An Up-and-Down Week

This has been a bit of a roller-coaster week -- up and down. Emotionally, things have been rough for a few days. I hesitated whether to put things like this in my blog, as I didn't want it to be a downer, but I thought that everyone who reads it is realistic and knows that missions are not always fun. But, as I tell myself, if I didn’t have a bad week once in a while, I wouldn’t be on a mission. I would be on vacation!

First I would like to put things in context. I work with one or two missionaries out of a mission. This means that 99% of the missionaries are doing just fine and never even need to see me. And of the ones that I see, most are just dealing with normal homesickness and difficulties in adjusting to a new language and a new culture. I see them once or twice and they are fine. Even though for them, this is one of the biggest challenges they have ever had to face, they learn to adjust and don't need any more help.

A few of them need to be transferred to a service mission. It might be because they have health or mental health challenges that can best be addressed at home, or because a service mission is a better fit for them. Service missions are wonderful, with missionaries serving in many capacities, either with church organizations or local nonprofit organizations. They do excellent work and often, when they complete their missions, the organizations ask if any other missionaries can be assigned to work with them. Service missionaries can live at home and have the support of family members while they are still representing the Lord. I am fine with missionaries being transferred to them.

Rarely, there is a case when a transfer to a service mission happens because a missionary has decided that they are a failure as a teaching missionary – when their mission has barely begun. Sometimes, missionaries, just like all of us human beings have strong testimonies of Heavenly Father and the Savior, but almost no testimony of our own worth, or of how much we are loved.

The mission president and companion work so hard to help every missionary know they are loved, both by them and by Heavenly Father, and I work so hard to help every missionary I work with to know that they have within them the power to shape their life into what they want it to be, regardless of where or how they serve. I have no agenda to “talk them into” staying in a teaching mission or staying in the field, and I tell them this. Sometimes, though, it is nearly impossible to help them see themselves as precious and important and loveable. We love our missionaries and want them to serve wherever and however they will be able to love what they are doing, but it is hard to see one give up on believing in themselves.

This is hard on me - But feeling emotional pain sometimes is part of the price we pay for the privilege of working with people. I tell myself that even though I won't be seeing them any more, Heavenly Father still loves them and will be sending that love through other people they will come in contact with as they continue their mission in a service capacity.

That was the down side. On a brighter note, with the warmer weather, people are coming outdoors more. Here are some local musicians we saw near where we live.

Elder and Sister Blazer, whom I like to do things with, decided to take advantage of the fun music!

And look at the orchids growing on trees here. I love looking at the roots that are growing right on the tree.