The Mission Continues Even As We Grieve

 It has been just over a week that we lost my brother.  During that week we have had moments of grief but also moments of love and laughter.   In the New Testament, before Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead, he wept.  Even though he knew he would be performing a miracle that would rise up Lazarus from the dead he still wept.  I know that I will see my brother again, and I know the atonement of Jesus Christ is very real.  Still I weep.  And at random times, I will continue to weep but I will feel my Savior's love, peace and comfort. 

Glenn's funeral is still a couple of weeks away and I am looking forward to spending time with my other siblings as we honor his life.  We have been sharing pictures and we will soon be sharing stories of our lives together.  This is love.  This is good.  This is how we deal with our grief. 







Another way that we deal with our grief is by serving.  We started out our Monday with helping Elder and Sister Scott and Elder Kearsley, refresh an apartment for a trio of sister missionaries.  They had won this refresh at zone conference.  We worked hard all day, scrubbing down bathrooms and kitchen, cleaning carpets, washing walls and windows, polishing the cabinets.  It was a long, hard, but fun day!  We loved working side by side with these excellent missionaries. 





The lucky sister missionaries- Clawson, Bowers and Campbell


The work crew and the recipients- Elder and Sister Prater, Sister and Elder Scott, and Elder Kearsley

Family helps with grief.  We were able to met my niece and her husband at the Newport Beach Temple and attend together.  Such a privilege to be close by family while serving a mission. 

Spending time with our daughter, Lauren and her family was another way that we felt love and peace this week.  We met them in Anaheim and shared a couple of days together.  A great way to deal with grief. 










And spending time doing our usual activities and meetings was helpful.  These missionaries spread so much love and cheer!


Elder Nielsen, Sister Christiansen, Sister Johnson, Elder Barfuss, Elder Curzon, us and Elder Johansson. 

I am thankful for all of you who have sent messages of love and hope.  Truly we do mourn with those that mourn.  We love you all and are grateful for your love and support. 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Rough Week- My Brother Passed Away Unexpectedly

Image
 What does one write in a blog the week that a loved one passes away?  You testify of the Atonement of Jesus Christ.  Nephi said as he begin his record in the Book Of Mormon that he has seen many afflictions in the course of his life but nevertheless he was highly favored of the Lord.  That perfectly describes my week.   My brother, who is my husband's age, suffered a massive heart attack on Tuesday and after paramedic's and doctor's attempts to save his life, he passed away on Wednesday morning. That is an affliction in the course of my life.   We got the news that my brother, Glenn was being taken to the hospital and that it sounded serious around 7 p.m. on Tuesday night, August 29.  We then kept receiving update texts til about 10:30 that night as we understood that he was stable and fighting.  Of course I couldn't sleep and about 1 a.m. as I sat on the couch I wondered why I hadn't just gotten into the car as soon as I heard the news and head up to Camarillo whe
Read more

Saying Good Bye For Now To Glenn

Image
 There is a scripture in D&C 89:20 which states- Therefore, in the  ordinances  thereof, the power of  godliness  is manifest. To me this means that when we participate in the ordinances of the gospel of Jesus Christ and make sacred covenants with our Heavenly Father he will show his power in our lives.  Namely the power of the atonement of his son, Jesus Christ.  As stated in Alma 7:11-12, Christ's atonement covers pains, afflictions, and temptations of every kind and he loosed the bands of death both temporally and spiritually.   Because of the covenants that I have made and kept, I have seen the power of godliness manifested in my life and the lives of my loved ones in the past week as we came together to temporarily say good-bye to my brother, Glenn.  We celebrated Glenn's life in several ways- by getting together as siblings whenever possible during the weekend, with a graveside service with family and friends on Friday and the dedication of his grave with his siblings
Read more

Tranfer Week- We Moved

Image
The highlight of our week was attending the temple with Jay and his mother, Kathy to perform the sealing ordinances for our family members.  This time was extra special because we have attended the temple together several times- first to do the baptisms for Kathy's parents, and brother.  We then proceeded to attend the temple to complete all the ordinances for her parents and brothers ending with the sealings that we did this week.  It was a very special time and we knew that Kathy's mother was smiling!  It was transfer week for the young missionaries and we did move but those two things have nothing to do with each other.  We have been living in Vista which is outside our ward boundaries and 25 minutes away from the church building.  Another senior couple, the Hanks, returned home last month and their apartment is only about 8 minutes from the church building and 5 minutes outside our ward boundaries.  So we moved into their apartment getting us closer to where we serve.  (We
Read more