LDS Missionary Service: A Legacy of Faith

    I am not much for blogging- not because I dislike writing, but because I have always been uncomfortable with the word "blog."  It is just too much like "blob."  I recall watching the movie: "The Blob" as a kid when I lived in fear of being "blobbed" to death (and I am convinced that the resulting loss of sleep left me at least one inch shorter during a critical growth spurt period of my adolescent life).  (Have you seen the movie: "What About Blob?"  Meh, never mind.  That was a bad joke.)  Our trip to Peru seems like a good opportunity to at least give this a shot for . . . a couple weeks anyway.  I'll call this the Great Royal Blog Experiment.  I have not yet figured out how to post pics and stuff, but I still have time to get that worked out.  David's mission blog was set up by my brother-in-law, Rich Payton, and I just maintained it.  So, we'll see how all this comes together.

    Presently, we have clothes, bags, and all kinds of items spread all over the upstairs and downstairs floor.  Maralea assures me that we will one day pack all these things into bags and have some semblance of readiness prior to our departure on Friday.  I leave these things all up to her because, well, she's a genius.  Maralea is about as organized as anyone I have ever known.  She researches, investigates, experiments, makes lists, makes more lists, double checks her lists, lays out all items on the list, double checks all that good stuff, and . . . only then does she consider allowing for any packing.  (Once the packing is done, you better hope you checked your list twice . . . .  You may miss some of those little things when sweating it out beneath a mosquito net in the Peruvian Amazon jungle.)  We are dreaming of high mountains, ruins of ancient civilizations, beautiful landscapes, lots of cool bugs/spiders (sweet), curious wildlife, floating down rivers in virtual isolation, trying to take in all the beauty of Peru.  More importantly, however, are the dreams we have of meeting those wonderful people who have touched our lives through our son, Elder David Royal, who has served as an LDS missionary in the Peru Piura Mission for the past two years.

    Missions in the LDS Church are awesome, beautiful experiences for young men and women.  We raise our children with a desire to serve the Lord on a full time basis for two years, where they do nothing but invite others to come unto Christ.  We do this with the understanding that our missionary may be called to serve anywhere in the world, placed in very difficult, trying circumstances, putting their educational, occupational and social lives on virtual hold for two years.  We, as LDS parents, dream of where our children will be called to serve.  Through this process we experience something of what is described in 1 Samuel 1-2, when Hanna, while unable to bear children, prayed fervently for a child, promising Heavenly Father that if He would provide her with a son, she would "lend" him back to the Lord.  Hanna's faith was rewarded, and she gave birth to Samuel, who served as a prophet and anointed Israel's first and second kings: Saul and young David.  I have read of the day when Hanna delivered Samuel to Ely at the temple, at the time of his young life when he was "weaned."  He would have been much younger than 19 years old - the age our young men are eligible to serve missions in the LDS Church.  I imagine that was an incredibly difficult thing for Hanna to do.  Yet, she was faithful and fulfilled her promise to the Lord.  She did so with the understanding that she would one day have her son again; hence, her use of the word "lend" as she described her separation.  Heavenly Father blessed Hanna's faithfulness by sending her several more children.

    I recall the day when I received a mission call to serve in the Florida Tallahassee Mission.  I was a first generation "Mormon."  My father did not serve a mission, having joined the Church after I was born while he was serving as a flight surgeon in the USAF.  My brother, Danny, was then serving in the Germany Hamburg Mission.  Most of my close friends were already in the mission field, serving in places like England, Argentina, Central America, Japan, California, New Zealand, Brazil, Chile, Peru, Australia, Austria, and even Africa, among other places.  I remember the feeling of receiving the letter containing my mission call.  I was attending BYU

In Vidalia, GA with Ted Meeks and Elder Craig Garrick

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    I know my parents were happy that I was serving a mission, but they still had to struggle with the sorrow of absence - much as I am sure Hanna did as she thought of her young Samuel.  I was excited to serve a mission, and my father prepared me especially well.  He and I taught missionary lessons together weeks before my departure.  He was the best missionary I had ever known.  There was not a difficult situation I faced as a missionary wherein my mind did not ask the question: "What would Dad do?"  That one question always led me to the right answer, as I confirmed my chosen course with the Lord.  Still, being a missionary has its challenges.  I did not really suffer with homesickness except on a couple of occasions when I found myself in rather dire circumstances, living in virtual poverty, being away from everything familiar, feeling especially challenged.  Still, I always pictured my father cheering me on, as though I was engaged in a great race.  And mother, she always wrote such beautiful letters.  I was a big, big banana eater in our family.  I ate banana and Miracle Whip sandwiches almost daily.  So, Mom was used to buy lots of bananas to keep up with me.  In one letter, about three months into my mission, Mom wrote that as she was writing, she was seated at the kitchen when she looked over at the counter top and saw a large batch of over ripe bananas.  She realized that she was still buying bananas for me, but I was not there to eat them.  It was a sad little moment for her, but I felt her love for me in that description that strengthened my resolve to make my mission experience count for something great.  Of course, the two years goes much faster than we can ever imagine, and I returned home to my family with open arms.  That reunion was wonderful.  I have such fond memories of those years, of my mission experience, and remain in touch with many of those with whom I had the privilege of meeting and serving.  Indeed, we are not missionaries for just two years - but for a lifetime, as we never stop inviting people to Christ.

