The Livingstons: August 2016

It has been a wild month! We've done lots of traveling and spending time with family. It all began when my little brother Chancey came home from his two year mission to Busan, South Korea. We hadn't talked to or seen him for two years except for one hour Skype sessions on Mothers Days and Christmases. We all missed him so much but were so happy for all he was learning and doing.

(post edit note: we did email Chancey each week while he served, so there wasn't COMPLETE silence. THANK GOODNESS!)

In our church, boys and girls have the opportunity to serve missions where they get to learn to love and serve people far away from their homes. The purpose of these missions is to help other people come closer to their Savior, Jesus Christ. Missionaries seek out those willing to learn about the gospel by serving and teaching lessons. They do whatever their mission community needs to have greater access to Christ's love. Missionaries work really hard to study the gospel and the language and customs of the people they serve. For 18 months or two years they focus their life on serving the people in their mission, putting off school, relationships, and even family. While this is a sacrifice, when we better understand the sacrifice Christ made for us, it feels natural to try to "feed his sheep".

Missions are very hard and serve as a "refiners fire" for many. The days are long and especially difficult when you're still learning the language and culture. Missionaries spend all of their time with a companion and have to learn how to get along or go insane. Although there are many challenges, as missionaries learn to focus more on other people and the importance of their work, they overcome and come away stronger. Not everyone has the opportunity to serve a full time mission. Sometimes life circumstances or health dictates that they stay home and in those cases we can rest assured that they will learn what they need to in another way. But for those who do get the opportunity, it is certainly a blessing worth celebrating.

I am amazed at how my little brother went away still a boy and came home a man. He came to truly love the Korean people and their beautiful way of life. As he's told us more about their customs, I can see why he loves them so much. He had opportunities to get to know a huge variety of people and learn so much from them. He has come home more submissive, humble, kind, meek, and hard working. Most importantly, he's grown to better love his Heavenly Father and Savior Jesus Christ and gained a further desire to love their precious children. I am so grateful for who he has become as a result of his service.

On July 27, we picked him up from the airport and were overcome with love for this boy of ours. After leaving the airport we went home and sat together as a family, peppering Chancey with questions and listening to him and Dallan play guitar together again. I was overcome with emotion --- it was a glimpse of heaven. We were together, filled with love and it was beautiful. That's an opportunity I wish everyone could have.

The next day we took off for Donner Lake where we spent the weekend playing in the water and soaking in time together. We put away all media and just focused on being. Every night we'd have a family devotional where the spirit was so thick you could slice through it. The peace and joy were tangible. It was a good reminder of what actually matters in life: faith, family, community. Opportunities like this put everything in perspective for me and encourage me to keep on keeping on.