As a child you never think of growing up. Actually, even adults think that sometimes they won’t ever grow up. Yet the sun keeps coming up day after day, and with each day we add more experiences under our belt and before you can open your eyes in the morning, you’re putting on your shoes to take your children to the airport, sending them far away.
When I was a child I used to look at the missionaries and think they were so much older, wiser, and bigger than I would ever be. Yet I have 16 days until I leave for the Mexico City Missionary Training Center to learn Spanish and how to teach the Gospel. It will be heart wrenching, but knowing that I will leave for only 18 months so that I can help others to come unto Christ is the greatest reward and experience I could ever ask for. I love my family, but I know that we will be together forever, which makes 18 months not sound too bad.
My family is quite unique. We’ve got a variety of personalities ranging from a violinist, gymnasts, athletes, pianists, artists, brainiacs, chefs, gardeners, swimmers, bookworms, and technology gurus. But we all have one thing in common; our love for the Gospel of Jesus Christ… and our last name is a similarity of course. My heart swells with love for them. Here’s a photo of the whole shebang at Claire’s baptism.
When I was a child I used to look at the missionaries and think they were so much older, wiser, and bigger than I would ever be. Yet I have 16 days until I leave for the Mexico City Missionary Training Center to learn Spanish and how to teach the Gospel. It will be heart wrenching, but knowing that I will leave for only 18 months so that I can help others to come unto Christ is the greatest reward and experience I could ever ask for. I love my family, but I know that we will be together forever, which makes 18 months not sound too bad.
My family is quite unique. We’ve got a variety of personalities ranging from a violinist, gymnasts, athletes, pianists, artists, brainiacs, chefs, gardeners, swimmers, bookworms, and technology gurus. But we all have one thing in common; our love for the Gospel of Jesus Christ… and our last name is a similarity of course. My heart swells with love for them. Here’s a photo of the whole shebang at Claire’s baptism.
We are in a unique situation. I am 19 years old, and my brother is 18 leaving within a month of each other, which means that we will be serving 17 months of our missions at the same time. I can’t express how happy I am that I can be gone at the same time doing the same thing as my best friend. However, it might be a little bit of a shocker for my sweet family in South Dakota/ Iowa area to suddenly “loose” their children for a time. Elder Hemmingsen and I definitely get the better end of the stick.
Living in the Midwest, we don’t have herds of members like they do out west. The Faldmo family (our family’s best friends) has a missionary in Brazil and another getting ready to serve. People have been curious about what we will be doing. It’s difficult to explain everything in a brief conversation and feel like you answered the questions sufficiently, so we have decided to have a program at our church on June 8, 2014. Elder Hemmingsen, Faldmo, and I will talk about everything an LDS mission includes: daily schedules, costs, the purpose, our faith, and everything in between. Everyone is invited to come; we’d love to see you.
Xo,
- Hermana Hemmingsen