Thankful.

When Gary and I served together at the Provo MTC, one of my favorite excerpts from Adjusting to Missionary Life  that I used regularly to encourage new missionaries who were homesick and discouraged, was an experience from President Gordon B. Hinckley when he was a new, young missionary:

“I was not well when I arrived. Those first few weeks, because of illness and the opposition which we felt, I was discouraged. I wrote a letter home to my good father and said that I felt I was wasting my time and his money. He was my father and my stake president, and he was a wise and inspired man. He wrote a very short letter to me which said, ‘Dear Gordon, I have your recent letter. I have only one suggestion: forget yourself and go to work.’ Earlier that morning in our scripture class my companion and I had read these words of the Lord: ‘Whosoever will save his life shall lose it; but whosoever shall lose his life for my sake and the gospel’s, the same shall save it.’ (Mark 8:35.)

“Those words of the Master, followed by my father’s letter with his counsel to forget myself and go to work, went into my very being. With my father’s letter in hand, I went into our bedroom in the house at 15 Wadham Road, where we lived, and got on my knees and made a pledge with the Lord. I covenanted that I would try to forget myself and lose myself in His service.

“That July day in 1933 was my day of decision. A new light came into my life and a new joy into my heart. The fog of England seemed to lift, and I saw the sunlight. I had a rich and wonderful mission experience, for which I shall ever be grateful” 

President Hinckley found success in dealing with his discouragement as he renewed his decision to serve the Lord. He later said: “The best antidote I know for worry is work. The best medicine for despair is service. The best cure for weariness is the challenge of helping someone who is even more tired.” 

Gary and I knew our first holiday season away from our children and grandbabies would feel especially tender, so we put President Hinckley's counsel to the test. We purposely filled our calendar with events that would help us stay focused on our missionary purpose, when we knew our families at home would be gathering to give thanks and break bread in the wintery weather. 

On Thanksgiving day, we held MLC - Mission Leadership Council at the mission home. There is always a considerable amount of spiritual and physical preparation for this meeting that happens once every transfer, and it's one of my favorites. 

We spent the day counseling together, teaching each other, practicing what we'd learned, and eating. We feasted at the beginning and the end. Most of our zone leaders and sister training leaders are African, and weren't familiar with this American holiday, and it was fun to observe and listen to the American missionaries explain why we do what we do. 

Wise and wonderful.

Listening to Elder Bednar talk straight.

Introducing some to cornhole.

Stellar STL's.

So thankful for Sister Whitlock.

Zimbabwe Harare Mission MLC - November 25, 2021

At the close of our day, a kind friend had labored endlessly and surprised us with an incredible traditional Thanksgiving feast. I didn't realize how much I had been missing it, but when something as small as toasted marshmallows on top of yams brings tears to your eyes, you discover how much you're really missing home. Our American elders perked right up when they saw the pumpkin pie. We substituted chicken for turkey, but nobody seemed to mind! 

As the missionaries helped with the dishes and polished off the dessert, I tried to be still inside and just listen. Listen to them laughing and talking. Listen to the backyard noises made by bugs and birds I'd never see in the states. Listen to all the emotions and words not being said by dozens of missionaries far from home and the familiar. And listen for the happy. And there it was. All of it. 




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