I belong to a family of nerds. We just love nerdy things, and with that I've grown up with a fascination of all things Space. Whenever there was a meteor shower growing up my Dad, brothers, and I would drive to the Sierra Nevada foothills, away from city lights, to get a good show. Solar eclipse. Moon eclipse. Etc. We love it.
On Saturday my family was over having a Talea meeting, and we decided to combine our meeting and celebrate the Moon landing. Robbie and Lindsay brought freeze dried frozen ice-cream sandwiches for everyone as a surprise.
All weekend I've been listening off and on to Apollo 11 in Real Time, which has been so fascinating! Seriously, being able to switch between all the Mission Control stations in real time has been fun, though I mainly listen to Capcom, communication with the astronauts. It's a slice of time, living history 50 years later.
There was chaos in our house as we waited for the moon landing at 2:17 pm mountain time. A few minutes before the landing one of my baby nieces broke a plate, so Steven was vacuuming it up. Robbie was showing Ty virtual reality stuff he's been working on, so there was that chatter. Kids running everywhere. Michael and I listening intently to the audio on the speaker, trying to not miss nuances. But then, a minute before the landing, we all gathered around to listen, and then cheered when, "The Eagle has landed," sounded through the speaker. Then we broke out the freeze dried ice-cream.
This is how we have fun.
It's great, really.
I'm listening right now to the audio. The space craft is coming back to Earth and the flight crew is sleeping, so it's pretty quiet. There's still active channels. Calculations. Making sure information is right. Does anything need to be corrected? Some guy is now talking about the Vector and asking how confident someone else is about calculations with the fuel cell purge, and water. It's eavesdropping, 50 years later to the second.
I've heard interesting stuff. An hour before Neil and Buzz walked on the moon I heard someone say, "I don't know who's listening to this channel, but whoever you are, wherever you are, Man or Woman, let's all take a moment to thank God." That was so great and humbling to hear.
When Neil and Buzz were coming out of the spacecraft later that night my Mom and I were doing a late night fast food run. Healthy, I know. I sat in the drive through listening with ear buds, and when a bacon lettuce cheeseburger was handed to me I heard, "That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind." Oh, and just listening to their observations. Describing the moon. The fine sand dust like floor quality. Craters. Boulders.
When they were coming back into the space pod, is that what it's called?, I think it was Neil who said, "Well maybe we can finally get some sleep." "Oh no, not now Captain" was the response.
Right around midnight, as I was drifting to sleep, I heard two guys randomly chatting, "Now what was Neil saying? Did he say he saw an arm in the crater?" "I don't know. We should get some sleep. See you in the morning." "See you in the morning." (I don't have a good auditory memory, so this is the essence of what I heard.)
I've been nerding all weekend. Listening to the flight director debate when the astronauts should be woken up, sleeping on the moon. The surgeon admitting Neil had been awake for over an hour. Buzz was still sleeping. Leaving the moon. It's been cool.
Anywho, Hope you guys had a great weekend.
Really, It's been amazing experiencing the moon landing in real time, in quite an interesting way.
I was so excited! I have wanted to serve a mission since High School, hoping and praying I would have the opportunity. But regardless of how strong my desire was, and how much I wanted to go, one thing or another prevented me from serving a mission. I was 21 when I transferred to BYU to earn a music degree, the earliest age women used to be able to serve a mission, now they can leave at 19, but I knew my place was at BYU. The heavens literally opened for me to get into the classical voice program, and that's where I was supposed to be at that moment. But as time went on after graduation, no matter how many times I wanted to serve, it was never right.
And then a few weeks ago the miraculous happened. It seemed the heavens opened once again and everything fell into place. I would finally have the opportunity to go into the World and share my testimony, trusting my life entirely to Him, our Redeemer and Savior, giving up everything for full devotion. (see Footnote #1)
But as the days went on, preparing by having an interview with my Bishop (see Footnote #2), going to the dentist and doctor, something wasn't feeling right. Something in my spirit just didn't feel right.
I expressed concern with my family, and my brother Steven sent me a link to a talk by Elder Holland entitled, "Cast Not Away Therefore Your Confidence."
It's an incredible talk about the adversary and staying true to what we originally feel in terms of promptings and feeling the spirit. I listened to this talk with my Mom as we drove around doing errands, and I felt comforted and renewed, ready to continue my mission prep and everything that goes into having my papers submitted. (see Footnote #3).
