Today, on her birthday in the United States of America, my daughter has already stepped into her twenty-second year of life over in Australia (since she is eighteen hours ahead of us there).
It is, as Lucy has proclaimed, her “Golden Birthday,” (turning 21 on the 21st) and it’s a pretty grand celebration for us all.
Because she is also stepping into her LAST MONTH OF HER MISSION.


Yes, she gets home on February 26th, and none of us can hardly stand how excited we are to get her back!
As a bystander this time she’s been gone may seem like a blink. But to us it seems like she’s been gone for five years I tell you.
We miss her spunk and sparkle and genuine goodness more than we can say.

It’s been going for years.


…and years.

But boy, is she ever learning and growing and stretching in so many beautiful ways. And she wouldn’t trade these mission days filled with grit and joy and sorrow and growth for anything.



A Little Mission Update
I’ve not been so hot at my “Missionary Mondays,” so I have a bit to catch up on really quick.
Missionary “transfers” (rotations) happen every six weeks. Some missionaries move around a lot. Others, especially if your assigned language keeps you in a particular area, stay put much more.
Claire has essentially served the majority of her eighteen months in two different heavily Chinese areas.

…with pretty dear Taiwanese companions (and a couple American-Chinese-speakers as well).


But her last transfer (before the current one), she was hit with a surprise:
She was transferred to an English speaking area, with two American companions.


It’s interesting what life has in store for you sometimes, because Claire wouldn’t have chosen to move to English-speaking area in the beginning. Oh she sure wanted to push that Chinese of hers like nobody’s business. Because that language is HARD to learn.
But this change was so inspired by Claire’s wise mission president. The timing was so good since she was finally feeling comfortable with the language.
Moving to an English area was like moving to a whole new mission. SO different! She got to experience the Australian culture, she taught the gospel in her own language. She even got to see her first koalas and kangaroos thanks to some very nice church members there.



She also got to bike a little bit in this other area.

Claire has been surrounded by so many good people all through her mission and this last ward was no exception. I was just on the phone with her yesterday hearing more gushing things about what people have done for her.
Have I mentioned how much this means as a mother? Gosh.
Last transfer
Last week she was transferred for her very last six weeks.
She moved back to her second Chinese-speaking area with an American Chinese-speaker, and another companion straight from China who will join them in a couple weeks. She is in an all-new area with no perspective friends to teach, so she’s starting all over again.
And she is glowing. Because it seems like the perfect way to bring this mission to a close.
I’m sure there are lots more adventures in store for the next five-and-a-half weeks, and she’s there for them.
My Ode to the Birthday Girl
Ok, let’s get back to my “birthday ode.”
Because I’m telling you, I always get so emotional looking through pictures of my kids on their birthdays. I mean, how in Heaven’s name did they grow up so fast??

I just sit there and think about all those years growing and loving and sometimes riding the “rollercoasters” of life together.
Man, we’ve been through so much together over these last twenty-one years. There’s nothing that makes you fall more in love than when you ride rollercoasters together, don’t you think?
Here are five of the top things I adore about Claire this year:
1) She has a way of making the people around her feel so special.
She will give such sincere compliments. She has so much graciousness and gratitude, she really “sees” people and takes time to listen and love.


Her ability to make people feel special definitely pertains to her siblings too:



Maybe most especially to her baby sister who thinks she walks on water.
I mean, when someone buoys you up like this, you don’t take it for granted:




I’m sure her high school and college friends, cousins, and companions can agree with me on this that Claire just makes you feel happy.
2) She’s not afraid of hard work.
From the “easier” things like dancing when she was little:


To absolutely THRIVING in a new school in Shanghai, China when we lived there:

(I think this is the reason she was really hoping for a Chinese-speaking mission, she loved learning Chinese and all these friends she met there.)
…to her adoration of gymnastics:

…to soccer:

Even when it was accompanied by “soccer sorrow.”
To school work:

To track:


To tennis:

From “little” volleyball in the beginning:

To “medium” in high school:

To “big” in college:



(Sorry, memory lane here…)

To her internship in the Netherlands to study abroad to her mission.
These pictures are showing the the “glowing” things but she had lots of “failures” along the way along with the good.
But she just kept going. She knows deep-down that “Doing the impossible would do something to her character to make the next impossible thing that much easier.” (Thanks Grandma Jacobson!)
3) Claire is beautiful from the inside out.
I mean, look at those lips and eyelashes ๐


But the inside is where her beauty comes from.
She has a light about her that radiates and draws people to her. Makes people feel safe.
Despite being beautiful she takes herself lightly.



