WE HAVE MIXED EMOTIONS ABOUT THIS MISSION BEING OVER......
- Elder Denny Blodgett
- 4 days ago
- 8 min read
The end of our mission is no longer an idea in the future…..IT IS HERE. We will attend our last Sunday of church meetings tomorrow, wrap up the training with the Nunez’s Monday, and then leave for Kenya on Tuesday. Yes, we are flying to Kenya to go on a Safari and see some things we will never get a chance to see…..we are here in Africa…..so we decided to go see Kenya. And I will be sending some pictures and videos next week of Kenya. But we do have mixed emotions because it has been such a wonderful year.
The Nunez’s arrived last Tuesday. We are training them to take our place as the mission secretary and the mission financial secretary. They are a great couple and will be a great addition to this mission. They are from Florida right now…..although they have lived in many places and have had a very interesting life. They have 5 children and many grandchildren. We have played Pickleball 4 times already…..so it has been a great week, and they are learning their new responsibilities very quickly. It has been very easy to get to know them and we are excited about the great things they will do for this mission.
For a missionary…..whether a young missionary or a senior missionary…..there comes a moment when you realize your mission is over. Those that are reading this Blog and have served missions know what I am talking about. I know it was very difficult for my kids when they came home. I remember going by Chad's bedroom a week or so after he came home from his mission and he was sitting on his bed looking down at the floor kind of depressed. I said, "Chad, what is the matter?" He said, "Dad, I miss my mission". This period of time can bring mixed emotions for sure. There is gratitude, sadness, excitement, humility, and an overwhelming feeling of satisfaction. There could even be some anxiety about what comes next. Jill and I have loved our time here in Ghana. It was much more than what we had expected….and much, much better than what we thought it was going to be. The people will forever be etched into our memories, and their beautiful faces will not ever be forgotten. Words cannot really express how we feel…..we are just so thankful we had this opportunity and privilege of serving the people and the missionaries. We do not look at our time over here as a sacrifice at all. It has been a blessing in our lives. We did something very hard and difficult…..at our age…..something out of our “comfort” zone…..but it made us better people....it changed us.....and it made us very grateful for the closeness we feel to our Savior as compared to how we felt one year ago. We have always been converted to the Savior and His church. There has never been a question regarding our faith. But being a “set-apart” missionary, full-time, made us think differently and act differently each and every day. We could feel the presences of “angels round about us to bear us up”. There is no doubt in our minds that we have been watched over and protected. We have had dozens and dozens of mosquito bites, and we have not been sick a single day. We were protected when we drove and traveled in a city of 4 million people…..that don’t really know how to drive that well. We saw miracles happening right before our eyes that can’t really be put down in writing. We will be forever grateful for this mission and this blessing in our lives.
I have enjoyed taking the time to write in this Blog each and every week for the last 53 weeks. The text was like a “journal” for me..... and each week it seemed like there was some inspiration involved in what I wanted to write about. Someday, maybe my grandchildren and great-grandchildren will read about Grandma and Grandpa serving a mission in Africa. I hope they will know how much we love the Lord and how much we loved giving of our time to further His work here on earth. I know many of them have served missions and I know many of them we continue to serve as young people and as senior couples when are older.
The apostle Paul was a faithful servant and finished his mission strong. I have always liked what he said, “I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith”. As we end our time, we can now look back and recognize how the Lord has changed who we are.....and that we are stronger in our faith. I have always had a difficult time with patience (type A personality), and the Ghanaian people have showed me what patience is all about. I hope that I can continue in trying to be more patient. I can also see that my relationship with the Savior is stronger than what it was a year ago. We depended upon Him so much in what we were trying to do, and we felt His presence and the presence of “angels” in our lives.
The pictures below are more of what we see each week. The Nunez’s will be great. We have loved getting to know the Kaaen’s, the Burtonshaw’s, Patrick, Ebenezer, and the Campbell’s. President and Sister Campbell have a huge responsibility, and they are doing such a wonderful job in teaching and mentoring and nurturing the 194 missionaries that are currently serving in the Ghana Accra West Mission. On July 1st, the mission will be split and half of our missionaries we be assigned to the Ghana Accra South Mission. That will be a sad time, but it only means that the work is growing and missions are divided so that the work can go forward. We all have to remember that missionaries are not called to a mission…..but to a people. The Campbell’s were called to serve these missionaries, and they will continue to do what the Lord would have them do. And the missionaries assigned to the South Mission will be just fine. They are all great young people and are giving up some time in their lives right now to do what the Lord would have them do…..”bring others unto Christ”.
