Tagging a Great Romanian Adventure and More, Beyond

This week marks a year since my dad took an extended "working vacation" to the "hereafter."  

So this post is dedicated to him, and to one of the joys in his life.

Getting settled back “home” in Honduras, what was the focus?  My first big occasion (minus helping with a Primary Program, which  I hope to tell about later) was vicariously "sending" off our Becca.

Rebecca Louise Gee is our gregarious singing, dancing, and acting niece (with a smile in her pocket) who prepared her papers this summer and received a mission call to the Romania/Moldova mission.  

                                         

             

While Steven's family was dropping Becca at the missionary training center in Provo, along with 852 other missionaries on the 20th of November, 

                       

I was in the temple, praying for her, thinking of her and loving her little family of three girls and an amazing mom and dad---Our Little Women.    I believe I cursed my brother Steven into having only girls, when as a five year old, I learned I had a brother, not a sister--Steven.  My mother had worried about her health and the baby’s as we had traipsed across the United States toward my father’s first position teaching soil physics.  Grandpa Ivin Gee  

                                           

had given Mom a blessing that she and her “son” would be safe and healthy.  

Then Grandma Pearl

  

                                    promptly quilted a lovely pink quilt.  (Guess who got the quilt?)  

This is Maria, 30 years later, pretending to be Steven

And I have to  put in a  plug for Grandma and Grandpa, who, married for 70 plus years, did well in holding their own opinion and respecting each other!

Steven proceeded to have three girls, close to the same ages as his next older sister's! 

I repent from being partial to girls.  Boys are very fun.  But this particular girl is extra fun—with a sparkle in her eyes, and a lilt to her walk.  When she enters, she makes every room come alive.  With a touch on the violin, a guitar, or simply breaking out in song, she captured her Grandfather’s heart from her first debut onto earth’s stage.

  

She is a star in his eyes and Mom's 

(as are each of his grandchildren, one by one.)  

Here are a few, when Becca (front left on Grandpa's lap) was small

So we had Becca entering the MTC headed for her “Great Romanian Adventure” and me helping to lead a session in the Tegucigalpa temple. 

We had called her that morning, at Aunt Arlene’s.  “Yes, am excited.  And yes, I have the jitters!”  We read in her “going away” talk to her ward, feelings about “the jitters--”   how Heavenly Father reassured her through feelings in a dream that He had been preparing her, that He has a plan for her.

Here is Becca, toddler, with cousin K, preparing to sing someday to orphanage babies in eastern Europe

In her experiences at the MTC 

                                      

and in her first few weeks in a new area in a strange new land,     

                                       

her emails have attested to His truly preparing her and helping her along every step, using her talents to forward his great purposes—inspiring to me!

What I wanted to record (and apologize for sending so much later!) is a small note of my feelings on her big MTC day.  I was praying that day for her, and suddenly, I just felt really close to my dad.  He would be caring about this special day for her.  “How can I feel so close to Dad?”  

I was trying to figure this out.  I thought of our time spent together at the computer,

 in the garden, fixing sprinkler heads, driving here and there, learning about health issues, 

and simply “showing up.” And I thought about loving the people that he loves.  

 I wondered if it would be possible to have such a feeling of closeness to Father in Heaven. And I wondered if it comes with the same answers:  spending time, serving...and then, loving, praying for, and serving His children.  

 

Well there--a great profundity-- just from walking through a day’s activity,  praying, and loving the children (and children's children) of my father--the children of a brother (and Heavenly Father.)  

Since then, letters and news from nieces and other missionary friends come regularly, putting into words things we feel, but have not known how to describe. 

Becca's cousin Anna, missionary on temple square and Uncle

Following Becca’s beginnings, our focuses have been on days of gratitude and experiencing a Central American Natividad—But Kristen says short is better, so more, later!  Blessings to you in this glorious new beginning of a year!  Being on a mission, especially a "couples" mission, you don't have to feel 100% isolated or far away.  But a word of advice:  if you don’t have a missionary from which to read weekly letters, adopt one!  It is better than vitamins.

Laurene and Val 

Remembering some good bids, this week.
Dad was willing to take risks, and more than often got things right--at least in the family category!
Here is our thumbs up to great memories with Dad, and to loving his sweetheart, children, and the rest!