Almost Home

{ elder ellsworth, hard at work}

 
my mom and mark are in japan right now with elder ellsworth. i'm a little jealous but since i don't know how to eat with chopsticks and can't handle seafood so it's probably for the best.  in four days he'll be here in az - to meet his niece and nephew for the first time, grace and porter. i hope chris will be able to see some of dallin in porter, when his face lights up and he cracks that big smile.  and i hope porter will grow to see some of dallin and my dad, in chris.  

we've felt the blessings of having a full time missionary in the family for the past two years. it will be hard to go without. they are real. i have witnessed them.

i'll miss madison praying for him in "pajan" though i guess it's about time we teach her the right way to say it {i thought it was too cute to correct her this whole time}.  i'll miss the weekly letters where i'd tell chris the funny things the girls did and what dan and i were trying to accomplish. i'll miss the stories, the experiences, and the investigators. his insight came at much needed times, and his perspective, well beyond his years, buoyed me up.

elder ellsworth is that one who said "our souls have an endless capacity to love". what great timing he had- in a period of hard transitions, that statement made perfect and complete sense and brought me peaceful acceptance.

 to say i'm nervous for him to come home would be quite an understatement. he's returning to everything so completely different than when he left.  the same family, but some are gone and some are new. even macy is different and limps quite badly. but it will all work out.

i'm going to worry about chris. i'm his big sister so its my job. but even though this is going to be a huge transition for him, in more ways than even i can imagine, he'll do it. and i'm excited to be on the sideline cheering him on. learning from him - from his perspective and attitude and willingness to press on.

mostly, i'm just excited to have one of my brothers back. close to home. safe and sound.  the next chapter in our new normal.