For the past two years I have served as a service missionary for The Church Of Jesus Christ Of Latter Day Saints. The unusual twist to my mission call is that I did not apply for it, the church called me out of the blue and asked if I would be willing to serve. The day before I received this phone call, I had a doctor appointment that ended with a miracle. I had been diagnosed with an aggressive form of thyroid cancer that had spread to my lymph nodes. This appointment was to make a plan of action that would begin with surgery and then chemo and radiation to follow. The prognosis did not look promising. The week prior to this appointment I began to feel better, and the ping-pong ball sized lump in my neck began to go away. I was still tired, but not like I had been. I was almost afraid to have hope, and was not sure if I believed what I was experiencing. So much so, that I didn’t even tell Ronnie I was feeling better each day.

The day of my appointment my doctor came in and told me she thought we needed to re-do the two day nuclear test that had been done the week prior. I wasn’t too excited about that because it had made me really sick. She then asked if I was feeling better, which I hesitantly told her I was. She then pulled up all my scans on the computer. These showed how the cancer had quickly gone from bad to worse . . . and then miraculously you could see where the cancer had been, but it was gone! She was skeptical and told me she did not believe I was healed and told me I was only in remission; that this type of cancer just doesn’t go away. She told me she wanted to see me monthly for the next year. She even had me go back in for another biopsy the following month. I asked her if she suspected something and she said no, that she just didn’t believe it was truly gone. All my tests came back clear.

The day after I received this news, was the day I got the call asking if I would be willing to meet with a lady at the church office building in Salt Lake City regarding a mission call. I told her my husband was still working, and she told me, it was only for me. I had felt at the first of the year that something big was coming. I didn’t know what it would be, and wasn’t even sure if it would be good or bad. When I got the cancer news, I had decided that must have been the feeling I had been having and maybe the Lord was preparing me for this new trial. I wasn’t sad or upset about the diagnosis, but knew whatever the outcome would to be, that everything would be ok one way or another. This was not my first encounter with cancer. I’ve had lots of skin cancer for many years – basal cell, squamous cell, and melanoma. Each time I have received a miracle and all has been well. I wasn’t sure about this new thyroid cancer though, but had a calm feeling of peace and comfort I could not deny.

When I received my mission call, knowing my cancer was in remission, my stake president told me he felt impressed to tell me everything I had done up to this point in my life had been to prepare me for this calling. He also told me he believed Heavenly Father had given me cancer, and then cured me, so that I would have no doubt in my mind that He had called me to this mission.

I was so excited to use the talents Heavenly Father has blessed me with. As with most missions, it was not easy, but nothing worth doing is rarely easy.

I was charged to learn new computer programs that seemed harder than learning a foreign language. I prayed hard, worked hard, and put the time in to do the best job I could as a disciple of Jesus Christ.

My stake president told me I was to wear my missionary badge each time I was on a project with my mission, and also to all my church meetings. It was an honor to wear His name over my heart during the two years I served.

I had many great and wonderful experiences, working on a total of 43 temples throughout the world.

I had the opportunity to extend my mission at the end of my two years, but after much thought, prayer, and talks with Ronnie and my church leaders, I made the difficult choice to be done.

In the beginning, I thought I would have this calling for the rest of my life. Sometimes, God has a different plan for us.

I met and worked with many lovely and talented people, and for that I will be eternally grateful. I do believe I was called to this mission for a reason. In the end it was my trip to London, and the kind, loving, supportive people I met there, that through their example, helped me to see the Lord has a different direction He wants me to follow. I’m still not sure what that will be, but plan to take some time to rest and get my strength and energy back after such a busy and grueling past two years.

What it all comes down to is my desire to serve the Lord with all my might, mind and strength. I gave it my all as I served as a missionary in my church. The Lord does not expect us to run faster than we have strength, and that includes not only our physical strength, but also our emotional and spiritual strength.

Because of the difficult parts of my mission, the prayers I prayed led me on a path to London seeking more training in the art of floristry.

I learned so much more than how to arrange flowers! What I discovered is that we need to be grateful for the difficult people and tribulations in our lives. These experiences often take us to the place where we are truly supposed to be. I came home with a renewed sense of covenant confidence in what my Heavenly Father wants me to do. So as one door has now closed, I know He will open the one He wants me to go through next.

This is how life is meant to be. We journey through hard times in order to arrive at the times of peace and calm. The most important thing we can do is constantly seek for the LIGHT, and the Light Givers during the dark times. You wouldn’t think there would be hard times when you are serving as a missionary for the Lord.

Satan doesn’t like it when we are striving to do good, but in the end, right and LIGHT will always prevail! Things don’t always turn out how we hope they will. But they always turn out the way the Lord has planned for us.

The growth we need to experience can’t happen any other way. We have to climb that steep mountain, knowing that if we go through the hard times, the view once we get to the top will be worth the pain it took to get there. I look forward to healing, new beginnings, and figuring out what He wants me to be when I grow up! At the beginning of my mission I was healing physically from the cancer that had taken a toll on my body. At the end of my mission I am healing emotionally and spiritually from the toll it took on my soul.

Thankfully, Heavenly Father surrounds us with kind and loving family and friends who lift us up to continue walking on the Covenant Path back to Him.

This past week I met with the church leaders in my stake to give a final report on my mission. I wanted to share with each of them a little piece of what I have learned over the past two years in the form of a small floral bouquet.

I included a tag on each one with my favorite quote from Dieter F. Uchtdorf: “The desire to create is one of the deepest yearnings of the human soul. No matter our talents, education, backgrounds or abilities, we each have an inherent wish to create something that did not exist before. . . Creation brings forth satisfaction and fulfillment.”

I had so much fun putting them together ending my mission on a positive note! May we all find someone to lift this week, and share our LIGHT.

There is much to be joyful about, even in a world of trials and struggle. I am offering up a special prayer, and will be donating extra this month, for those who have been affected by the hurricanes and wars throughout the world.

May we all be blessed and lifted up in our adversities, knowing we are not alone.

Love Ya, Les :)

Faith

When One Door Closes, Another One Opens