With Elder Wilbur and Mike and  Kathy Whisnant, Jacksonville, FL Dec. 1980
(Have always loved the "hands in the middle" pose!  Teamwork, baby!!!)
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    As a parent, preparing our sons for missionary service was a joy.  I looked forward with great anticipation to the day when our sons would follow in my footsteps, receiving that blessed envelope with a call from the Lord, having the faith to go wherever He calls them to serve.  Brad's day came in July 2003, while he was at BYU.  It happened to come to the house, not to his BYU apartment.  The unopened envelope sat on our kitchen counter as we contacted Brad and discussed what to do.  He wanted us to forward it to him, but I was not really patient enough to do that.  Brad counseled with his roommates about what to do.  They came up with plans to have us open it, scan it, send it to him, while somehow promising not to look at it.  Is that even possible?  After further deliberation with his roommates, Brad called back and asked us to open the envelope and just read it to him.  His calling was to the Philippines Angeles City Mission.  I have to admit, my heart sunk a little bit.  The Philippines?  Seriously?  That was just so far away - and we had been reading of bad things happening there politically (mostly in the southern portion of the country).  Maralea began to cry, mostly because she feared for Brad.  But, Brad was celebrating with his roommates.  It was really an exciting moment for our family.  Brad learned to speak Tagalog, and served well through 2005.  We had the opportunity of going to the Philippines to travel through all of Brad's areas, meeting the wonderful people who so loved him.  We witnessed the baptism of Edsel Pie, sang "Hey Jude" on a jypney with many of Brad's Filipino friends (such as Pink, Medel, Melvin, Jojo, Cherry, Lorrie, Mamertz, Olive, who later gathered with us for some late night karaoke), and listened to the most beautiful sound in the world as the Moquia family sang, "I Am A Child of God" to us in their humble hut.  We spoke in sacrament meeting as honored guests of the Cabaio Ward (Brad's first area of service), and the entire congregation stayed after church to visit, have lunch, and take pictures.  Several asked if we would return one day.  I wanted so badly to promised that we would, but I was not sure I could keep that.  Still, I decided then that I want to be a missionary again - this time with Maralea - and perhaps the Lord would send us somewhere like the Philippines.  Wherever we serve the Lord, when we are engaged in His work, under whatever circumstances, we can find joy, peace and happiness.

Filipino police mean business!
(Brad enjoyed his relative "tallness" there)

Brad, getting a little too nosey with the locals, August 2004
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    We have stayed in touch with many from our 2005 trip to the Philippines - some through e-mail, a lot via Facebook.  We followed the mission served by Kenneth Valenzuela, who Brad taught and baptized.  Kenneth loves to sing - and he loves the Beatles - so we have a special musical bond.  Maralea and I could never have imagined how blessed we would be through Brad's mission when that envelope was first opened announcing the news of Brad's call.  Yet, I have to admit, letting go of him as he entered the Mission Training Center in Provo, UT in September 2003 was, without question, the hardest thing I have ever done in my life.  It was everything we wanted for our son, but that did not leave us without temporal pain of absence.  We had faith the Lord would take great care of our son - and He did.  But, the parental anxiety cannot be adequately described in what was supposed to be just a short introduction to my "blog."  (Oh, well.  So much for brevity.)  It took me about eight months to stop mourning Brad's absence (something I nurtured by writing him . . . a lot, and caring for a website he had put together while in high school in the days before social websites like Facebook).  I described those first eight months as the most bittersweet days of my life.

In Angeles City, Philippines, after Edsel's baptism in September 2005

 With the Moquia family, San Isidro, Philippines, September 2005

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    David's turn came in the spring/summer of 2008.  Like Brad, he was attending BYU when he received his mission call, only he had the envelope sent to him there.  David had figured out that if the envelope weighed over $1.20 (or so) it would be foreign.  I guess that has something to do with the extra information in the letter for a foreign call that reportedly increases the size and cost.  When he received it, the envelope was below the believed foreign call cost, so we all figured David was staying in the United States.  Nope: Peru!  (So much for Mormon missionary call folklore.)  We went through the same angst when David entered the mission field.  Like Brad, David prepared well and was ready to go.  But, the little things added to my sadness, like watching David deliver his cell phone to his younger brother Jordan when we were about a mile away from the Mission Training Center, or as David was preparing precious i-Pod with inspirational music the night before his mission.  The last hugs were memorable - but they will pail in comparison to the embraces we will experience next weekend.

 

At Temple Square, SLC, July 2008, the day before David entered the MTC

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David took his enthusiasm for the gospel and life to Piura, Peru, Feb. 2009

(David dubbed this: "The best photo ever!")

David and friends on a bridge in Morropon, Peru - April 2009

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    We enthusiastically watch nephews come and go on LDS missions.  Nephews presently serving are: Elder Cody Bringham (Iowa Des Moines), Elder Jason Foote (El Salvador San Salvador East), Elder Jesse Olson (Brazil Victoria).  Nephews previously have served in England (Jeremy Foote), Texas (Tyler Foote - in the state where Grandpa Kelly served), Brazil (Steven Foote), Spain (Zack Bringham) and Peru (Matthew Kelly).  (Okay Gian (Molina), we semi-officially adopted you as family so I'll include your mission to the Philippines here, too.  No other friends of our kids can claim offense because Gian was the only one who called us at 3:00 a.m. on Christmas Day, got me racing to Vons for a phone calling card, and then had us call him back for a special phone call - with his mission president's permission.)  We likewise watch friends of our children and family serve, and love exchanging emails when we can.  To witness the wonderful change that takes place in the two years a young man is away serving the Lord wherever he is called is truly a miracle.  This kind of service is life changing.  Quoting the presently great Dallin Jenkins from Maralea's 2009-10 seminary class: "A mission is not the best two years of your life.  It's the best two years FOR your life."  And so, with Elder David Royal having competed his two years of service, we now prepare for some of our own life changing experiences ahead over the next two weeks, courtesy of Peru.  Let the next adventure begin!