Dec 25 - The Christmas Day Skype Call
Everyone always asks "Are you so excited to talk to your missionary on Christmas Day?". I surprise them with my answer which is "no". It's GREAT to see him don't misunderstand me. But it's very HARD for me to see him and hear his voice, makes me miss him deeply (like the day he left on his mission kinda deeply) all over again. This year the house was full of people who wanted to talk with him. My parents, John, Chuck, me, and a surprise visit with his best friend Jordan. And Devon looks SO HAPPY and healthy, and good! Everyone got their allocated time to talk and then it was my turn. I retreated to his bedroom to show him his Christmas presents (he has quite a stash of things waiting for him on his bed as we can't mail packages). Then he said "I have something to tell you".
I've known this was coming since the day he left so I really wasn't surprised.
"I've told/asked the mission president that I'd like to extend my mission."
The trick now was to handle this well - a mix of being supportive and a mix of wanting him to know I'd like him to come home. All in all, I did very well. Encouraging him to pray, talk it over with his mission president, and most importantly to let me know ASAP so I can adjust my mental countdown if needed.
And then the Skype call was over and the crazy Christmas that Chuck and I have come to know and ?love? began. The next email from Devon, as I had shared some of my adventures with him, was very sweet. He said:
"I knew that there would be some craziness for Christmas, there always is! But that is all good, you have handled it well and you are handling it well. Keep doing what you are doing you are a great example for the family and the rock of the home! I am always grateful and always will be grateful for you as a mother."
Jan 4 - I asked Devon if he'd heard about extending his mission....
"I have not had an interview with President yet. But he did email me, very sadly it looks like I will not be able to extend my mission because of transfer problems and President can only authorize an extension of a missionary for so long, I am really annoyed about that, if I could I would extend my mission for 2 more years. Argentina and the mission is my home now and I am not looking forward to leaving it."
You know, I thought I'd be happy to read this, but I was truly sad for him. He has literally LOVED his mission from the first day and has had maybe 4 hard days (at least that I know of and he usually tells me). I knew this would be hard news for Devon as I can tell serving this mission has been the highlight of his life so far. BUT.....the missionaries can't stay there forever and it comes time to go home and move to the next greatest phases of life. So the mental countdown stays the same. And the rest of this post is from Devon.....
Forgive me for not having sent a group email in a long time my family! The mission has been treating me really really well as always, but with very little time. We are consecrating our time and efforts to the Lord with all we got and we love the work that we are doing. The hand of the Lord is obvious and real in everywhere we go.
I share with you all my testimony that I know He lives.
Yesterday we had a miracle happen at church. During the week we had contacted a woman named Haydee, she was a sweet lady. We invited her to church. Yesterday at church, she showed up! It was pretty incredible!!! She loved the classes and as a bonus, as we taught Gospel Principles, she totally accepted to be baptized! It was amazing! We are very excited for her.
Being a Zone Leader here is a lot of responsability and a ton of fun. It is an amazing environment here to have so many friends and companions on the mission that love you and care for you - with whom you can always laugh with and enjoy the work we are doing.
I had been thinking for a long time about extending my mission. I was very fixed on the desires that I have in my heart to give 100% to the Lord. President has informed me that I will most likely not be able to extend, which I am not happy about. In the last 7 months that I have here in Argentina (MY HOME) I will be giving it all that I got to help the work grow here, and who knows, maybe the Lord will give me the chance to serve more in some way.
I love you all so much! I thank you all so much for your emails and I beg forgiveness for not informing you in the way I should about the mission and the work. I want you all to know, that I KNOW the Lord lives, I KNOW that this message is true and that this is the ONLY living and true church on the face of the Earth. What a glorious message it is that we share! I invite you all to strengthen your faith in He who created us all.
With lots of love!
Elder Healey