Elder Wride arrived in Guatemala this morning and is safe in the Guatemala MTC where he will spend the next 6 weeks. (MTC = Missionary Training Center, or CCM in Spanish = Centro de Capacitación Misional)
I'm posting our emails below - first, the quick email I sent to him with some advice a fellow mission mom shared. Two hours later we got the first word from him regarding his safe arrival (I hope his emails get longer than this!). Followed by Corey's reply
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I just saw this on the Guatemala Facebook page from a mom who's son is coming home today... regarding the one hour time limit on computers for writing letters on pday
The one hour time limit is in place once they are in the field as well. My son learn from other missionaries about a little device called the alphasmart 3000, and he could use it to draft emails during the week, the same as writing in a journal. Then he used it to upload the emails on P day. The length and quality of his emails improved dramatically after that point, haha.
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Email Subject: Hasta llegado I think that's how you say I arrived. There were a ton of missionaries on the plane from SLC to LAX and even more from there to GUA. I'll put in pictures later. They gave me a haircut too. A kid here has an alphabetizer 3000 thing, Elder Strong. There are quite a few kids going to the South mission here. I'm excited. I'm out of time now. Chao
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Great to hear from you! Love you, and excited for this journey with you. Excited to hear more.
Today was the big day. Joseph is flying through the air right now, on his way to Los Angeles first and from there to Guatemala City. Here's how the day went down. He woke up at 6:30 (following a missionary schedule!) and exercised (I think), then he showered and got dressed because he and Corey were going to go to the Salt Lake temple together. Shooting for the 8:00 or 9:00 session. At 7 a.m. I went up to the Little Cottonwood Trail and got a few more little Granite rocks for him to take - he has 100 now. I called out to the rocks "Who wants to go to Guatemala! Last call for Guatemala!" A few rocks rolled onto the path to volunteer. I was impressed that with the rocks I had before that it worked out that there are 100 for him, and I kept some of the bigger rocks to give to the kids here at home. One rock of the 100 is for Joseph to keep in his pocket, to remind him of home: Home (cause we live close to the old quarry site) Granite (cause it is Granite, and that's our community), of the Temple (cause that's what the Salt Lake Temple is made of), of the Pioneers - their WORK and SACRIFICE to build the temple for their posterity, to remind us of our ANCESTORS and the LEGACY of FAITH they've left for us. So I first picked up rocks a few weeks ago, thinking it would be a fun thing for him to give to people he teaches that decided to be baptized, to remind them that baptism isn't the end, it's just the first step! Next they need to look forward to and prepare to enter the temple - a rock to remind them of the essential covenants we all need to make there. Anyway, so yeah, Joseph is taking a box of rocks down with him in his luggage! Here is his desk, it's looked this way for a while, covered with stacks of books he wants to read, and his mission booklet of the things he has to do to be ready...
You ready for this yet, Joseph? Not yet. at 7:30 Corey took Melodie to a GMS retreat down town and then Corey was going to head over to the SL Temple, Joseph wanted to stay and pack/organize some more until 8:15 and then I'd drive him down. I went downstairs and looked through old printed pictures to see if there were any good ones he might want to take. I did that until 8:20 when he called that he was ready to go.
We got in the car and great.... the gas light was on. Joseph told me we were fine to drive all the way down town. Plus we were cutting in close to get there in time for the 9:00 session. It went against all my better instincts. I don't drive with the gas light on. Joseph does. He told me that once the light was on when he left American Fork after Crescent Band, and he was able to make it from there all the way to Skyline (where a bus was about to leave for a choir performance... he got there with the "miles to empty" sign reading a big "0", and he was still able to drive it from Skyline to a gas station after that - so yeah, 35 miles to empty? I'm totally good. Ok, Mr. Missionary, I'll take your word for it....
But... if I get stuck down town, I'm gonna be ticked! Well, atleast I don't have little kids in the car, so it will be okay, I can walk to a gas station. I did make it down there fine and then I filled up downtown. Although Joseph told me I'd totally be able to make it all the way back home if I wanted. No, Joseph! That is not how we want to live! We want to have oil in our lamps! We want to stay as far away from empty as we can, Be Prepared! Be ready with extra oil/gas to spare, none of this "oh it can wait, you'll be fine, you can make it another 30 miles if you want" attitude. Although I'm glad you've had experience that gives you confidence, I never have let myself be put in this situation where it's this close, so I was nervous, but was happy when I pulled into Chevron.
On the way home I listened to the Killers "Be Still" on repeat and I cried the whole way. This line was about Joseph - "Be still, one day you'll leave, fearlessness on your sleeve." That's Joseph, and today is that one day. He's leaving and he's not nervous about it. I'm not afraid for him either, so I think my tears were mostly emotional. I'm gonna miss him (two years is a long time!) I remember after Corey left for his mission, I let myself spend a day listening to songs that we danced to, esp I remember Sting's "When We Dance" made me depressed and it was torture! I thought I was gonna die, this was no way to cope, thinking about him was gonna kill me, I needed to get something to distract myself, so I did. I got busy and that's my plan this time. I think it will be easier now than it was then, cause I've still got 10 kids here to distract me. But when I'm still, when I'm washing dishes or driving in the car and alone with my thoughts, and if I let them wander to Joseph, I'll probably cry.
So, when I got home, I got online and uploaded some of our new family pictures to Costco one hour for his photo book. They'd be ready at 12:17. I went to pick them up and bought some batteries too. Corey and Joseph weren't back yet.... I had a feeling we were going to be behind schedule. If they made the 9:00 session, they should be done around 11 and back by noon - but they didn't get home until 1:00. Ok guys, we were supposed to be going out for lunch right now... but Joseph still had to pack and arrange things.
He worked hard, had plenty of room, it was just shuffling things around. Wasn't too bad. I helped him, we can feel it, the big moment is here, you're leaving today Joseph! How are our stress levels?
His friend Talmage came over for one last goodbye. Talmage leaves in August for Ecuador.
Lots of kids in his high school class have received their calls, but Joseph is just the second to leave! That's why he had a big turn out at his "farewell" on Sunday, cause everybody is still here. Joseph zipped up the bags, we loaded them in the car.... here we go!
Say "bye house!" It was 2:25 and off we went for lunch. We went out to eat downtown at a place close to where Mel was for her music thing. Corey was thinking Olive Garden, but that would require a reservation, and we never called that in since Joseph was a little behind finishing up. So Chuck A Rama it was again, we'll work passing level 2 of Dining with Kids another time. We went the easy route with Chuck A Rama buffet. The kids loaded up on ice cream.
Joseph shared an announcement with the kids....
Hard to hear there in the video, plus I got a phone call that cut if off, here is part two -
So Joseph was starting to tell the kids this story - when Joseph was given the Melchizedek Priesthood and was ordained an Elder on June 20th, he told me two days later that he had been impressed to bless me with more children (note, PLURAL! uh-oh!) But he stopped himself cause extended family was there, and cause that wasn't his place to talk or give advice about that, etc... I wasn't thinking about it and wasn't keeping track of time, but looked at my calendar the next morning to find that my period should have started last week, not this week, so I had a pregnancy test on hand and took it was positive. I told Joseph Tuesday night, cause I had been thinking about it for the past 24 hours and felt like it was okay to tell him cause he should know in person, not over email on his mission, and that led to a conversation about his impression during the blessing on Sunday. SO, the moral of the story and lesson Joseph learned was: He was not giving the blessing, God is. He is not supposed to filter the words the Holy Ghost puts in his mouth, it's not on Joseph, it's God's blessing. You say what He tells you to say, and if anyone has questions or problems with it, they can bring it up with Him, it's not on you Joseph. We just need to stay out of God's way. So that has been our secret for the past 5 weeks. My laying around might have tipped the little people off that something was going on, cause my desire to workout has gone out the window since Newport, thus I'm already gaining weight. I hope to kick it back in gear in another two weeks and hopefully have have a fit pregnancy even better than last time cause I'm eating better (or will be once this craving for cheese and cookies goes away).
