Two Thirds

This past week, on my 60^th birthday I said to Nancy, “Two thirds the way through!” She joked, “With life or the mission?” How symbolic — both! I’d be lying if I said this was easy – either life or the mission – but I’m referring here to the mission. It is an amazing experience but very intense with 18 hour days nonstop, and hundreds of emails, messages and calls everyday, in addition to the meetings and interviews. I think Africa ages a person at a much faster rate — certainly Liberia does. Maybe I shouldn’t say “ages” but “experiences” a person. 😉 There is a lot squeezed into this role, and it is dizzying at times. But when I step back and look at the bigger picture, it is astounding what the Church and its members are doing to help lift and lead people to self-reliance. I was pleased to see this brief interview (click) with Sara Beysolow Nyanti, the Foreign Minister of Liberia, who visited Salt Lake City this last week. Some highlights of her visit can be read here. As previous UN Assistant Secretary General, she has tremendous global experience and is now helping her own country as part of the president’s cabinet. The president of Liberia, Joseph Boakai, thinks highly of the Church and our work here. His nephew tells me President Boakai would like to come to General Conference soon, so we hope to help that happen.

Amidst the intensity of this missionary work, I still try to get some exercise every few days. The big shocker this week was getting on my stationary bike and seeing that my Peloton profile has changed my age: “60’s”. Yikes! I used to see other riders on the leaderboard in their 60’s and think, “Good for you. At least you’re still doing it.” Now I am one of them! (Sorry to those of you now in your 70’s or 80’s…but “Good for you!” if you’re still exercising or riding a bike. 😉)

I think for this final third — and I’m talking again about life AND the mission — I’ll take my mother-in-law’s advice that she oft repeated.  Marie would say, “The best is yet to come,” and she lived her life that way. (On a related note of “living your life that way,” here’s a great song by one of my favorite artists, David Wilcox, called, “Sunshine on the Land.” I think you’ll enjoy it.)

As Nancy and I finished our second trimester in Liberia, we were blessed to have our daughter Whitney come stay with us for a week and a half in early June.  She brought a few loaded suitcases of treats and supplies — like Santa Claus. Even better than the goods was to see her smile and feel her embrace. What a treat that was to have her here… and all to ourselves! Whitney has always been such a delight, and she continues to amaze us with her abilities and attitude for life. (Huge thanks to Ryan and her five kids who held down the home front in Colorado!) Whitney came with us to interviews, helped in the trainings, and attended stake conferences. We even went to Robertsport for the first time to see the small surfer town up near Sierra Leone. 

While Whitney was here, we were also fortunate to have our area president, Elder Gifford Nielsen and his wife, Wendy, stay with us for meetings with stake presidents, and training with our missionaries. Elder Nielsen’s optimism is contagious, and I can see why he succeeded not only as a church leader, but as a pro and college hall-of-fame quarterback.

Our young missionaries continue to be our greatest delight as we see them struggle, grow, advance and thrive – both here, as well as when they return home. Their talents are amazing, and their attitudes are astounding. Liberia isn’t for the faint of heart, but it accelerates growth and gives experiences that are hard to describe in words. These young men and young women go about finding, teaching, training, and helping others know about our Savior and our Father in Heaven’s plan of happiness. They teach of Jesus Christ from the Bible and especially the Book of Mormon, helping people to change their lives. We’re in rainy season, and they commonly wade through pretty deep puddles in their boots. On occasion, they fall into water up to their waist. They work through the heat and humidity even when they are tired. We all deal with viruses, food poisoning, and other ailments, but we have decent healthcare, and with Nancy as the mission nurse, I think we do okay. I will say that we’ve been fortunate not to have any malaria cases for three months in our mission! (Way to take your doxy and use your mosquito nets, missionaries!) 

Our senior missionaries also bring great joy as we all rely on each other, both to shoulder the work, and to feel the strength of being together. We’ve been blessed with office couples (Blanchards and Norths) and couples doing member-leader support (Montoyas and Allreds) that simply could not be better! Their faith, understanding, and work ethic is unbelievable. They also are often involved with many humanitarian and donor programs where they help with a wide range of healthcare/hospital needs, employment and small business startups, and agriculture opportunities. We were happy for the Trapanis, our full-time humanitarian couple, to complete their 18 months of amazing service last month…and we miss them now. We also were sad to lose the Dustins, hopefully only temporarily, who escorted a sick missionary home, but have needed to stay to address some other personal needs. Our senior couples are the stabilizing force for our mission. We love them and are so grateful for the incredible work they do — and they are loved dearly by the younger missionaries as well!

I won’t write much more, as it is again way past midnight and I’m toasted, but I do want to express my gratitude for the birthday wishes I received!!! Thank you! Tanner pulled together this heart-warming video tribute from family and dear friends around the world! It was a delightful birthday gift, including an emu at 8:45. 🥰 

Please know I’m very grateful to you, dear friends and family! I’m embarrassed by such adulation, but it’s nice not to have to die to hear one’s eulogy. True…I’m not dead, but I am a sexagenarian – and that word is as bad as it sounds.  Still, I trust the best is yet to come in my final third of life!

Lastly, here are a few more pictures from recent weeks of paddlers, places, paintings, ponds, and people. (If you’re reading from the website, you can click on the photos to see a short photo description.)