The Journey
As I stare out the car window
The tears still in my eyes.
I see family, friends and those I love from home,
We have said our last good byes.
The ride was long and trying,
And two questions plagued my mind.
"Do I want the life ahead,
Or the one I left behind?"
Two years is such a long, long time
For serving so far away.
In my reflecting, I thought to myself,
Should I have postponed it for yet another day.
I dragged myself out of the car
And started smiling at the beach
Then my Mission President turned the other way
And said, Elder, Sister-go find and teach."
I now sit reflecting once again,
As this day is now my last.
"Please Lord, this isn't fair at all
The time went way too fast."
As I stare out the car window
With tears again in my eyes.
I see Elders, Sisters and those I love.
We've said our last good byes.
The ride was long and trying again
As two questions plagued my mind.
"Do I want the life ahead,
Or the one I left behind?"
Spoiler Alert!
Returning home is harder than expected.
It's a good thing that we know we can do hard things!
It's Official!!!
We are home!
Our Welcome Home Committee!!! Tracy, sleepy head William, Wade, Sam and Thomas.
Wade Peterson and a very happy Grandpa and Grandma
Our last official picture as full time missionaries.
We are on our way to be released by our Stake President, Jack Williams.
Celebrating Family February Birthdays too!
Wade and cousin Matthew Kimura
Our "Arrival Dinner" Sunday, February 16th with the family
following our talks in Sacrament Meeting.
The very next day we hit the road once again to visit friends and family in Idaho.
First stop-seeing five Idaho grandkids that needed hugging!
Cousins Jett and Sienna enjoying an unseasonal warm day at the park
Knowing that we weren't used to just sitting around they kept us plenty busy by...
Helping with a project preparing rain gutters for strawberry plants.
Catching up on sports-like grandson, Cale's, indoor soccer game.
Hanging out with silly granddaughter's, Sienna and Shelby Hudson.
Receiving a VIP tour of the Church Cannery in Boise, Idaho by an old friend, Neil.
Reconnecting with our good friend, Ann Danes, who served with us in Florida.
After a wonderful visit with our family and friends in Idaho we just couldn't resist a quick trip to Utah to visit some more of our favorite people and do a little more adventuring before we re-entered the cold, cruel world of real life.
Doing things like...
JD and Margaret Gordon
Driving by to see the new Payson Temple scheduled to open in June 2015
Checking out the remodeled Provo City Center Temple,
located on the property where the Provo Tabernacle once stood.
Wandering through the Brigham Young University Campus like college coeds.
Getting reacquainted with Allison Carpenter, Zoe Hart, Abby McLeod, Lindsay Pugmire
and Nathan Collins-fellow returned FOM missionaries and
Emille Moffitt and Alyssa Bowman and
Jolene Rutledge, Mark Romero, K'Loni Lowry, Melissa Monson and Christy Conger
Jolene Rutledge and Mark Romero are scheduled to be married in the Redlands California Temple on May 2, 2015 and we plan to be there!
So what have we been doing since we finally returned home, you might ask...
Well we...
Attend the Sacramento California Temple often
Complete numerous home repairs
Celebrate our grandson, Lucas Gibson, when he received
the Aaronic Priesthood and was ordained to the office of a deacon.
Serve as head of a security detail to provide protection for an Apostle of the Lord,
David A. Bednar, while he presides over a number of meetings in the Sacramento area
March 13th-14th.
"Are you an agent or an object?"
Do you go and do... or sit and wait to be told?
And finally doing what we do best, completing missionary housing inspections in our Stake and taking broken and obsolete items to the local land fill in an effort to de-clutter missionary apartments.
For we know that as it states in the Doctrine and Covenants Section 132:8;
"Behold mine house is a house of order, saith the Lord God, and not a house of confusion."
The interesting thing about home is that it feels good to leave,
and it feels even better to come back!
We won't kid you the adjustment of being home is painful,
but it is getting better each day.
You might be interested to know that when we were recently asked,
"Would you leave your friends and family again knowing what you know now?"
We were able to answer in unison and in less than a heart beat,
"Absolutely, we would not have missed this experience for the world."
So will we serve another mission in the future...only time will tell :)
Stay tuned...
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