Family Thoughts - John Teal

We are developing a pattern ! 

Wednesday nights updates from Elder Teal. 

Sunday nights "Family Thoughts" 

Tonight I decided it was my turn to share my thoughts about having a son on a mission.

 

From when he was a little boy, we hoped that our son would choose to serve a mission. We knew it would give him experiences that would shape the rest of his life. We held Family Home Evenings where we have talked about being a missionary and sung primary songs

"I hope they call me on a mission 

When I have grown a foot or two. 

I hope by then I will be ready, 

To teach and preach and work as missionaries do. 

I hope that I can share the gospel 

With those who want to know the truth. 

I want to be a missionary 

And serve and help the Lord while I am in my youth."

I have seen our son grow, physically, mentally and spiritually throughout his life. Along with a class of his peers, I have taught him for 3 years of daily early morning Seminary and last year he was in an evening Institute class where I taught a group of 18-30 year old young adults.

As a former missionary myself, I knew what it would be like for him leaving home and spending two years, learning, growing and sharing. I knew what the joy of seeing someone embrace the gospel would bring him. I also knew of the discouragement and heartache that rejection would bring him.

What I didn't know.. is what it would be like saying goodbye to my only son and best friend.

For reasons I understand, missionaries restrict their communication with home to letters and emails once a week. They can Skype home on Christmas Day and Mothers Day. This helps them focus and reduces the potential of home sickness. It also ensures fairness among missionaries. Understanding doesn't always mean things are easy though. There are times when I am doing something and think "If Jake was here..." or I will hear something on the radio and think "I'll talk to Jake about that at tea tonight" but He isn't and I cant...

In the Old Testament Abraham is tested to see if he would do anything to obey God. Abraham is commanded to take his only son Issac to the top of a mountain and sacrifice him as a burnt offering. Issac as a fit young man, could have rebelled but dutifully obeyed his fathers instructions.

Genesis 22

Why would God ask this of Abraham ? 

Perhaps God knew Abraham would be obedient, but Abraham needed to know he would be obedient. Perhaps God wanted Abraham to understand what it would be like to sacrifice his only Son as type of the Sacrifice God would make? Abraham was tested to the limit and then an alternate sacrifice was provided.

This story has been on my mind a lot this last 5 weeks. Sacrificing Elder Teal by him being away from home for two years is hard. It is nothing though compared to what Heavenly Father felt when He watched his own Son Jesus Christ suffer for the sins and pains of us all.

Elder Teal being away from home is helping me understand the atonement of Jesus Christ a little more. Elder Teal has chosen to represent the Saviour out of love for the people he will meet and teach... 

And that fills me with pride for the man he is becoming.

Family Thoughts - Leland Mayall

Its Sunday again ! These weeks are flying past ... 

To carry on the pattern, today we have another missionary parent sharing some thoughts. Leland Mayall serves on the Ashton Stake Presidency, he and is family attend the same Ward (Congregation) as our family.

Leland's son, Elder Mayall, is half way through two years in the Zimbabwe Harare Mission. 

"It's always a been my dream as a father to see my son serve a full time mission for our Church. Having experienced it myself and knowing what it does for you first hand I wanted that for Nathan. The fact he made the decision for himself makes it extra special. That said nobody could ever prepare you for the emotional roller coaster you go through.
To see your son leave and then come home to his empty bedroom, knowing it will be 2 years till you see him is the hardest thing I've ever done. Crazy how the greatest things in life are sometimes the hardest to experience. Nathan has now been out a year and we have just loved reading and feeling of his mission experiences. Of the love he has for the work, for his companions and for the people of Zimabawe. We truly feel of his happiness serving The Lord. Elder Mayall has grown so much in so many ways. In being able to share his weekly mission posts we hope that family and friends have felt of his love and happiness in serving a mission in Zimbabwe."

Elder Mayall has a blog, it can be found HERE. Missionaries have so many varied experiences around the globe. But they all come home saying their's was the best mission in world.

Family Thoughts - Julia Peel

As well as keeping you up to date with Elder Teals Adventures, you may have noticed we have been adding in other information. When a young man or woman goes on a mission, they are busy learning, growing and are occupied with a myriad of new experiences. Meanwhile the parents of missionaries find themselves with a little more time and a feeling of emptiness.
Over the coming weeks I have asked some missionary parents to share their feelings. There are over 80 thousand missionaries in the world now, that means a lot of parents are both dealing with and enjoying having kids on missions. Hopefully these "Family Thoughts" posts will:-

• Strengthen you if you are in a similar position.

• Prepare you if you are about to be a missionary parent.

• Help you understand if you just want an insight.

At some future point I will write my own experiences as a missionary Dad, but first up is Julia Peel. 
We have got to know Julia quite well in the last weeks via social media, as her son Elder Peel is with Elder Teal in the MTC. They have become good friends, but it could be confusing if they ever served together with rhyming names !

Julia Peel

"As a convert, I know first hand the value of missionary work. Without the missionaries, I don't know that I would ever have had the opportunity of finding the life that I now have. A life of purpose, that helps me know where I came from, why I am here and where I am going. It's a knowledge that shapes everything I do.

As a mother, I want to do everything I can to help my children reach their full potential. I have taught them what I know and believe...that nothing is impossible for them if they have a relationship with their Father in Heaven and their Saviour, Jesus Christ. This applies to us all.

My son has always wanted to go on a mission and I have always hoped that he would. Neither of us pretended that 2 years apart from his family would be easy, but there are two main reasons why he made the decision he did.

Firstly, their is nothing of more value a person can do than to lead another soul to the saving power of the Atonement of Jesus Christ. To give the hope of a joyful eternity, free from death and sin, with those we love forever. My son knows that making this a priority in his life for the next two years, will bring him and others insurmountable happiness.

Secondly, in those efforts to show others how to find the Saviour, he will be blessed with comfort, guidance, enlightenment, strength, peace, fulfillment and joy. These will be given to him by Holy Ghost who is sent from our Father in Heaven and he really will not miss our family as much.

This is what makes the difference between my son moving to another country for 2 years and my son going on a mission. For me personally, to see my son develop strengths that he never knew he had such as learning another language, developing greater compassion and greater self reliance, I feel that he is beginning to fulfill his potential and is doing so in a very unique way. There is a saying about losing yourself in serving others, it's not really losing in the way some might think. There is nothing lost in loving our fellow human beings. We are all created by one God, our Father in Heaven. We are brothers and sisters.

Whilst I will miss my son more than I can put into words, I will not begrudge the time I will miss with him because in that time he will be reaching out to people such as me. The experiences he will have over the next 2 years will stay with him forever and will shape the man he will become. What more worthy reasons could we have for the brief separation and how joyous the reunion!"

Julia's Family blog too, they can be found HERE

#missionarymom

Family Thoughts - Sophia Deighton

For every full time missionary there is a network of "support staff" at home called THE FAMILY.

As the mostly unseen face of missionary work, family members write letters of support, send packages of goodies and bore their family and friends about what "their" missionary is doing. 

Currently assigned to the Greece Athens Mission and at the MTC now with Elder Teal is Elder Deighton.
His very talented sister put together her thoughts about her brothers service. If you only watch one YouTube video today, make sure its this one !

Sophia Deighton..