On his way!

Best idea:  Sending Lance a cheap Trac phone to call me while at the airport!

We spoke this morning while waiting for his flight in SLC.  We have been very diligent about writing and emailing, but actually hearing the excitement in his voice was so much better!   He will have a layover in Detroit then again in Amsterdam.  I believe, if my math is correct (though often it is not), he will arrive in Poland sometime very early Tuesday morning.

During our about 30 minute conversation, Lance expressed to me his gratitude for his experiences in the MTC.  No surprise, knowing my son as I do, he made good friends out of everyone around him.
He has a special gift to be able to relate to anyone in any situation.  And now he is exemplifying his gift by going to a foreign country to serve the Lord.

Lance shared with me a pretty cool experience he had while waiting in line to board his plane this morning...

He said that he and his companion were visiting and Lance said some words in Polish.  A lady standing in front of him turned to him and said she is from Poland...so they started up a conversation.  She gave him some good advice as to where to visit in Poland, what the best cathedrals are to go see, and what to expect as far as weather goes.  At the end of the conversation, he offered her a Pass Along Card (little cards with our church's contact info on them and an uplifting message).  She said, "No thanks."  He called it his first rejection of his mission.  But he was so happy about it, anyways!  He said he got to know an awesome person from Poland, got some great advice, and realized that he was able to converse with her in the language.  He views such "chance encounters with random people" to be of God.  I would have to agree.

Serving an 18 month to 2 year proselyting mission is not an easy undertaking.  A missionary chooses to leave the comforts of home, family, and friends to be sent away to an unknown area.  Many missionaries leave their girlfriends/boyfriends, their jobs, their schooling, etc., all in the name of furthering the Gospel.  In Lance's case, he also left behind his love of writing/performing music .  He worked at a local production plant for many months, some weeks with no days off, to save and pay for his mission.  He even sold his beloved drum set.

All of his own free will.

So, yeah.

Leaving for Poland next Monday

Lance's letter we received this weekend and today's email are full of excitement about him leaving for Poland next Monday...

"It's crazy!  We have less than two weeks left!!!  It's insane how close it is around the corner, I'm so extremely excited to go to Poland!  It is so crazy I'm going to Europe!"

Like I said, he's excited!

He had this to say about the language:
"This language is truly the BEST LANGUAGE EVER!!  Hahaha!  It's so extremely beautiful."

He goes on to comment about Conference:
"General Conference was divine!  I have never watched it with as much concern and desire ever before in my life, and I obtained so much out of it.  I had written down some questions I wanted to get answers for and they were answered in the first couple talks!"

"If you have the time to, you should get on lds.org and find the talk given by David A. Bednar...it's amazing!  It has helped nourish and prove witness through the Spirit what I truly needed to work on."

He writes some in Polish, but again, no translation.

Some scriptures he shares:
2 Nephi 13-27
Mosiah 2:17

He signs off his letter with a language I am somewhat familiar with...
"Garu di, hwyl fawr!"

Latest update

My birthday was on the 28th and boy was I surprised to receive a surprise package from Lance in the mail!  Here's my birthday present...

I took this picture to send via email to him so he knew I got it.  

If you know me and my family, the "metal" sign is commonly seen in pictures.  

Yeah, I take a little credit for that.

He also sent his SD car so I could pull off some pictures.  It's so great to "see" him and his buddies!

Standing in front of Starszy Stumpf's German flag while holding Lance's Polish flag.

Lance tells me he and Starszy Lanham are like twins.  Gee, I don't see the resemblance....

This young man standing with Lance has the last name of Maddox.  Could be a relative!

Smith, Stumpf, Lanham, Saltmarsh, Finch, Stockford, and Kotter

Lance's letter I received on Friday was quite inspirational....

"I know that by the time we (he and his fellow missionaries) leave here, we will be as spiritually, mentally, physically, and emotionally prepared as we could possibly be through Christ and be the missionaries He wants.  And that is a most beautiful thing!"

"One of the biggest things I have learned over the last couple weeks is that having faith isn't enough.  You must constantly be nourishing your faith by completely converting yourself to God and completely submitting yourself to His will."

"Also, it's something I say in every letter, but I have come to learn that it's an important and essential prospect of life to serve!  To build people up, build up the Kingdom of God, to reach out instead of reaching in.  Once you do these things, you forget your problems, your trials disappear, because reaching out and serving is truly the Light of Christ!  Like in Mosiah 2:17...check that scripture out, it's powerful!  That what we call "trials & burdens" are actually blessings."

