had the opportunity to sit at the feet of a prophet in a very historic place in England.

Hyde Park. M. Russell Ballard make unexpected trip to England,

and The Missionary Boy was blessed to be there.

The above picture is of The Missionary Boy and Pres. Judd, his current Stake President,

who just happened to go to school and play basketball with The Farmer.

  Isn't that fun??!!

 

 

This is Elder Jones and Elder Jones (from Switzerland)

The Missionary Boy thinks he is alot alike a very dear friend of his from home;)

 

 

This photo is titled..."Family Portrait"

It is the missionary he trained...and the others who have been

trained through his "family line."

 

A fun sister who knows family in Mesa...

Missionary Monday....

Missionary Monday....Part 2....

 

A few more photos arrived in our email this morning... I loved them all!!

Missionary Monday

Elder Jones and Elder Von Allmen... dear friends..."Brothers"

Last week The Missionary Boy told us that his zone had gotten

special permission to go to a place in England where the Mormon.org

campaign started... He was sooooo excited!

 

Another thing that makes the Missionary Boy very happy.... Elder Von Allmen.

  He calls him his "Son" because he trained when he was a new missionary.

  He is a wonderful young man from Switzerland. They are again in the same Zone...and The Missionary Boy is really happy about that! These pictures came from Elder Von Allmen's mom...

who has also become a very dear friend...

...to me!

Thank you Uli!!

20

Last week The Missionary Boy celebrated his 20th birthday. He has left his teen years behind;)

(That is a direct quote from his last letter!)

His birthday was filled with special celebrations! One member who he has grown very close to, invited he and a few other missionaries to their home for a dinner, complete with a birthday cake.

 

The dinner was then followed by a Musical Missionary Fireside, which he sang in... and then a surprise song of "Happy Birthday" led by Pres. Millar...his mission president.

 

He said it was one of his best birthday's ever!

This gift was made by a dear member in a previous area... who for other reasons made a trip to his area...and was sure to stop by and leave a gift she had made for him. I am so grateful to the wonderful people of England who have loved and cared for my Missionary Boy!! He left us a boy...and will return a man...what an amazing transformation in a short amount of time!

His Missionary Grandpa said..."he is returning, a man of God..." and that touched my Mother Heart.

Happy Birthday to The Missionary Boy...

who we should probably call The Missionary Man...now!

Missionary Monday....

 

Great pictures from the Missionary Boy and Elder Botta in my email this morning!

Makes for a wonderful day!!