Faith

We recently passed the six month mark of our missionary service. This shocked me a little at first because in many ways I still feel like a greenie. There is so much that I still don't know. There is literally not a day that passes that I don't learn something new. But this milestone got me thinking about what brought us here and the incredible and unanticipated blessings we have received as missionaries.

It was a little over a year ago, when in response to humble and sincere inquiry, we received the inspiration to serve a full time mission. Before that, it had not even entered my mind. Nevertheless, having asked for, and received, guidance, I was determined to do what the Lord wanted. We had no idea where we would be sent, or what we would be called upon to do, only that the Lord wanted us to serve a mission, so with a leap of faith we visited with our leaders, filled in papers, got medical and dental work done, and waited to see what would happen. I really had no family history experience, so I wondered what good I could possibly do here, or what David could do, but again, with faith we accepted our calls and moved to Salt Lake City.

Well, it didn't take long for the miracles to start. President Simmons, who had at first assured me that they wanted me, but had no use for David, called and apologized (this is a former seventy, a mission president, apologizing to me) and said that they indeed wanted both of us to serve in the mission. Then I was introduced to Elder Rumsey whose son Ford was a special young man working in the Church Office Building Cafeteria. Ford just happened to be leaving for his home in Texas soon, leaving an opening that was immediately offered to David. This job has been an incredible blessing to David. The crew is run as a mission, and indeed all the workers are service missionaries. They begin with prayers and even have scripture study during the breaks. David's boss is a sweet but firm woman who "speaks Down Syndrome." David had a hard time adjusting to the long hours and hard work, but still thrived in this environment. David has become a different person on this mission. He is happier, calmer, smarter, and more spiritual than I ever thought he could be. It has been eye opening to me to see the Spirit work on him.

Similarly, I was blessed with trainers, and mentors who helped me learn enough to be of some use here. I was skeptical about my computer skills, and complete lack of experience with family history, but the Lord qualifies whom He calls, and that promise is still being fulfilled. Next miracle was that we were assigned to the family search zone of the mission. I can't imagine a place where the Spirit is stronger, short of the temple. Here I am honored to work with some of the finest missionaries, young and old. I also get to meet and help people from all over the world who come here to connect with their families. Most of our patrons are not members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, but feel the Spirit of Elijah drawing them to their families. Although we are not allowed to preach the gospel, I feel the Spirit testifying to these patrons. Many of them are visibly moved and they all leave with a new appreciation for their families, and an understanding and tolerance of the Church and its people.

One of the greatest miracles has been our living arrangements. When we first applied, the mission census was high, and there was no missionary housing available. I asked if we could live with relatives, which was of course fine. We live very comfortably, and very cheaply, in my mother's basement. This has been such a blessing to all of us. What a joy to see my mother daily. I'm able to do a few things to help her out, but really we are so grateful to be enjoying her company and hospitality. As my interest in family history has grown, I have found her to be a ready source of information and perspective about my family. We are also able to attend the temple and other special events on temple square together.

A year ago, I couldn't have begun to see what the Lord had in mind for us. Our leap of faith has been rewarded a thousand times over.