"To become the best we can be, not better than anyone else, but better than we used to be, more of who we already are, continually progressing, striving to become like Christ everyday."

One of Lance's favorite scriptures...Ephesians 6:12

He even gave one of his songs this title.

4 weeks down...103 to go (or something like that)

Today marks four weeks since Lance has been in the MTC.  For me, it has gone by fairly quickly.  Which is a good indication that the next couple years will just fly by.  I've been making an effort to keep him updated on all the stuff we've been up to.  And I'm sure it is all dull as powder to him in comparison to what he's up to!  

It's feast or famine with Lance writing home, it seems.  This week so far has only been a quick email on Monday.  He says he's been very busy...in fact, he hasn't had time to listen to music!  If that's the case, I know he's way busy!  

He shared some of his most recent favorite scriptures:

Alma...well ALL of Alma, he concludes

2 Nephi 1:15, 32:9
Moroni...yeah, ALL of Moroni, too

He also wanted me to tell those who have been supportive of him that he loves and appreciates them all.  Especially his grandparents, brother, and cousin.  He also mentioned a few friends (you know who you are).  He closed with a few lines of Polish and assures me he is happy & is loving it there.

On a personal note, I want to take this opportunity to thank a sweet friend.  Though we've only just exchanged emails through an email group geared toward missionaries, she went out of her way to send me a gift.  So, thank you, Jannicke!  

Today's letters

Received two - count them - two letters in the mail today PLUS an email...it won't be as easy to write to me when he's in Poland, but in the meantime, I'm enjoying the correspondence!

Here are some excerpts:

"The language is coming along very well, I think.  I wish I could be learning it faster but I get way ahead of myself (hahaha)!"
"Thank you for all of those scriptures!  They have truly helped.  Keep sending cool ones you find and I will do the same.  Check these scriptures out.  Moroni 7:43-48, this is like my guide to becoming a better missionary.  Also Alma 37:6-7 & 37."
"I've learned so much while I've been here.  I truly love it.  Every single aspect of my testimony/testimonies have been strengthened."

Then he writes more stuff in Polish but no translation.  Dangit.

Pictures

Lance sent me some pictures via email today!  It really is great to see him, his companion, and the others in his district.

This is his companion, Starszy Smith.  Lance wasn't surprised at all that they were placed as companions...they went to high school together.  Lance says soooo many great things about him!

This is Starszy Lanham from Orem, UT.  He is one of 3 roommates Lance bunks with.  Lance says that he is a spiritual giant & has become a great friend.

This is Starszy Stumpf from Germany.  He is also a roomie of Lance's.  Lance tells me he is incredible...plus he speaks Latin, German, English, and now Polish.

This is everyone in Lance's district.  Starszy Finch, Starszy Stockford, Starszy Saltmarsh, Starszy Smith, Siostra Bown, and Starszy Kotter.  Hopefully I've got their names all correct...trying to read off their name tags.

Letters home on a rainy day

It's been nothing but thunder storms in my area since last night.  The crashing of thunder and pounding of rain woke me several times during the night.  Followed by our power being disrupted for some hours this morning.  I really depend on our electricity with my home business, so needless to say, a night with little sleep and no power was an unfortunate way to start my weekend.

But, I received a letter from Lance this afternoon, so my weekend is much more enjoyable!

He is learning a lot already, he says.  And not just the language but a much deeper understanding of some important Gospel principles.

"I have learned to strip myself of pride and love everyone the same and learn from everyone."
"I feel like I've been given a new heart.  A heart purified and renewed from Christ."
"...to come back to our loving Father in Heaven, knowing true happiness, knowing our Christ and his Atonement, which we're a part of."
"I understand baptism like never before.  It truly makes sense.  I have a testimony of it.  As well as I do of the Book of Mormon & Joseph Smith."

Then he writes, what I believe to be, a partial testimony in Polish.  I will not attempt to type that...it could be disastrous!

He also claims to have converted at least 90% of his district to "his hippie style".  Which, he clarifies, means that they talk natural health.  If you know Lance, you know he doesn't eat junk food, uses essential oils for aches and pains instead of pills, etc.

Yeah, I'm a proud mom.