Elder Miller you are called to serve in the...

 

My heart is full…. And so is Miles’. This morning I had a distinct memory from when Miles,  literally hours after he was born, and the nurse brought his bassinet to my hospital bedside, I had the thought, "a son!  One day I’m going to have to send him on a mission for 2 whole years."  I didn’t know I would’ve already sent his two older sisters (and I’m so grateful for that- and it helps me to know both the ache and the joy) but 2 years is 2 years—and wow- yet another marvelous opportunity to stretch my faith and rely on my Father in Heaven. 

The backstory- Miles has always planed on serving a mission, it’s just gotten “real” these last few months and as he submitted his mission papers. He submitted them at the end of March, but with general conference, there was a little delay.  On Tuesday morning, April 20^th he got the email.  

Coming off a whirlwind weekend of Sadie and Seth’s wedding, we were ready for our next big thing, but with work schedules and wanting to invite close friends and family, Miles decided to wait until Thursday evening to open the email.  Miles always said he wanted a big group and a big party when it was time to open his mission, so Emma helped me make pennant banners of CALLED TO SERVE and water bottle labels.  We made 50 seven-layer dip cups and had boxes of individual bagged tortilla chips, cookies, and of course the map with all the pins where people had guessed.  Not sure of how many could come, we planned to meet at 7:30 at the pavilion at Keith Bird Park, in our Bainbridge neighborhood.  The weather was rainy and windy, but at 7:30 it was clear enough and I was grateful.

 Miles was pleased that about 40 people came: I’ll try to remember them all: Alma Ramos, OHS golf team, Bainbridge ward Priests and Teacher’s Quorum, Brother Larsen and Brother Griffeth (Bainbridge YM leaders), Kyle Lyons, Miles’ mission prep teacher, the Edwards in our Bainbridge ward, Jared and Andrea Wheeler and kids, Kyle Miller Family, Blackwell kids, Caden Crabtree and another of Miles’ school friends, a couple of girls that  Miles works with at Krave’s, Nampa Friends: Scott Hayes & Zach Bingham, Brother Chandler, Roarke, Holly, Emma, Avery, Graham, Lainey (Sadie and Seth were on there honeymoon so not able to be there), and then countless others virtually with Instagram live.  I think Miles was please and felt all the love and support from so many.

(L-R) Bainbridge Ward YM leader: Brother Laron & Griffeth, Brother Chandler,                    Bainbridge Priests Quorum

Emma, Friends from Nampa: Zach Bingham & Scott Hayes, Alma Ramos, Graham

Uncle Kyle, Jared & Andrea Wheeler, & Miller Cousins: Blackwell kids & Cache Miller (above) 

(below) Our family below & sibling pic:

After we set things up at the Pavilion, Miles tried to log on to his missionary portal, (call comes virtually now instead of being mailed in the big white envelope) but could not remember his password.  He was nervous and shaky and at first thought that maybe he just couldn’t be still enough to type it in, but after multiple tries and the group all surrounding him, he realized he couldn’t really remember even what to type.  He was so flustered, but he and I jumped in the car to head home (2 min from park) to look up his password.  He was such a ball of nerves that he picked a little scab on his cheek, and it started bleeding a lot.  We had wipes in the car and pulled over to get that under control while Miles kept trying passwords.  Finally, he remembered it and we flipped around headed back from the park.  Luckily even though Miles felt frazzled, that whole delay was only about 5 minutes.  Once a little composed, he said a few words of appreciation to the group, took a very big audible breath, and began reading.

Trinidad, Port of Spain.  (I thought, and I think most thought he was going to Spain-esp. when he said Spanish Speaking) but upon more discussion and a reread- we understood- Trinidad and Tobago, as in a Caribbean Island… and that was a crazy realization.  Spanish speaking is pretty neat to be able to learn a language too. Beginning MTC on August 15^th (his availability date was August 1^st, so that worked out great).  We looked at the map and began to understand his call.  Little Caribbean Island (known as the ABC islands Aruba, Bonaire, and Curacao) look like the places that Spanish Speaking Missionaries are most but his mission also includes Trinidad, and two South American countries closest to Venezuela on the eastern side, Guyana and Suriname.  While his mission language assignment is Spanish, we also learned that he’ll mostly speak Papiamento, a dialect that combines Dutch, Portuguese, English & Spanish. 

I don’t think Miles had an overwhelming “this feels right” feeling after reading it- but some of that might be because he was thinking Spain and then found out Trinidad, Port of Spain.  While he might not have had that immediate confirmation, he was super excited about it.  Later in talking with him, he said that of all the places he’d considered (and he spent a lot of time looking over every part of the world on the map in his room) he never even considered or really knew about/thought of this area.  So it was very surprising and wonderful all at once. 

So now the joys of paperwork, passports, typhoid and yellow fever shots, visas etc begins.  I’m so happy for him.  He’s also just finishing a mission prep class and begins his temple prep.  What an exciting, emotion filled time.  He will have 2 weeks of home MTC and then 4 weeks at the Provo MTC, both which I’m so grateful for- having had Sadie just at the Provo MTC and Emma just at the home (McCall) MTC.. I’m glad he gets both experiences.  I’m glad that we’ll be able to watch the spirit pour over him as he begins and see him wearing his missionary tag.  What a powerful example for his siblings, all of us really to witness what happens when a missionary begins and submits fully to being consecrated as they train to be an emissary of the Savior.  It’ll be great that he gets the Provo MTC experience too- the comradery, the full missionary experience with other preparing missionaries, and a little bit of a first smaller prelaunch away from home before flying across the world to an island.

I know Miles goes into all this with eyes wide open watching Sadie and Emma’s missionary experiences- he’s been able to watch them love it, hate it, battle homesickness, odd companions, difficult leadership, all the highs and lows of loving and teaching people, the struggle of the grind, the lessons in goals and the clinging to hope-  While he doesn’t completely understand what it means that it is the hardest thing he’ll ever love- he will.  I am so proud of him.  I know he has so much to learn and some of it will be painful, but he also has so much to offer.  The Lord has been preparing him and preparing the people he will serve with.  Just a mixed bag of so many emotions as we now have a place on the map and a timeframe to look to.

Sending a missionary feels like giving your child back the Lord—of course they were always His, but it’s a sweet relief and a faith leap when they put on that tag and you let go as a parent a little and leave it ALL to God.  Surely we’ve relied on Him every minute since we welcomed Miles into our family, but it feels absolutely total as you send them off as an ordained representative of Christ as a missionary.  What a sweet privilege.  Because of his two sisters before him, I know that Miles will struggle and overcome, and learn and grow, and that he’ll be able to discover how personally the Lord knows him and how involved He is n all the details.  I love the quote, “Don’t worry about tomorrow, God has already been there!”  Elder Miller, you were prepared for this before the world was.  The Lord is counting on you and I know you will show up every day of your mission.  He sees you, knows your name and will be a way maker for miracles that will come to and from you in the Trinidad Port of Spain Mission.

25 second video of reading the call: