The Waiting Place

When my children were younger I almost had completely memorized the Dr. Suess book "Oh, The Places You'll Go." There are some lines in that book that remind me of where Sean and I are for the next couple of weeks.

The Waiting Place...for people just waiting.

Waiting for a train to go

or a bus to come, or a plane to go

or the mail to come, or the rain to go

or the phone to ring, or the snow to snow

or the waiting around for a Yes or No

or waiting for their hair to grow.

Everyone is just waiting!

In our case, we are now waiting to get on that plane to Singapore and let the next steps begin. It is hard but we are very determined to make good use of the time we have...and not just be stuck waiting! As Sean mentioned last week, we spent many hours in the FamilySearch library scanning and digitizing. The results of this work has been priceless as we have renewed old memories and shared them with family members. I have loved seeing pictures and videos of our children growing up and memories of my father and grandparents who have passed away. Those memories tell a story of who I am and why I do some of the things that I do.

We left Salt Lake last Tuesday and went through Idaho on our way back to Missouri. It is not exactly on the way, but we wanted to spend some time there to see some relatives, visit temples (Star Valley, Rexburg, and Idaho Falls), visit my father's gravesite in Blackfoot, and meet my brother's fiancé Diane in person. It was a really nice couple of days to spend before we returned to Missouri.

While in Rexburg we participated by Zoom in our first real Mission Health Council (MHC) with the Indonesia Jakarta mission leaders. These councils include the Mission President and his companion, Area Medical Advisor, Area Dental Advisor, Mission Medical Advisor, and Area Mental Health Advisor (me!). These councils occur in each of our missions on a regular basis. It was really touching to review the missionaries who are struggling with medical and/or mental health needs and work together to find and implement solutions. At times those solutions will include counseling with me. I learned more about what I will be doing and some of the missionaries we will be working with. We were really excited to feel the wonderful concern that each member of the MHC has for each missionary.

As part of this weekly blog we also plan to share miracles that happen along the way. We have fallen into bad habits of just getting things done quickly and not always noticing the people around us on the way. Since being set apart as missionaries we have been working on being more friendly and talking with people everywhere we go. In Afton, Wyoming we stopped for lunch at a little downtown restaurant. While there we asked the waiter what food he liked on the menu and learned that he was from the Philippines. I felt that was an important opportunity to open more of a conversation with him and I asked him why he was in a small town in Wyoming half way across the world from his home. It was a nice opportunity to learn more about his story. It was also a bonus that he comes from the part of the world where we will be serving over the next 18 months.

The other miracle of the week for me was from a a struggle with pain in my heel I have had for several weeks. The pain got so bad at times that I could barely walk, and I really missed being able to get a walk in each day for exercise. I had been praying for help to know what to do and this week felt prompted to look at a shoe insert. I went into a Target and saw a shoe insert for plantar fasciitis that claimed I would have immediate relief from my heel pain or get my money back. I was pretty skeptical about the claim but figured it wouldn't hurt to try. I prepared and placed them in my shoes and in an amazing way the relief from the pain was immediate. I am so grateful for those little moments of inspiration that show that God is aware of our struggles and will help us in the details as we call upon Him. The answers don't always come quickly but I am grateful when they come.

Pictures (left-right, top to bottom)

1. One of many temple trips (Idaho Falls)

2. Hiking around a beautiful Idaho reservoir

3. Giving blood

4. Dinner with nephews and niece in Rexburg (Benjamin Brower, Lisa Jackman, Jared Brower)

5. An even-younger Sister Brower

6. Flashback from our scanning: Shannon, Brock, and Sean

7. Flashback from our scanning: Cub Scout Sean

8. Flashback from our scanning: Sean and Sage shortly after her arrival

9. Flashback from our scanning: The Brower wedding party!