Snipping, Shaving and Serving
The steady drumbeat of rain accompanied us in all that we did this day. Saturday - how fast the weeks fly by. We were talking this morning about the fact that in a couple of weeks, we will have been in Oxford (the second time) for as long as we were in Gilbert (the interim time), and in another month, we will have been in Oxford the same amount of time as we were the first time....September to March.
There is a chill dampness that comes with these days. I wonder how on earth people survived the winters here for hundreds of years past. Especially the cavernous castles and prisons, where not every room had a fireplace. Did the average person ever feel completely warm?
The inevitable happened today. SK. His hair. It has been a couple of months since he saw (or was seen by - more aptly) a barber. We covered him with a garbage bag and I reassured him that I would be very conservative with my trimming.
With his shaver in hand, I nervously began clipping. It is a great shaver. To be honest, I just trimmed straight across the bottom of the back of his hair, and did my best to clip around his ears. I attempted to trim some of the longer hair that was turning into a wing of sorts on the left side of his head, but I realized very quickly I was in over my head, and ceased clipping.
SK who is very adverse to wearing hats of any sort, agreed that if necessary, he would wear a stocking cap until the lockdown is lifted. The important thing is that he will look pretty good on camera, if we keep the lights low and plaster his hair down with hairspray. If this site gave a choice of emoticons here to insert, I can think of several that would follow this sentence. As it is, you will have to plug in the emotion yourself.
The evening ended off with a beautiful two-hour mission meeting on Zoom. We have 13 missionaries returning to their homes this coming week, and it has always been the custom to gather them to the mission home, interview them and then have them bear their testimonies about what they have learned on their missions. Obviously, that can't happen. So we hear their testimonies on a Saturday night meeting.
The meeting began with a beautiful hymn by the Tabernacle Choir set to missionary videos that made us both cry. You ought to watch: (This is not the exact one we watched, but it is from a Canadian mission and very similar to ours. The one we watched had pictures of our missionaries. I'm going to try to get hold of a copy!) These videos are done entirely by these young people.
The first of the thirteen bore his testimony by saying, "The Savior saved me. He changed me. I love Him."
Nearly every missionary said something similar. They were all so grateful for their missions and how the missions changed them, because they came to know Jesus Christ. There were variations, wonderful favorite scriptures quoted, and expressions of faith and trust in God. They talked about the blessings that come with consecrating our lives to the Savior. They all testified that they have felt His love, and have felt His guiding hand in their day to day work.
It was one of the most edifying meetings I have attended - hearing all those beautiful expressions of faith from all those beautiful people. We have a stellar senior couple who will be leaving also after giving two years. They stayed throughout the pandemic and have faithfully served in the office as well as the YSA Ward in London. Their testimonies were amazing.
The brother said, "I didn't come seeking a testimony, but it has been confirmed in so many countless ways." They both have adored working with the young missionaries, and I'm certain their lives have been changed forever as well.
Finally Deb and then Dave spoke. Short, simple and overpoweringly beautiful. Deb admonished the missionaries to continue the work after they get home. "The field is still white."
Dave told a story from the life of Orson F. Whitney which speaks to the longing to be where Jesus is and to serve Him by serving others. Then Dave said, "Some of you who are going home feel like you have not done enough. I testify that your service has been recorded in Heaven, and it is accepted. And it IS enough.
I have already broken my new rule by staying up late to do the blog....but I wanted to write while I still felt the beauty of this evening. No matter what age you are, a mission is an incredible experience.
Comments
And kudos to you for cutting dad’s hair! It looks good! I’m a little shocked he agreed to wear a stocking cap...though it makes me laugh to think of him on camera with his hair plastered down with hairspray. Hahaha!