A Missionary I’m MISSING! And Another Mission transfer

We are smack-dab in the middle of gratitude month and I want to say how THANKFUL I am for my missionary and all she’s learning over there on the other side of the world. I’m thankful for all the “good stuff” that comes with the sometimes “hard stuff” made up of change and learning and growing.

Sometimes I just think about how crazy it is that Claire is living life made up of so many details I don’t know, off on the other side of the world.

Sure we talk every week, but there are so many details in the living and the learning that I wish I could be a fly on the wall with her. (And also that I could hug her.)

Like, how in heaven’s name did she go from the pickiest eater on the planet to this?

And this?

I wish I could hear the sounds and smell the smells of places like this that is her every-day:

I wish I could wrap my arms around her on the hard and lonely days:

And be jubilant with her in with the best of days:

I wish I could transport myself to sit beside her in that car (where she drives on the other side of the road and can’t imagine it any other way now) and watch that glorious sunset with her.

I wish I could hug this incredible Mission Leader who is mentoring her in so many beautiful ways.

…and who is the best “second mom” for my girl over there in Australia. I am SO GRATEFUL for others who help shepherd my children.

I wish I could go to one of her English classes.

And oh how I wish I could hug, and thank, and get to know the people who she works with and teaches who make her so happy.

They are golden.

But of course, Moms don’t go on missions with their kids:)

And part of the beauty is that she is figuring this out, baby step by baby step, with God and herself. In a land far away. With people who become angels in her life. And therefore in her mama’s life too.

There’s a certain brand of confidence that comes with that. And it’s beautiful to watch it blossom and grow.

Missions seem LONG when it’s your own kids

It’s so strange that it feels like the days on that mission will never end.

And then someone asks incredulously, “So-and-so has already been gone for a YEAR??” And you’re sitting there thinking, well, it actually seems like 47 years to me!

I also thought those mission days never end with Max and Grace. But here they are, doing their own things and those missions seem like a dream. A figment of our imagination from a land far away. And MY mission seems even further away. I’m just grateful Claire is living up every single day and basking in it all. She knows to be grateful for all the ups and downs and I love that somehow, she’s aware of the fact that this time is fleeting.

Soon it will be gathering dust. But also “living” in a way. Because what she is learning there will be a living foundation for her for the rest of her life.

Companions

Claire has been so lucky to have the greatest companions. I love this last duo so much:

I think these two will be friends forever and ever.

An Australian Visitor

I’m not sure if I ever wrote about this that happened during their companionship:

Claire’s cousin-in-law Kathryn, one of the most accomplished and intelligent and KIND people I know, was in Australia for business. She sought out Claire (and when I say “sought out” I’m talking some serious searching). Claire’s email wasn’t working and she can only respond to anything on p-days, but Kathryn was persistent and took this cute duo to the most gorgeous restaurant for dinner.

I mean, look at that view!

Claire tried all kinds of different unique food and felt so “seen” and loved by Kathryn.

Sometimes you just need to feel “seen,” you know?

It made me tear up a bit I have to say. LOVE YOU KATHRYN!!

Transfers

Claire had transfers again (every six weeks) and she is back in her first area. Yep, after I think six months there, then five months in her new area, she got moved back. Which caused her to hem and haw a bit at first because this girl wants to RUN I tell you!

She has the desire to wear herself out to the bone with the work and at first the idea of being back in her first area again (after only that one other area) threw her for a loop. I mean, that doesn’t seem like “running” to head back to an area where you’ve already been for so long, right?

To her it felt more like back-tracking. But here’s where it gets sweet:

The Good Stuff in Sisters

We were on our p-day call, just the faces of Grace, Claire and me filling up the screen at this point. When Claire admitted this transfer news was tough for her, Grace lit up with the most beautiful pep talk. I want to always remember how my heart felt like it might burst watching those two sisters, a mother-hen-returned-missionary giving the best advice to her little sis.

Oh how I love when my kids become the mentors. Grace said it all so much better than I could have.

And do you know what?

Everything she said was RIGHT on. It’s been a couple weeks and Claire is just so in love with this old-turned-new area again filled with people she loved before and loves even more now that she can actually talk to them.

Breakthroughs in Chinese

For the first probably whole year of her mission Claire has been stressed about Mandarin. Like, really stressed. Oh how she wanted to learn, and that language is a bootie-kicker I tell you. But gradually she has stopped talking about how much she has to learn. I think because she is suddenly so much more comfortable with it.

All her hard work is paying off.

She said it’s so fun to come back to this area where her Taiwanese companion(s) had to do all the communicating and have people talk to HER. People used to only speak to her in broken English and now they only speak to her in Mandarin. A big lesson in how much she’s grown in the months she’s been away.

She has her first American companion (she had another one in a trio for a week or so, but it was such a different situation).

And she loves her so much.

They are taking that area by storm.

Claire doesn’t write letters very often, but here’s a excerpt from her latest one:

I had one talk that really really hit me this week called, “The Imperfect Harvest.”

“Regardless of how insignificant our efforts may seem, if we are sincere, the Savior will use us to accomplish His work. If we simply do the best we can and trust Him to make up the difference, we can become part of the miracles that surround us...

It’s hard to not always feel literally completely inadequate [as a missionary], but this talk makes me realize that God sees our sincerity. He sees how much this work means to us, and that is enough.

When we are willing to simply do an act of service for someone, or say something kind, or willing to lift one another burdens, even if our service isn’t perfect, God sees our efforts, and is proud of our sincerity.

I’m so grateful for all that I’m learning and how much a mission makes you grow. 

Also, apparently you can’t go wrong in an area that has trees like this:

I mean, glorious.

I LOVE YOU CLAIRE!!!

Other mission stuff:

• Claire’s mission call
• Missionary Grace’s Arrival HOME
• When Max left for his mission
• An Eyre sisters “In the Arena” podcast all about LDS missions and how all nine of us kids served missions. Lots of talk about how we feel about that, and also how that’s translated into our own families.
• Which made me reminisce about my own mission in Romania LOTS of years ago: