I have had the most difficult time ending this blog. It will really be the end and I am not ready for it to end. I have such tender memories of every aspect of our Palmyra Temple Mission, that to even think about them, or the people we have met and have grown to love, or the places we have been, brings tears and emotion to the surface. I had no idea that a mission could do this to a person. I have learned so much.
Many tender mercies were apparent throughout our mission.
As I have written in the past, the beauty of the places we were living and serving in were the most beautiful places I had ever seen. And then, driving home, as we drove through Colorado, Utah and Idaho, I was enthralled with the majestic mountains, and I remembered why I live in Idaho. It's not that I forgot about the beauty of Upstate New York, but I remembered the beauty in my own backyard and was amazed at how I had missed those Rocky Mountains. I will always be a mountain girl! The tender mercy is that I have learned to appreciate the beauty of my surroundings, where ever I am. I am grateful to my Heavenly Father, Jesus Christ, and Michael for the creation of this most beautiful places on earth. I appreciate the creation so much more than ever before.
Having walked in the Sacred Grove on an early spring morning in 2014, I recalled Joseph Smith doing the same thing in 1820. The impact of his walk and talk with Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ, had on the world made an impression and impact on me. The tender mercy is that I know with all my heart, that Joseph Smith was the prophet of the restoration of the gospel and that I was where he was almost 200 years later. I felt it!
I was on the Hill Cumorah on the evening of Sunday, September 22, 2014 exactly years after Joseph Smith received the golden plates from Moroni on a moonless night. The tender mercy is that I could envision all that took place that night and it was so real. I do not want to ever forget that feeling.
I now know what it is like to drive many miles to attend church on Sunday. We traveled 150 miles to attend the Lowville Branch where 15 people attended. The amazing thing is that the minute we arrived, we felt the love and acceptance from everyone. A sweet sister met us at the door and invited us to spend Saturday nights with her so we wouldn't have to drive 300 miles on Sunday. We now know what it's like to have a ministering angel. Sue Croneiser is our personal angel. We will always love her. All the people we associated with in Lowville, were converts, just like me. None of us had Pioneer Ancestry. We are the Pioneers for our descendants. I felt like I was home. I had no idea that the Lowville Branch would have such an effect on me. We all love the Lord and want to serve Him. The tender mercy was that I recognized something I had never experienced before and never want to forget.
I learned that once you put your missionary badge on, you change. I was representing Jesus Christ as one of his disciples and I wanted to be the best I could. After all, that badge is like wearing your religion on your chest. Everyone knows who you are. They see how you act and hear what you say. The tender mercy for me was that it was not hard at all to see everyone as children of our Heavenly Father. It was easy to love them, talk to them and smile at them. And the amazing thing is they returned the smile and spoke to us. I loved this feeling. I want to wear a badge again. The feeling is so great! When I took the missionary badge off for the last time, everything changed. I know we are all member missionaries, but that badge has a powerful image and message. I miss it!
I learned a tender mercy from our Palmyra Temple President. He said that the Palmyra Temple focuses on "the one." Who is "the one?" Of course, we know it is the patron who comes to the temple. But "the one" could also be the person who the patron is acting in behalf of. Could "the one" also be the local temple ordinance worker and even the temple missionary ordinance worker? YES! And imagine what it is like to focus on "the one" while "the one" is focusing on you? That is an amazing feeling! I love knowing that and want to remember what it is like to focus on "the one."
The last tender mercy I felt was that being a missionary is addicting. I want to be a missionary again. I hope that I can and serve with my eternal companion again. What a wonderful blessing it has been. I really hate it to end!
Since we have been home, we have met with the Twin Falls Temple President, President Hobbs, and he set us apart as Twin Falls Temple Ordinance Workers for our old Wednesday morning shift. We start December 3. We are excited and thrilled to be able to serve in the temple again. Another Tender Mercy!
We haven't reported our mission yet. We are waiting the Stake President to let us know when that will be. In my opinion, that is another tender mercy!
We did speak in a Ward in our Stake last Sunday. But we have not talked in our Ward, but will on November 30 when all our kids are here for Thanksgiving. Another Tender Mercy.
The tender mercies keep coming. How can we be so blessed? We feel it a blessing to have served with some of the most wonderful people we have ever known. How did we get this missionary calling? We don't know, but we do appreciate it. Again, a tender mercy.
So we leave you, as we try to get back into the every day business of living. Winter is here, Thanksgiving and Christmas are coming. May we all have time to think about the things we are thankful for and think about what Christmas really means. If I decide it would be fun to continue a blog, our dear friend, Gene Bushman suggested I retitle the new blog " Perrons Perriodicals." We will have to see.
Until (possibly) next time, all our love and best wishes for all good things to come your way and may we all experience many tender mercies ..................
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