Finding Love Through Serving As A Missionary

J. Janeen Howard

Serving is our way of life as we live the Gospel in its fullness.  I never thought our health would be good enough for us to serve a mission.  The papers we had to fill out and send to Salt Lake were very detailed about the health of the prospective missionary.  You need to have good health to be able to do all the things needed to be done.  My sister-in-law said, “ A mission is a marvelous gift of time when you can experience glimpses of heavenly life.  It is a time of cleansing and refreshing.  It is a time to become a celestial candidate.  To sanctify yourselves you must serve others.  The highest of all service is to teach them truths and bring them to the temple.  My brother-in-law wrote that our mission would be just one phase of a continuous life style of serving others, and that after Ecuador it will continue forever.....added  upon many fold, with experiences and talents gained from each passing year.  

During this time of service we learned to put Christ first in our daily life and follow His teachings.  “come unto me all ye that are heavy laden, for my yoke is easy and my load is light  (Matt. 11:28).  Whatever we sacrifice, we must return to Christ and allow Him to be our guide now....no one else.  He is the healer, the master teacher, the one and only way back to our Heavenly Father.  Serving in the temple 5 days a week was the most humbling, spiritual, and inspirational time of my life.  There we receive the further light and knowledge and insights our Father wishes for us to learn.  We are taught how to serve and how to love one another through this sacred service rendered in His sacred holy house.  It is hard to explain the feelings I had as I entered the temple each day.  I just knew that was where I was to be at that time in my life and the Lord helped me do as much as I could with my limitations.  He doesn’t care what limitations we  have, He is interested in our intent and desire to serve.  He knows our heart and understands when we have no words to express what we feel.  It was such a joyous time to be able to be so near to a temple 24 hrs. a day, 7 days a week for 15 months.  How I miss it!

You never know who you might be serving and may even be surprised when you find out!  The love we felt from the temple workers and members of the ward was so strong and palpable!!  The warm abrazos or hugs, and little kisses of the cheek.  This is their way of greeting you and it is a wonderful way to greet one another!  I miss that here at home.  I have been taught to listen to the spirit and act upon those feelings and promptings  knowing the Holy Ghost was my constant guide.  

Those couples who are able and willing to serve a mission will never regret it, I promise.  You will be blessed to do what is needed.  I learned to pace myself and only work a certain amount of time knowing if I did more that my health would be in jeopardy.  It was a hard lesson to learn, because I was so anxious to do everything.  I learned to pace myself and listen to my body when it was time to stop.  I didn’t realize there are so many different types of missions for couples, even ones you can do from your own home!  The Lord will take us however He can get us and He will fill in the gaps when we are unable to do so.  

Brothers and Sisters I don’t know your circumstances, rather I just want to share my testimony of the growth and knowledge I have gained from serving with my husband.  It was not all easy and there were many rough spots to walk over and try to smooth out, but the Lord was right there to help us each and every day.  It is a miracle that my husband who has Parkinsons Disease was even allowed to go to another country and serve a mission.  He was healthier than I was and was so busy when he wasn’t in the temple teaching music lessons, going to other wards and stakes to teach people how to lead a choir, to perform, he even got a fishing club organized!  He only took rests when I made him because he said he had so much to do before we came home.

  I have a 15 yr. old grandson in Lubbock, Tx. who had a very interesting experience the other day.  He and his mother are not active in the church and he hasn’t even received the Priesthood yet, which is a concern of ours.  But he found a friend who needed help the other night, a place to sleep as he was going to run away from home.  Brandon let him sleep in their shed, giving him a blanket and a pillow, unbeknownst to his mother.  The boy said his friend told him Brandon would help him and he did.  The next day he told the boy he would ride the bus to school if he would come too so he could get some help.  The boy did.  He had been in a horrible family situation where there were many other foster children who were being abused.  To make this short, the police went to the home and took all the children away.  The principal, the police and the sheriff kept saying what a good boy Brandon is and that he didn’t do anything bad.  HE probably saved those children’s lives.  I know he learned the virtue of kindness from his mother and someday she and Brandon will find their way back to church.  

I may not know much  brothers and sisters, but I know we have a living prophet at the head of Christ’s church today and very shortly we will have the blessing to listen to what the Lord wants to tell us at this time through the voice of Pres. Monson, his counselors, and the 12 apostles and other quorums.  Our Father in Heaven is mindful of us.  He knows us.  Our Savior Jesus Christ gave His life that we might once again live and return to our Celestial Home.  What greater blessing is this?  I am blessed as a wife, mother and grandmother to have a most wonderful family.  I testify with all my heart that as you reach out to serve and love others the way will be paved for greater things to come to you in your life.  I has mine!  And I say this in the name of Jesus Christ Amen.