But there was an event that was truly startled me. Something that pulled me back and pause. My doctor, who's known me for over a decade and is LDS, said, "So this is the one thing you'll be asked over and over again: Why now?" Why am I'm serving a mission at 32? (see Footnote #4)
Why after all this time am I leaving to serve a mission?
I told him how I've always wanted to serve, how I'm still single, how life is hard to predict, etc, but it wasn't until a couple days later it clicked. Where was the burning fire? Where was the light? Why didn't I feel that burning in my bosom, as we Mormons call it, an overwhelming feeling of the spirit? Why didn't I feel it?
Why haven't I felt it?
I wanted to serve a mission so badly I jumped right in, but something deep within was telling me "No." I was just too excited to listen.
For years I had held onto the hope of serving a mission, but honestly there are so many ways to serve. So many ways I can serve, without leaving for 18 months to proselyte.
Friday, September 5th, I talked with my Mom and brother Steven, talking until midnight about everything. Some of the talking was intense, some confused, but by the end I felt peace. Peace about the future. Peace about finding faith in my music and talents. You know, I've never doubted the existence of God. Ever since I can remember I've always believed. But believing in God, and believing Gods timetable for me, are two different things. I've struggled with having faith in myself.
I have a strong testimony. I know this church, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, is true. I know God loves us and is real. I know he's my Father and watches over me, even when I struggle and stumble. I know the Book of Mormon is a testament, a witness of Gods love and attention over those who lived on the American continents. It's a true book of Ancient American Prophets. A second witness of Christ on this side of the World. God loves all his people. He loves all of us, still. He hasn't left. He's still here with us, performing miracles, speaking through Prophets and Apostles. Covenants, Ordinances, the Priesthood, and Temple are just as important now as with those who lived during ancient times. I feel so blessed to have these things in my life.
For whatever reason unbeknown to me, I'm not supposed to serve a full-time mission, but I will always carry with me the missionary spirit. And I will never stop loving God.
I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.
Footnote #1: When you serve an LDS mission you live really strict guidelines, beyond the standards we already live. You can't go to the movies or watch TV. You can't listen to the radio, and what you can listen to is really restricted (Mormon Tabernacle Choir, Especially for Youth, etc.) You work 6 days a week from 6:30 am to 10:30 pm, with little breaks. And the 7th day, P day (preparation), still has standards. There might be some sightseeing, but there's service, too. And P day is the only day you can email home. That's another thing, you can't call home or talk to your loved ones, except on Mothers Day and Christmas. All your correspondence is through letters and emails (and hopefully you're allotted enough time on P day to go through your emails and write home.) A missionaries life is not easy, by no means. It's not a vacation. It's very hard work.
Footnote #2: In the LDS church a congregation is called a Ward, and
the presiding member of the ward is called a Bishop. It's an unpaid
calling that lasts a few years until someone else is called to serve as
Bishop. All church callings are unpaid. I've served twice as choir director, several teaching callings, Relief Society President, etc, all volunteer.
Footnote #3: "Submitting ones papers" is something that happens after being
interviewed by the bishop and stake president, getting cleared by the
doctor and dentist, and filling out a few forms. After these forms are
submitted and sent to Church headquarters, a "Mission Call" is sent, a
letter mailed to the preparing missionary that tells him/her where they
are to serve, what language they'll speak , and when to report to the
Missionary Training Center (MTC). You don't get to choose. If you don't know the language you are going to speak, you learn it from scratch at the MTC. My brother Robbie was called to Argentina not knowing any Spanish, and he lived in the MTC for 2 months to learn Spanish and train as a missionary. And yes, after only two months, he was sent to Argentina having to converse and give lessons in Spanish. It used to be 1 month in the MTC for native English, 2 months for Romantic/Germanic languages, and 3 months for non-romantic languages (Asian languages, Russian, Etc.) (I may be wrong on the time frames with some of these languages. I do know Japanese was a 3 month language). But they've changed it. 2 weeks in the MTC for English, 6 weeks for Romantic/Germanic languages, and 8-10 weeks for Asian, etc. (I don't know if it's 8 or 10 weeks now, I just know they no longer spend 3 months in the MTC to learn Japanese, Chinese, etc).