So that was the big news for the kids. We just knew that we would miss Joseph so much, we had to call in for a replacement, ha. I am due January 14th, just a few days after Joseph's birthday, which also seemed appropriate. SO - we had one last meal together at Chuck A Rama from 3 - 4, then over for 30 minutes of hugs and final goodbyes to Corey's parents and cousins and siblings -
Owen and Daniel will change the most while Joseph is gone. Daniel gave him a good hug, he's a good snuggler.
Joseph will be gone almost half of their entire lives up until now! Life is gonna change, we're all going to grow and learn alot during these next 2 years.
...and then Corey and I took Joseph to the airport. We were all weepy in the car - mostly emotional I guess. Cause we will miss him, but we're excited for him, but it is a big change for our family. As Corey said during our late lunch, the past 18 years have all been prep work for this moment, he's just starting! Joseph's life begins tonight, then everyone sang right away "It starts tonight!!" - Greatest Showman, funny. Getting bags out at the airport -
Riding the skywalk -
Riding the escalator down to Check in -
Checking in his bags -
Corey took a picture of us doing a last group selfie, I'll get that off his phone soon. We kissed him, we all cried, and then he went to security.
He seemed to be in security for a while, and then when he got out, we yelled we loved him, and then there was another Elder going to Guatemala. and we shouted that over to Joseph, and he waited there for him - kinda waiting for a companion. We just stared at him in the distance for 15-20 minutes
The other Elder finally got through security, we did a final wave, and then they walked away to their gate. We stayed at tried to see him until he was out of sight. It was 5:40. They weren't flying out until 8:15. So he had a while to wait but he's in the air now, on his way, his life begins tonight! Or early tomorrow morning. You've got a great adventure ahead of you Joseph, we love you!
Here's a copy of the talk Joseph gave in our ward sacrament meeting on the last Sunday before he left, 24 June 2018. He followed it pretty well, so here is how it was prepared and mostly how it was delivered.
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Hello Brothers and Sisters, I am so excited to be here today and hope that I can add something meaningful to what has already been said. In case you haven’t heard I am going to be serving as a missionary in the Guatemala Guatemala City South Mission. I’m trying to be very authentic right now by dressing how I’ll be dressed the majority of the time on my mission with a short sleeve white shirt instead of a full suit, which I’ll wear for primarily special occasions. And you know I’m legit because this tie is actually from Guatemala and so is this wallet. It’s a Guatewallet! A little bit about Guatemala is that the church has been there since 1947, after a church member named John F. O’donnell, who was in Guatemala as an agricultural adviser to the U. S. Government, felt that the people there really needed the gospel and were ready for it. So in 1947 was when they sent the first missionaries down to Guatemala from the Mexico mission and the church has been growing fast there ever since. It is also through Guatemala that the church was brought to the rest of Central America and the Guatemala City Temple was the first temple in Central America as well, dedicated in 1984. Currently there are 2 temples in Guatemala, 6 missions, 440 congregations, and 272,449 members. The first branch in Central America is also in my mission and the people there refer to it as the true ward. Kinda like the true church but they say the true ward.
Learning about the spread of the church to Guatemala and how it has been, and still is, reaching places all around the world reminds me of the 10th article of faith, talking about the gathering of Israel, and scripture saying that the gospel “shall be declared to every nation, kindred, tongue, and people.” As a missionary I will be a big part of that and will be working to find the elect of God and to gather Israel. In the worldwide devotional to youth three weeks ago, President and Sister Nelson focused on the topic of the gathering of Israel. They talked about how we have been saved for these latter days for a reason. Among a number of things we are here on earth to do, we all have missions that we need to accomplish and premortally we committed to help in the great work which is the gathering of Israel. President Nelson continued stating that “That gathering is the most important thing taking place on earth today. Nothing else compares in magnitude, nothing else compares in importance, nothing else compares in majesty.” This “gathering” simply means that “every one of our Heavenly Father’s children, on both sides of the veil, deserves to hear the message of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ. They decide for themselves if they want to know more.” He refers to this gathering as “the greatest challenge, the greatest cause, and the greatest work on earth today.” The reason it is so great is because we are preparing the world for the Latter-day coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. Because of its greatness each of us should be anxiously engaged in this work, being willing to make sacrifices and do our part, and then rely on the Lord to magnify our efforts.
As a full-time missionary I will have a unique opportunity to spend all day of every day, using all of my energy resources in progressing this great work. But you don’t have to go to the MTC or wear a name badge to be a missionary. We can all be missionaries and bring the light and joy of the gospel to those around us. As Quinten L. Cook has said, “Missionary work is not just one of the 88 keys on a piano that is occasionally played; it is a major chord in a compelling melody that needs to be played continuously throughout our lives if we are to remain in harmony with our commitment to Christianity and the gospel of Jesus Christ.” Thinking about the time I spent in Chile three years ago and the great mission preparation experience that was reminds me of what one of the missionaries said when I went on splits with them. Which was that the biggest thing he was going to take home with him from his mission is how important member missionaries are and how big of a difference they can make. After seeing how big an influence member missionaries can play he resolved that when he got home he was going to be a much better member missionary. An elder I talked to in the temple a few months ago related the same exact thing. Being a member missionary is crucial in progressing God’s work on the earth and it’s something we hear a lot but at least for me it’s not something I actually do a lot. So I’d like to talk today about how we can be better member missionaries and in doing so, hasten the work of salvation and the gathering of Israel.
The first thing is become truly converted yourself. Whether you are born into the church or find it some other way, we all need to become personally converted to the Gospel of Jesus Christ and gain our own testimony. That can be through defining spiritual events or gradually, but the great challenge is to endure to the end, holding onto that conversion and strengthening it. Our testimonies are like plants in a garden. If we don’t keep watering and nourishing our testimonies through church and temple attendance, prayer, and scripture study - the primary answers - our testimonies will fade away. That doesn’t mean we never had a testimony and that what we knew wasn’t true, it just means that we didn’t take care of it.
Second is that we should all want to keep learning and growing in our knowledge. The gospel is simple but magnificent and there is always more to learn and ways to deepen our understanding and relationship with God. We are revealed things “line upon line, precept on precept” until our “light groweth brighter and brighter until the perfect day.” We need to know what we are teaching in order to teach it. As it says in D&C “Seek not to declare my word, but first seek to obtain my word, and then shall your tongue be loosed”. We have to do our part and put in the work first, before we can ask for God’s help.
Third, if you believe something you should live it. We all need to stand as a witness of God at all times, in all things, and in all places. Just being a good example, living your beliefs, is one of the strongest testimonies. Living the gospel yourself gives validity to what you teach. People will see your light, happiness, and peace and want to receive that as well. A quote attributed to St. Francis of Assisi demonstrates this point of standing as a witness of God which is “Preach the Gospel at all times and if necessary, use words.”
Fourth we all need to pray for missionary opportunities. God will answer our prayers but we have to ask before he can do that. First pray for the desire to help with missionary work, then pray for inspiration to know what you can do in your individual circumstances to share the gospel.
Fifth we need to go forward, accruing in faith and God will magnify your efforts. President Thomas S. Monson has said: “Now is the time for members and missionaries to come together … [and] labor in the Lord’s vineyard to bring souls unto Him. He has prepared the means for us to share the gospel in a multitude of ways, and He will assist us in our labors if we will act in faith to fulfill His work.” Faith is a principle of action and after we've done all these things we need to simply go forward with faith.
