It is an interesting time of life as I have friends whose sons I have known as boys are now grown up and receiving mission calls. There is a lot of joy and excitement in the lives of my friends as they learn of their calls to serve and prepare to send them out in the field. I am happy for them and I am excited for the things these young men will learn as they immerse themselves in the work of the Lord. The two years I spent in South Africa were perhaps the most important 2 years of my life. There were so many lessons learned as I went forth in the Lords work. It wasn't easy, certainly not. Perhaps that was part of the growing experience, learning how to endure trials and to exercise faith in the Lord. Anyhow, I am excited to hear of these calls to serve and am excited for these boys who have grown into worthy young men who are worthy to serve and willing to do so. I am grateful for their faith.
Nick Schatz is one of whom I speak. He is preparing to enter the MTC in the next two weeks and will be serving in the Idaho Boise Mission. One of the really neat things about this is that his cousin, Justin Marlowe, is finishing his Mission in the same mission and will be coming home a few days before Nick leaves. I think it is wonderful. John and Kathy are dropping Nick off at the MTC and then they may end up down here for a quick visit. It will be wonderful to see them. They have been so good to us and mean so much to our family. I am grateful for their friendship and I am excited for Nick and for their family.
Today I saw that Cody Dixon received his call to serve. He has been called to serve in the Utah St. George Mission. How about that? He is serving in the mission that we live in. Perhaps he will have the opportunity to serve in Cedar City. It would be extremely wild if he ended up in the apartment across the street. That would be fun and I would have to make sure he was eating well. I am happy for Darren and Jenny and their family also.
These are exciting times. Of course I am not sure how these young men reached mission age, where has the time gone? Before you know it 11 years will have passed and Jack will be old enough to serve. That will be here all too quickly.
What won't be here all to quickly is the return of Natty, Jack and Andy to Cedar City. I got a call from Jack an hour and a half ago telling me he wants me to meet him at the tram when they land in Vegas tomorrow. I don't know that I will be allowed to the tram so we talked about the baggage claim instead. He sounds great and I am looking forward to giving all three of them a big bear hug tomorrow.
I am grateful to the Lord for the blessings that come into our lives because of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I am grateful for missionary work and for the experiences I had that strengthened my testimony and faith in the Jesus Christ. I know that the Savior lives and that he loves each of us.
No comments:
Post a Comment