Footnote #4: Boys can serve missions from age 18-25. Girls can serve from 19-39. Then there are couple missionaries. My Grandparents served a mission together to the Philippines several years back. And Mission Presidents are married couples as well. My best friend's Father in Elementary was called to be the mission president over Costa Rica, and they sold their house and moved there. Mission Presidents serve for 3 years. Boys serve for 2 years. Girls and Couple missions are 18 months.
What would you do if someone held a gun to your head and told you to question your faith in Christ?
The Saratov Approach is based on a true story. In March 1998, two LDS missionaries, Elder Tuttle (Corbin Allred) and Elder Propst (Maclain Nelson), are following up a missionary contact in Saratov Russia. They're there to meet a young man who seemed to believe in Christ and wanted to learn more about the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, but what the two missionaries faced while entering the apartment wasn't at all what either expected. Immediately the two are pushed to the ground and beaten, eyes and mouth taped, pushed into a car, and posed in a terrifying position holding their name tags for a polarized photo. They are being held captive for a $300,000 ransom.
The movie then becomes a day-to-day successful suspense film, where we see the parents get involved, government workers, federal authorities, and even President Clinton being made aware. All faiths come together to pray for their safety.
Instead of the happy go lucky Tony award winning The Book of Mormon Musical, which chops and mocks everything I hold dear, you see a true reality of the dangers of missionary service. It's what all of us fear when sending out loved ones with nothing more then emails, letters, and two shared phones calls a year (on Christmas and Mothers Day). I know someone personally who, just last year, was beaten by gang members, breaking his jaw. He had to come home early for surgery and be wired shut.
What Elder Tuttle and Elder Propst faced is every parents nightmare. This story is one of faith, of not giving in, and I was very impressed with the quality of the film and the acting. The acting was very good! The two playing the missionaries weren't the only great actors, but the two who played the Russian captors (Nikita Bogolyubov and Alex Veadov) did a superb job as well.
When Steven came home from serving in the Kobe Japan mission, he brought back some awesome souvenirs, so I was really excited to see what Robbie would bring back from the Mendoza Argentina mission. Below are my new favorite trinkets.
A favorite traditional drink in many South American countries is mate. No, not to be someones mate, but mate (pronounced like mahtay.) It's made by steeping dried yerba mate leaves in hot water. Many years ago when a friend of mine returned from a study abroad in Argentina, she served the drink. To me it tastes like wheat in hot water, but it's been awhile. Now that I have a nifty mate cup complete with an epic looking mate straw, called a bombilla, designed to filter the leaves, I need to track down some mate and give it another try.
While Robbie was in Argentina, they celebrated their 200th anniversary, which began with the May Revolution, dated May 25, 1810 in Buenos Aires. To commemorate the occasion Argentina released five 1 Peso coins with different backs, showing locals special to Argentina: El Palmar, Cerro Aconcagua, Mar del Plata, Pucara de Tilcara, and Glaciar Perito Moreno. Robbie said the Cerro Aconcagua coin was the hardest to get, because it was in the area he served, and the locals tended to keep it. I'm lucky Robbie was able to collect three sets: one for him, me, and my Mom.
Above is one of Robbie's favorite snacks called Aguila, which means eagle. I've tasted it, and it's quite good. I actually prefer coconut to chocolate.
A precious stone necklace charm given to Robbie from and member, and a copper wire bracelet Robbie bought.
These are definitely mementos I'll treasure always.
So, while searching for links for this blog post, I found out Robbie's Mission has a blog! And I found a couple pictures of him right before he came home.
It's crazy to think that my brother Robbie came home from his Argentinian mission just last week. It's still sinking in. Here are some photos from his homecoming.
It's strange to think that two years has come and gone;
It's surreal how fast time flows.
My brother is coming home today from his mission. Two years ago he headed into the MTC, barely knowing any Spanish, to serve in the Mendoza Argentina mission. Right now, as I write this, he is on a plane.
Two years of little communication: We only get to speak to him via phone on Mothers day and Christmas. All other communication is email and hand written letters only, and he only has a few minutes on Mondays to write back, so sometimes we only got a sentence back. It's especially hard for the Mothers. Last night my Mom started choking up, trying to hold back the tears with the realization that she gets to hold her son today. We're all so excited:0)
