Brothers and Sisters

I remember when I first went on a mission in 1975. I was in the midlands of England. It was a bit of a shock, and though I was 19 years old, I had never ventured far from home. Our family was not in the habit of going on vacation. When we did, Midway Utah was usually our destination. That was 82 miles from home. I remember 1 other time going camping in Franklin Idaho. That was about 68 miles away. One other time, just before my mission I went with Charlie Carver, Brad McAllister and Rich Steed to Spokane Washington for Expo ’74.  So I was definitely not a world traveler.

In contrast, Birmingham England is about 4800 miles to the northeast. The reason I preface this post with all of this geography is that I was a homesick teenager far from home. I clearly remember the first Christmas away from 4438 Harrison Boulevard. I was sad - tearfully sad. I was living in in West Bromwich near Chelmsley Wood near Birmingham. We had been invited to spend Christmas with the Wilkins family. They were a young, very involved family in the ward. I remember by days-end thinking, “That was the best Christmas ever.” The only pictures I have are in my head. But definitely being with and watching the joy of the children was the highlight. Somehow, the kids seemed to think of we missionaries being with them as a part of their gift for the day.

Well, yesterday was Christmas Eve and the Sanchez family in Mt. Pleasant Iowa invited 4 missionary couple – the Scherbels, Beatties, Saltzgivers and Alveys to join them for lunch with their family of 9 kids, 3 parents, 1 brother and 2 nephews. Branch President Sanchez is originally from El Salvador and his wife Dian is from Guatemala. Yet they met in Mt. Pleasant! Both went to BYU. The pictures tell the rest of the story, but Christmas in the mission field brings its own magic. Merry Christmas one and all.