Another good point that Dallin H. Oaks makes in sharing the gospel effectively is knowing that people will “learn when they are ready to learn, not when we are ready to teach them”. As missionaries it can sometimes become too focused on just getting a baptism rather than the person and making sure that they are converted like the people of Ammon in The Book of Mormon where it says that “as many of the Lamanites as believed in their preaching, and were converted unto the Lord, never did fall away.” My mom was recently hiking up little cottonwood canyon at the temple quarry trail where she collected lots of small granite rocks like this one. I don’t know how many I’m going to take but I plan on taking some of these rocks with me to Guatemala to give to people that I teach and baptize. This rock literally came from the same quarry that built the Salt Lake Temple, and by giving it to them I want it to symbolize a firm foundation, being truly converted to the gospel of Jesus Christ, reminding them to keep their sights on the temple so they keep progressing until they can receive the blessings of the temple and ensure their exaltation.
I know that missionary work, both out in the field and in our own homes, neighborhoods, workplaces and everywhere we go, is the most important work on the Earth today and that as we go forward with faith preaching The gospel, however that may be, to every nation kindred tongue and people, that God will magnify our efforts, miracles will happen and like Ammon and the sons of Mosiah, it will bring greater Joy than ever experienced. It is by hope and prayer that each of us will go forward with renewed efforts to become converted and bring others to the gospel as well with new efforts. In the name of Jesus Christ Amen.
This morning Joseph woke up early to go to the temple and out to breakfast with one of his BFFs Scotty, who is going out of town for a family trip, so this was their last chance to see each other. I'm glad Joseph has had such good friends. He's gone to the temple with friends on Tues, Wed, Thurs, and now today. I'm sure he's got plans to go tomorrow too, cause this kid is intense. He's been busy saying good bye to friends. He came home and crashed for a few hours on my bedroom floor. And I love this picture I got of him - seems like an appropriate bookend photo for the end of his childhood - my 18 year old sleeping in a stink bug pose on my floor, just like my toddlers.
Ethan has been at Summerfest this week. Tonight they had a concert. When I took Wesley to LBB on Wednesday I went by the Missionary Mall on University Parkway to check out shoes. I couldn't decide, so I suggested Joseph come down with us to the concert and we'd go by there and get him some shoes. Plus Joseph went last year so that might be fun to go support Ethan. After the concert, Corey, Joseph, and Ethan enjoyed chatting with the head of the music department. Corey's always networking and working on helping his kids get into BYU.
We left at 8:40. The Missionary Mall closed at 9, so we were in a hurry to get to the store and got there just in time. Joseph went for the Dansko shoes, even though Corey thought they were ugly when I first shared pictures of them on Wednesday. They said they are really really good shoes for missionaries that are on foot, which is what Joseph is most likely going to be in Guatemala - walking and riding the bus. So, Joseph went for comfort and decided they don't look that bad anyway. Then he had to decided between two different types of black shoes or does he get the same shoe in black and brown. Decisions decisions.
Yeah, we're getting the last few things, Joseph's heading out on Tuesday! Wonderful promises to our missionaries from a prophet of God.
We bought shoes for Joseph and Corey! Corey's needed a new pair for a while! Corey and Joseph are going to have a little contest to see who can wear out their shoes more in the next two years. We left around 10 and were ready to finally go out to eat.
Unfortunately most restaurants close at 10. I google searched for restaurants and we round that yay, Cafe Rio stays open until 11! Joseph and I both got tacos. Joseph ordered black beans with his, and poor Joseph has never liked beans! Did you see the picture at that post there - he didn't like them but would eat them, but had to use a nose plug to help him gag them down. At Cafe Rio, as he prepared to take a bite, he moaned "Beans. Ok, let's get this over with!"
Followed with "Ugh... two years!!" ...cause we can guarantee this young man will be eating a-lot-o-beans in Guatemala! He lamented "This is one of my last chances to not eat beans, and I ordered beans!"
But he muscled them down. "The rice tastes okay, I don't know why they would want to ruin their rice with beans!" It was fun.
Our last date night before Joseph leaves, it was fun to share it with him.
