5 Days of Thankfulness
Today I'm glad that I had the opportunity to serve a mission (sorry for the picture--I don't have a better scanner than this). I'm grateful for the gospel learning and growth that happened during that time. I'm very grateful for the fact that my mission stretched me in so many ways and helped learn how to truly love others. I'm still trying to learn how to do that, but it was a good start. I also love the fact that while on my mission I met the wonderful man who is know my husband. I feel a little funny putting up a picture of us as missionaries. I had no idea at the time that we would come home and fall in love with each other. We served together in the same district for eight months, so about half of my entire time in Spain. I knew many elders who were rude, lazy, mean, vulgar, and various other forms of ugly. Mr. Fob was a caring, compassionate missionary who lead humbly and honestly. I was impressed by his lack of pretension and his willingness and enthusiasm for service. At the time we were in our mission, the atmosphere was not always the most uplifting or spiritual in many areas. I know Mr. Fob sometimes feels like his service could have been better, but I always thought of him as one of the best missionaries around. In this picture we are with Sergio, a man who was afflicted with severe cerebral palsy. Mr. Fob nearly broke his ankle one time while carrying Sergio down the stairs from his apartment to his wheelchair. Mr. Fob and his companion were genuinely friends with Sergio, and I appreciate that because I know that the missionaries' service to him was difficult for a lot of reasons. I also am so grateful for the chance I had to serve in Spain. I didn't know much about the country at all until I got there, but now I love the language, the culture, and the people. I miss it and hope to go back someday. It's hard to explain how much a mission gets you involved in the country itself in a way that tourists will never experience. Lest you think my mission solely involved posing demurely in front of the temple, here's a picture of me with a shop window full of cheese:
Comments
(I'm feeling so puffed up over here.)
That movie God's Army had a lot of goofy things in it (Elders and sisters wandering off to spend an hour just chatting with one another--yeah, right), but there were some really great parts too. The main thing the director was able to show is that missionaries are just human. With real emotions and baggage and all the rest. My favorite part is when that sister is talking about what she gave up to come--that she didn't feel she could marry her fiance because they didn't seem to be in the same place spiritually. She felt she needed to serve to find out. She served, he married somebody else even though she still really loved him. She then said that the sacrifice was worth it to really know. Her words are better and she really testifies. Anyway, I feel like I gave up some things, as well as part of myself to serve well, but every day I realize just what a blessing those sacrifices were.