Well, hello everyone in Blogland.  Yes!  It’s been almost a year since I last posted.  So sad.  I could say I’ve been busy, but, like most of my journaling, I just let this slip through my fingers.  There have been lots of changes in my life since I last visited, but to quote the Mamas and the Papas, “Nothing’s as sure as change”.  Happily, mine are all good changes.  Actually, I think most change is good, although we may not see that while we are going through it.

So, here I am, relocated with my family to North Carolina.  It’s beautiful here, and a definitely change from the Sonoran Desert.  My son, oldest child, is now serving a mission, and killing it!  I love that I get to see a mission through the parent’s perspective now, and also that I was blessed enough to have served, so I understand some of what he’s going through, ups, downs, frustrations, excitement, and joy.

It’s a sleepy Sunday afternoon, and what’s left of Hurricane Florence is pouring down rain.  Although, there is still a lot of flooding and crazy weather in other parts of the state, it’s actually quite lovely here.  We’ll still get rain for the next few days, but next weekend we will head down to the coast and start on the clean up crews.  I love being part of a church that is so well organized and determined to help in every way they can.  In the meantime, I’m putting myself back to work on my missionary blog.  

The time I spent serving in Slovenia shaped my life and my desire to serve in every other way.  The gospel is beautiful!  All people are God’s children and of infinite worth.  Sharing one with the other, whether through teaching or serving, is the most amazing thing I can do.

27 Sept 1995

Oh joj!  I don’t even know where to begin.  Too much happened today, but the most important happened last.  I just want to cry and laugh and I don’t know. I think I will go backwards.

We went to Manca’s tonight, thinking so many cool things.  I could hardly wait to talk to her and we thought we’d give her a 3rd discussion.  We did, at least ½ of it. Well, when we got there, she told us that she got the job in England and that she was going to be a nanny for a year, and that she is leaving next Thursday.  Ouch! One week, and then she’s gone. So, we talked about that for a while, and how she would get ready for it, and about how they call her Manka, instead of Manca. Then we talked more about them, and more. She asked for the address of the church there, so that she could keep reading and investigating.  That was cool all in itself. Then we got into the rest of the evening. We started with a prayer. Manca wouldn’t say it to begin with, so Sister Mix did, but she said she would afterward, to end. So then she went on with her normal questions she had from the Book of Mormon. She’s amazing! Before she started she said she had more, but as she kept reading they were answered.  Wow! Last time we met her she was at Jacob 4. Now she’s at Alma 5. She’s learning to really love the Book of Mormon. Then she said she totally knows that baptism is next, but she just doesn’t want to admit it to herself. Man, I can’t wait for the missionaries in England to meet her, but I wish she was staying here too. Here’s the best part. At the end, she prayed. She prayed!  That is so cool! I’ve never seen somebody grow so much in my life. Her prayer was so cute. She said before she started, not to laugh, and I didn’t, but it was hard because she was just so cute. In the middle she couldn’t think of anything to say, so she stopped and whispered, “What do I say now?” Sister Mix helped her out a bit, and mentioned the Book of Mormon. Then the phone rang, but she kept right on going.  I am really going to miss her, but she will write. I know that she will be baptized, probably in England. I kind of envy the sisters in Sussex, but man, they have missed out on seeing her so far, and they don’t even know the amazing girl they are going to meet.

Manca was one of those people that God just blesses you with.  She was eager to learn and so humble.  She was starting almost from ground zero.  She told us that she had started out as an atheist, but was agnostic by the time we came to her door.  She had a true desire to know God and hoped that he was real, despite her fears and upbringing.  Watching her come to life, in that hope, taught me a lot.  You know, “mustard seed” and all. Luke 17:6