I bear you my testimony that God lives and that His son, Jesus Christ, is the resurrected Lord. He lives…..and because He lives…..so will all of us after we die. Life continues into the eternities and my hope and prayer is that I can be with my family forever. Families are forever…..it is as simple as that…..as we strive to live the way that Heavenly Father would want us to live and to try and keep the standards and commandments of His church. We are led by a Prophet of God…..Dallin H. Oaks. He is the Lord’s Prophet on the earth today. I know that Joseph Smith saw what he said he saw and heard what he said he heard. He was the Lord’s instrument in restoring the Lord's church back on earth here in these latter days. There is no question in my mind and in my heart that this church is true…..and that it is led by our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
The one final thought that keeps coming to me almost daily is something our Prophet said a few years ago. To quote him…….”the final judgment is not just an evaluation of a sum total of good and evil acts.....what we have done. It is an acknowledgment of the final effect of our acts and thoughts.....what we have become". It does not matter what we have done in our lives ……it is who we have become”. That is the purpose of life…..to become more like the Savior. Am I closer to the Savior than ever? I hope so…..and I will continue to pray that I will keep trying and endure to the end…..when the day will come for me to meet my Maker. I hope that I will have become somewhat of the person He wanted me to become. I love Him…..and everything He has done for me. I love the people of Ghana and everything they have done for me. I have loved this mission. What an experience….. and what a “ride” it has been !!!
The Campbell's.....great people and great servants of the Lord. This Mission is in good hands.
I guess this is just another view of these good people. Notice Jill is standing on her tippy toes.
This was a pleasant surprise as the missionaries signed a Ghana flag for us. Notice Jill's dress matches my tie. A good sister missionary gave these to us as a going away present.
The Banners are a Mission tradition. I am biased, but I have a beautiful wife....for 50 years I have had the good fortune of looking at her beautiful smile each and every day.
The Burtonshaw's on the left and the Nunez's on the right. All wonderful people with a strong love for the Savior......and they accepted a call to serve here in Africa.
President Campbell asked us to bear our testimonies and share the thoughts and feelings we are having of going home.....having served in Africa as an "older" senior couple.
I guess the seat of "honor". And matching dress and tie.
We had dinner at Bistro 22.....a very nice restaurant before we went back to the Mission Home for a devotional and the giving of the Banners. I had a great steak dinner.....just as good as I would have in the US,
Jill had a painting party with some women on our street and I got a kick out of how much fun they were having. It was Sisters Mensah, Beeson, Campbell, and Jill.....Way too much fun.
I love to her the Primary children sing.
This is a typical Elders Quorum on a Sunday morning. They come to learn and to teach.
This is a street I want to remember.....it was one of my walks.....it goes by the U.S. Embassy.
We are in the rainy season and when it rains....it really pours and pours.
I'm out for a walk down our street and I love this sight of Elders coming to pay a visit.
We had "first transfer training" for the new missionaries and it gets pretty active after breakfast.
More busy bodies all over the office.
This is a great fruit and vegetable stand close to where we live and Nunez's loved it. The young man in thte red was baptized the same day as Gilbert back in March.
We are giving up our responsibilities and training the next senior couple who will do what we have been doing. Kind of sad.....I will no longer be the "money man". I love the church and its structure and that good and faithful people can come and within a few weeks will be trained to do what we have been doing. And I love the faith and commitment of people that will take the time in their lives to come and serve where ever they are called.
This is a policeman around the corner who saw me escort two little kids across the street in the traffic.....and had to come and thank me for doing the good deed. These people are very friendly and very kind and not afraid to let others know that their good deeds are appreciated.
This is Elder Nunez trying out a new barber shop.....the third day he was here.....He liked it.
The Nunez's have a grandson that served in Uruguay and this is their embassy that touches the back of the Mission Office ....where we live.
Gilbert and Jill after Sacrament meeting today at church. It is nice to be so close to the Temple.
We took Gilbert to church today.....our last Sunday.....He was already to go when we drove up to get him. He lives on this street 24/7. We will miss him, but are very grateful we got to meet him and introduce him to the gospel of Jesus Christ. Goodbyes are always sad and difficult, but his life is now changed forever. His future is bright and we are praying he will be serving a mission in a year. He has a great Bishop that will look after him, which we are also very thankful for....good Bishops. They are doing so much good in this world.
Congratulations and thanks for taking us along with your terrific blog. Have a great time on safari!!!