Missing Them

Speaking only for myself, I've been just a little melancholy this past week or two. There are a lot of people I've been missing lately! We see blessings around us every day and we love serving this mission, but once in awhile it would be nice to be in two places at once :)

Last weekend, our son-in-law Josh graduated from B.Y.U. with a degree in Psychology. Would have love to have been there with them!  

CONGRATULATIONS, JOSH!

Emily and Josh at the Marriott Center.

Also last week, we had a great Skype call with our two youngest grandkids -- who are growing up soooo fast. Miss them so much! Luckily, we get to see and talk to all our grandkids nearly every week on Skype. What a blessing!

Our Skype view of Ammon and Laina.

We are so grateful for the love and support our family has given us for the past (almost) two years that we've been away from home. We are so blessed. The good news from home is:

• Jenn and Iain are settled in and loving their new home in Mountain Green.
• Our oldest grandson, Jacob, will be graduating from high school next month.
• Janet's book, Zap the Grandma Gap, is selling well and she is doing a lot of speaking on how to get your kids and grandkids excited about their family's history.
• Kristen is doing lots of beautiful photo shoots with her business, Sweet Sassafras.
• Both Jenn and Amy, as well as Amy's husband Colin, are working on their Master's Degrees.
• Emily is finishing her first year of teaching her own sixth grade class at American Preparatory Academy.
• Amy was in Utah during her Spring break. She will be there again this summer during part of the time that Colin is deployed to Qatar.
• Amy and Emily will both be performing in Haiti this summer with Clog America.

Last week also found us saying good-bye to Elder and Sister Kearl, who finished their mission and have already arrived safely home in Canada. We are really going to miss them. We have such good memories of trips taken and times together. Sister Kearl pretty much kept the missionaries fed and looked after for 18 months. Elder Kearl was in charge of everything financial and earth-shaking in the mission. Together, they reached out to everyone, made us feel loved and kept us all laughing.  

Elder George and Sister Myrna Kearl from the Mission Office.
Everyone loved the Kearls around here!

The Kearls are the fourth missionary couple to leave the temple grounds this month. The Knights, Fawcetts and Workmans preceded them. What a wonderful bunch of friends! We wish them all well in their new escapades.

Elder Ed and Sister Connie Knight, temple missionaries and
guardian angels, also left a few weeks ago. We miss them, too!

One great blessing of the past few weeks was a visit from our dear friends, the Berentes, from Draper. We were so glad to see them! Istvan and Lisa and their kids are living in Stuttgart, Germany for six months or so while Lisa is deployed. They spent several nights at the Temple Accommodation Centre here on the temple grounds. During the days, they did some temple work and saw a lot of London and southern England. I got to take an afternoon off and drive to Dover with them. So much fun to be with them! We toured the Wartime Tunnels from World War II, the magnificent Dover Castle, and walked along the White Cliffs. It was such a beautiful day that we could even pick out the shoreline of France on the other side of the English Channel.

The Berentes at the White Cliffs of Dover

Don stayed behind at the Visitors' Centre the afternoon we went to Dover. He had an interview with the BBC in Surrey. There is a "Faith" program that the BBC broadcasts every Sunday morning one the radio. Over the next few weeks, they will be airing two interviews with Don and a public affairs representative for the Maidstone Stake.

Sunday night, while we were at a meeting with all the temple missionaries, Lisa, Courtney and Hannah took off around the temple grounds and made a surprise video for us. We were surprised and amazed. It is such a fun video! You can view it right here (you may have to copy and paste):  https://www.dropbox.com/s/zq3ysrwvufk1yo0/Video%2028.04.13%2021%2029%2006.mov

Now we've said good-bye to the Berentes. They're off the see the tulips in the Netherlands on their way back to Germany. If a mission is anything, it's a lot of hellos and good-byes. Once again I am reminded of the wise words of Dr. Seuss:  "Don't cry because it's over. Smile because it happened!"

You just have to celebrate the temporary!                          ~Pat~