Young Missionaries

 We transported our young sister missionaries to London yesterday. We are never with the sister missionaries, no matter who they are, that we don't think of Lauren. It was a delightful time together in the car. They are dear young women, both Americans and both hard workers. They sat in the back, talking, listening and asking questions of us. They seemed genuinely interested in the answers. One question was what was our favorite thing about each of our children.

We have never been asked such a thing! And it was one of those kinds of questions that leave me speechless. Like "What do you love about England?" I know she asked for one thing. But how do you condense a lifetime of experiences with an individual and come down to one thing? We each talked about about each of our children for some time.

How do you describe an adult who is your child? It is a funny thing that other than awkward-sounding words like offspring, the only way to describe your offspring is as your child. I guess you could say daughter or son, but there are elements of society now who object to those gender-specific nouns.

Ah well. We went on a small trip today, down through several beautiful small villages, including Moulsford, home of the Shingletons as far back as their history goes - into the 1600s. Esther Elizabeth Shingleton was my father's grandmother. It was a beautiful drive, with our destination of Reading and its Costco. We purchased chocolate chips, by far and away the best semi-sweet and least expensive we have found here, chicken breasts for the same reason, and some fresh produce.

We have a little open house tomorrow evening, and I am taking some goodies. We will have the four missionaries here Sunday for dinner, including Emma our YA rep. And Monday night we are holding a wedding shower for Kristina. I will be baking for that as well.

When we got home, I walked to the nearest mailbox to drop in a few letters. That unfortunately, was my walk for the day. I think total mileage was one mile. I have got to do better!

I am going through files, throwing away anything we don't want to take home, or which is obsolete now. There are ward rosters from ten years ago, and instruction manuals from long-since disappeared appliances. I hope to get that mostly done by next week.

I heard from Elder Harrison that the Pathway course I am teaching just so happens to have some unique record-keeping irregularities, so I may be thrown into overdrive again next week, as we head into the last class and turning in the final grades. Argh.

Our young elders came by to borrow our hand-held mixer, and then two hours later delivered a delicious desert. They love SK, and they are cute with him. We enjoy them immensely.

We spoke to Lauren, who is home now. I'm glad she is home and safe and happy. I know she was an excellent missionary. I am so happy she has had that experience. Like our missionaries here, she has gone through times that have stretched her soul. She has learned to look beyond the outward appearance and see how precious each individual is, she has learned how to handle rejection and how to rejoice with the people who have gratefully entered the covenant path. She has learned from companions so much about how to get along with other individuals, especially ones you find difficult. She has learned how to communicate with Heaven. She has learned about the Savior and His atoning sacrifice in a way that she has never before experienced.

Years and years ago, I read an article in a national magazine that said the Mormon church doesn't know what a great thing they have going. They have an army of young people who are serving all over the world, who, when they return home are ambassadors of good will from the country they served. Many learn a foreign language and will love the country and people forever. 

I think we are well aware of how much a young missionary does for the people and country they serve, but for the past couple of years, we have seen how much a mission does for a young person. 

We are grateful that Lauren was not only able to serve, but to serve with all her heart, might, mind, and strength. What a richness that will bring to everything else that she does in this life!