After a long and hard day of missionary work, Søster Love and I headed home. It was Friday, October 21, a day I will never forget. We had missed a call from President Hill and Søster Love was in the process of calling him back. He told Søster Love that he needed to talk to me and thats when he told me that my 101 year old great grandmother Ruth had just passed away in her sleep. Even though it shouldn't have, the news came as some sort of a shock to me. I wasn't really sure how to take that. I spent the rest of that night writing in my journal and honestly in deep prayer with my Father in Heaven. I needed to be okay, I needed to be able to wake up the next morning and have enough strength and energy to do a previously planned service project at 8:30am. I needed to get up and get going and keep going until the day was over and until I had served those people who relied on my strength. I needed help and that's exactly what I received. I've seen this many times on my mission, with myself and with my fellow missionaries, where we may feel either mentally, physically, or (in this case) emotionally drained, where we feel like we can't take one more step. I can't continue on with this grueling fight against Satan. It's times like these where I am reminded of the scripture in Matthew 11:28 which reads, "come unto me, all you that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. "
After receiving the news about my great grandmother's passing, all I wanted was to be surrounded by my family. To give my mom a hug and to talk with her, and yet here I was thousands of miles away from them. But, I was not alone. My Father in Heaven and his son Jesus Christ were there for me. They took me in with open arms and much like the Scripture in Matthew, they were inviting me to come unto them. To find divine peace and rest in them. I've been a missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of latter-day Saints for a little over seven months now and my relationship with my Father in Heaven has never been stronger. I've learned to rely on him, to find refuge in him. All he asked is for us to come unto him and he has promised us that if we do that, He will give us rest. I can testify of the truthfulness of that promise. I was able to find rest.
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| Me, Great-Grandma Ruth and Grandpa Dee |
I was able to take a step back and take that time to remember Ruth. I was able to remember all the wisdom and knowledge I have gained from her. I was able to remember her kindness and love towards me and others. I was able to remember her truly incredible testimony and the strong spirit that she had with her. I was able to remember her sense of humor, along with her other characteristics and talents. I was even able to remember the many time she would beat me in a game of Skip Bo or phaze 10. She truly was an incredible woman and I'm so grateful for the opportunity that I had to get to know my great grandmother. I recognize that it it was truly a blessing for me to get that opportunity to know her and to learn from her. I will never forget her. The earth has lost another wonderful woman, but heaven has truly gained an angel. I'm so grateful for that knowledge. After getting The news, I began to think back on my last interaction with my great grandmother. I started to ask myself, did I give her a good enough hug? Did I take our time together for granted? Did I let her know that I love her, it's hard leaving your family for 18 months, but almost always you get a chance to come home and see them again. In this case I won't be coming home to great grandmother Ruth. Many have pointed out to me, she's here with me now. She's a lot closer to me now than she was before and I can feels of her loving spirit with me here in Norway. I'm really grateful for that. I'm grateful that I know exactly where she is and I'll see her again. It may not be in 11 months when I come back home, but I'll see her again. I'm truly grateful for that knowledge and for this opportunity that I have to share that knowledge with the people here in Norway.
I'm so glad that I came to help Norwegians come closer to Christ and Heavenly Father. To help them find that rest, that refuge. Life is perfect for none of us. We all need that peace, that joy, that only the Savior can bring. We can help by serving and loving one another along the way. Last night we were at a members house sharing a message with them and before we left we had decided to share the Mormon message entitled "lift"
them, which I would invite you all to see. It tells the story of this woman Kathy who, due to illness, is not able to get herself in bed at night. Members of the church, as well as some of her neighbors, got together and set up a schedule where every night they would come to lift her into bed. In the Mormon message, one of the men who had helped to lift her into bed says, "it's interesting, the dichotomy between healing the body and healing the soul. When we heal the body, it's always an inward effort. We're always paying attention to ourselves. When we heal the soul, turning inward doesn't work. And the triage of the soul is found in turning outward to other people. Every time I've gone to Kathy's home and dealt with her, it feels like it heals a part of my soul."
I just thought that was absolutely perfect. Being able to go out every day and serve the people here in Norway has help to heal my soul. I would invite you all to take a second this week and watch "LIFT" and then find a way to go out and serve someone in need. Not only will it help them, but it will help you as well. I would just like to end by saying how grateful I am for this gospel and for the opportunities and challenges I have been given in this life to help me draw closer to my Father in Heaven. I'm grateful for my great grandmother Ruth and for the light that she was. I'm grateful that I willl be able to see her again someday. But, until that time...
Gud vær med deg til vi ses igjen!
Love,
Søster Blankmeyer
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