A few weeks ago I was talking to a missionary who had left the mission for a while and come back. About 18 months into his mission, he had to go home for gall bladder surgery. He went home, had the surgery and ended up being home for quite a few months. After being home for so long he had gotten a job, and just the day before this experience he had visited with his Stake President and they had decided that it was time for him to be honorably released and move on with his non mission life. He had been accepted to school and it seemed to be the correct choice. He went to work a day or so later. I don't remember what he told me he did, but it seems like it was kind of a handy man. He went to this apartment complex, and as he was walking in he saw two missionaries going into a house. He went to his assigned job and again, as he was leaving, he saw these same two missionaries walking down the street. The Spirit washed over him and he knew that he had not yet completed his mission. He needed to return to Canada. He contacted his Stake President and returned last September. I met him a week or so after we started working in the office in February. One of my jobs is sending letters to parents and others notifying them of the missionary's return date and other pertinent information. I asked him about his mom because she lives in Pocatello, so we became Idaho friends. Last week he was again in the office with all the other departing missionaries. He told me this story, and said it was a defining moment in his life. Now, truly, his mission was finished.
These young people are making some of the most important decisions of their lives. It strengthens my testimony to know how closely the Lord monitors all of our lives. He will gently nudge us in the right direction. Even if we don't always go in that direction, He never gives up. We can never give up either on those we love, for whatever reason. We should especially never give up on ourselves.
The Church is true. These missions are training grounds for all of us. I'm so grateful to be here.
HISTORY
A Little History:
Our story begins in Pocatello, Idaho, circa 1972, when the lovely Debby Christensen agreed to a first, though fateful date with admirer, David Croshaw. Long story-short, he bade her follow him, and they went arm-in-arm to the Logan, Utah temple for establishment of an eternal family unit, Generation 1, on May 23 1973.
From their first blissful summer in Salt Lake City, educational pursuits took them to Provo/Orem, Utah, birthplace of Leslie and Rebecca, and to San Francisco/Oakland California, birthplace of Colin and Matt. Then, for establishment of livelihood, expansion of the tribe with Abby and Dana, and for raising/unifying of Generation 2, it was back to the roots in Pocatello for a rewarding sojourn.
In time, driven by a raging, but commonly shared sense of adventure and independence, one-by-one, Generation 2 escaped the homeland to distant regions of the country and the world, each ultimately developing their own tribal expansions by pairing with worthy mates and initiating Generation 3.
Now sensing fulfillment of their purpose in Pocatello, Generation 1 has also left those roots and transplanted to Cascade Idaho, from which base, they anticipate more abundant contact with The Posterity, Generations 2 and 3, in the future. That contact however, awaits fulfillment of a call to LDS missionary service in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, wherein they hope to help the state of the world by sharing the love of Jesus Christ.
So now, including Generation 0 (Grandma and Grandpa Christensen) home base includes Yuma, Arizona, Pocatello, Idaho, Cascade, Idaho, Vancouver, BC, Fort Lauderdale, Florida, Spokane, Washington, Boise, Idaho, Los Angeles, California, back to Boise, Idaho, and on and on (Generation 3+) to infinity.
Our Mission Statement:
This is the blog of our eternal family unit. Initiated years ago, it served well as a journal, but even more so, as an archive of our personal interaction. It was a gathering place, a confabulation instrument, a unifying force for four generations of widely dispersed and progressively prolific posterity, and their valued associates. Though it served these purposes well for many years, it eventually took a back seat to new-kids-on-the-block, Facebook, and Instagram, and was sadly forgotten.
We now move to resurrect this blog with an added functional purpose of archiving the missionary experiences of Generation 1, of their movements and activities as they participate with The Gathering of Israel in the land northward. In so doing, we hope that via their own comments and posts, this blog will again serve to gather and unify the posterity and their friends.
As in the past, that the young and vibrant may know the old and tired, that enduring bonds may be fostered and maintained, that experience and encouragement may be openly shared, that posterity may embrace truth, and that hearts may be knit together, we must resist detachment despite our geographic divergence. We shall do so here.
_____________________________________________________________
1 comment:
Wow. If we could all show as much dedication.
Post a Comment