And makes people around her feel so at-ease.


4) Claire makes life fun.
I mean seriously. If you could have seen her on this Chinese television show all those years ago (I don’t know how to find that!) you’d see it in her sparkle.

She is a ham.
She is non-stop energy. And I adore that.
She always has a funny dance move or says something that keeps you chuckling.

She is always, always up for adventure and being on the run. Her mama’s love language.
5) Claire seeks direction
Let me explain…I love cairns when I’m out hiking. They are small piles of rocks to let someone on a journey (usually hiking) know the way to go. They have saved my bacon a time or two when I have been lost.
I love that Claire isn’t afraid to forge new paths. Both setting an example for others and also for herself. She’s also always on the lookout for “cairns” from those she admires.
And from God.
When she fails, she tries again looking for new avenues. She’s not afraid to ask for directions. She’s vulnerable enough to admit weaknesses. Emotionally strong enough to lean on others when she needs it. But also strong enough to let others lean on her.

The Big Day over in Australia
So since Claire hit her birthday before we did, we got to talk to her yesterday.


And she opened her gifts the girls had helped come up with ideas for:


(My last missionary package at least for a while…a huge sigh of relief about that, I get so anxious trying to pack up love!)
I can’t believe the stars all aligned just so, so that we could actually all be on the phone at the same time.
Even Murph:

It was a little sweet miracle.
She’s Coming HOME!!
Lately it’s strange because we can almost taste having her home. I was telling her the other day that I just can almost feel her at my side, getting to talk in actual person and catch up for real as she downloads the last eighteen months of her life.
Us sitting side-by-side.
I cannot wait.
But for now, have the best last transfer, Claire! Our prayers are with you every day.
Happy Birthday! Love you forever.
(And congrats to anyone who made it through this whole marathon post!)
XOXO
My son was in the MTC while Claire was there! I mentioned her after I had seen her very creative MTC Halloween costume and he had seen her! He is in Brazil – He is my oldest and his name is Max! So excited for your soon to be reunion. Thank you for all of the sharing you do.
Oooh I can feel your excitement, how fun!!! I know you have said itโs not been the easiest mission but you can just see the glow on her face!!
So happy you get that hug in 6 weeks. Does she have โ post missionโ plans??
It does seem like Claire has been gone such a long time. And it must’ve been hard on her to miss out on family fun stuff while she’s been gone. But she sure seems like she kept the purpose of the mission in front of her all of the time, knowing how much good she was doing! And I’m sure it was amazing for her to feel her own heart and spirit growing so much! She is truly one of a kind, to be so committed to everything she sets out to do.
Claire would make a very good spiritual guidance counselor. I’m not even sure there is such a thing, but she seems like the kind of person who could make a career of some kind by guiding, counseling, mentoring, and teaching others who are lost spiritually and are trying to find their path in life. For people who want the spiritual guidance and motivation to discover what their life means and what to do to find the happiness they crave. Like me. I wonder if a spiritual therapist is a thing? She could even include yoga stretching or whatever kinds of exercise she believes would be helpful for a persons spirit. Gee, I wish something like this existed. I’d be a great client!!
I’m pretty sure this does exist! I know people who work with a Spiritual Director. I don’t know much about it but that might be a useful search term if you want to seek it out!
Happy Belated 21st/Golden Birthday to Claire. I hope she had a great time. x ๐๐๐ฅณ๐๐
Wow, I canโt believe that she comes home from her mission in about a month. That time has gone so quickly.