Is anyone still with me after this long break? Here are some photos of Tim and Queenie’s wedding day at the Draper temple, the wedding luncheon, and the reception. We were busy, we were joyful, we had fun; my heart ached because Mark wasn’t with us.
We love our newlyweds!
I didn’t thin the sunflowers this year as they popped up in a great company of heart-shaped leaves. They continued to grow and blossom through the summer, and now the flowers begin to fade. The bees that collected nectar begin to close out their shift as small birds come to snack on sunflower seeds.
As I have mentioned before, I interpret these unintended sunflowers as the Lord’s cheer and encouragement to me as he cares for my missionaries. To me, quite literally, they are my “son-flowers.”
They bloom in my backyard, but I see them everywhere this time of year. Looking through photographs, I find them in the background of Daniel’s wedding pictures, and now, Tim’s. I collected the round, burr-like remnants of Mark’s first-year missionary sunflowers last winter to keep in a glass box on a shelf.
We need the rhythm of seasons and the predictability of daylight and sunset. Yet with all this predictability, there awaits a perpetual wonder inspired by the beautiful creations of God. I smile almost every day when I see how that one little sunflower that appeared while Daniel served his mission has become this array, reminding me of a glorious God, who blesses us with a “multiplicity of blessings.” (See Doctrine and Covenants 104:2.)
August 7 was the 7th anniversary of Daniel’s mission departure and Mark’s 10-month mark as a missionary. This was also the beginning of many years as a missionary mom, as Tim’s mission also deserves mention here.
The missionary years have offered some of the biggest lessons of life for our family.
This short video came up in my feed and I appreciate how he describes one of those big lessons. Whether as a missionary, or basic disciple like me, sharing light matters.
The following passage of Scripture describes the creations of God, including the sun, moon, and stars, but all of His creations can shine His light. I like to think this verse describes an important purpose of life,
And they give light to each other in their times and in their seasons, in their minutes, in their hours, in their days, in their weeks, in their months, in their years…
Doctrine and Covenants 88:44
Mark sent me a voice message he received this week from Emily in Denmark. In the message, she tells Mark that she keeps one of his tiny monkeys in her kitchen as a reminder of his kindness. Six months ago, Mark hid monkeys for her children throughout their home.
I’ve written before that Mark likes to hide monkeys and yes, they are pretty silly. But this small and completely authentic habit endeared Mark to Emily’s family.
The Lord translates into love whatever earnest offerings His young authorized servants have to give. To be clear, Mark did more than hide monkeys, and Emily and her family were super kind to the missionaries. This voice message reminded me that the Lord is really good at multiplying love and helping people feel seen. He can use any small thing, even tiny plastic monkeys, to accomplish his purpose to lift us.
We have a good conversation with Mark on a video call each Monday and he is happy and busy working in the mission office, assigned to travel logistics. There are lots of train tickets to purchase and coordinate in the mission. He gets to leave the office every day to contact people and teach, and he loves living in the city and being so close to the temple. The mission office has a good atmosphere since it is a consecrated place, and he enjoys his connections with missionaries. He serves each week as the pianist in Primary in his ward.
His weekly emails are basically brief statements punctuated by emojis. Here is a small collection of fun lines from his emails from the past few months:
Do-si-don’t do that, elder. 🕺(Reflecting whether missionaries should have accepted the invitation from older ladies to join in the folk dancing at a ward activity.)
I’m trying to make Mexican food in Danmark; it’s me against the world with their spice selection though🧂🧂
Sisters had a baptism yesterday. I got one days notice to play music for it, but as a wise philosopher once said: “Sometimes if you do a job bad enough you don’t get asked to do it again.”🐅
I made pickles for our zone pday and everyone ate them. Before I got any.😒
🖥🔥💳☢️😨It’s going well.
With transfer news we had to hit the office for 11 hours to crank out the fastest ever travel plans💪
Elder Harris moving in on Thursday🕶🪇
Alma 32 keeps coming in clutch with lessons so shout out Alma the younger. Always worth [a] read, but so is the rest of the book.🪇
He’s entered the year of his life that I won’t be able to hug him because he is serving so far away, but I am thrilled that he is a missionary. I am so proud of him.
I couldn’t visit my mom this year, but tried to write an extra good letter, which I realize now was probably inadequate with her living so far away from family. I like the concept of Mother’s Day. In practice, I understand that it can be hard to do it right.
There are some tongue in cheek remarks from me around Mother’s Day. For instance, sometime around March when the ads begin, I will ask Richard if he’s started planning gifts for the holiest day of the year, Mother’s Day. Gifts are not my love language, but I like to be with my family and I like their kind gestures. As the saying goes, my family “understood the assignment,” and made my weekend very special.
This year, I got to spend time with our 3 oldest kids. There was our trip to Alabama to see Paige and her family, then on Saturday, Daniel, Tim, and Richard washed our windows and we went to a movie together. I was able to connect with Mark and Paige on the phone on Sunday. Tim skipped his ward meeting to sit beside me in church, ensuring that I didn’t sit alone. My gifts were mostly sweets, which are perfect for me. Richard cooked dinner and we dined around a new rose bouquet.
I love our family. I love Richard. I love being a mom.
Mark’s mission is really good about sharing photos. Here are a couple that made me smile.
I attended this young lady’s temple endowment this week and it was one of the biggest honors of my life to be included.
I remember my grandmother using the same word, “honored,” as she accompanied me for my endowment. I noted this, but didn’t understand why she would say it until I learned the significance of temple covenants for myself.
I think my grandmother understood that she was witnessing the sacred acts that would bring Heavenly Father closer to me and allow the Atonement of Jesus Christ to do its work in me…enabling me to overcome anything.
What an honor it is to witness the stunning grace of God for a loved one.
And we ask thee, Holy Father, that thy servants may go forth from this house armed with thy power, and that thy name may be upon them, and thy glory be round about them, and thine angels have charge over them;
Doctrine and Covenants 109:22
Daniel Spencer Jr was the first ancestor in my family to join the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and his descendants can be found in many places. You can read about him here. He was a missionary, a mayor of Nauvoo, and a pioneer. During the last decades of his life he served as a stake president in Salt Lake City. One of my favorite facts about Daniel Spencer is that he was a missionary in England and visited many European countries, including Denmark, during this mission. So, Mark is following this ancestor’s path.
George Sterling Spencer was Daniel Spencer’s grandson. He built the original cabin on the land we still visit each summer which we call the Weber. Most of George Sterling Spencer’s children are listed below.
This week, Mark told me that he and his third cousin in the Spencer line, a fellow missionary, have been asked to do an Easter musical number together in Denmark. They are the great-great grandsons of the two brothers I have circled. The missionary’s first name? Spencer. 😄
Family history is really interesting when you begin to connect the dots from the past to the good things happening now.