“He Hears, Sees, and Knows You”

Every mother of a missionary knows that when your phone rings and the caller id shows the call coming from within the mission area, your heartrate immediately begins to escalate. Every missionary mama also knows that when it is the mission president on the other end of the call, the anxiety skyrockets. So, when I answered a video call from Arkansas this afternoon and found myself face to face with Pres. M, my heart jumped into my throat. Being a wise man, the very first thing he did was assure me that nothing was wrong. He said that mission presidents don’t often get to make the good calls home but today was one of those calls. By then, the rest of my family was also on high alert, and Kevin joined me on the call. Pres. M told us that he was sitting there with Elder ***** and turned his phone to allow Matthew to join the view. He explained that they had just finished their interview and thought that it was Labor Day so maybe they should call home. He then proceeded to say, “We looove Elder *****!” He described Matthew as a hard worker and a great missionary and thanked us for raising such an amazing son. I was teary eyed by then, of course, but I wasn’t feeling stressed anymore. And honestly, the huge smile on Pres. M’s face helped solidify the fact that all was well. 

Pres. M then shared that they are praying for his ankles because the Lord needs Matthew in Arkansas more than anywhere else right now. (Matthew has developed tendonitis in his ankles and has been working with a physical therapist to try to resolve the issues.) I mentioned that we are also praying for Matthew’s ankles, and he commented with a grin that there are a lot of people praying for these ankles. He shared with us that he loves reading Matthew’s weekly emails because Matthew asks good questions and has a deep understanding of the gospel, and about three more times told us, “We looove Elder *****!” Malia popped her head in, and I invited her to come meet Pres. M. He mentioned that Matthew had told him she had just started high school and asked her how high school was treating her. Her response was, “Better than I expected!” I was so impressed that Pres. M knew enough about our family to remember that Malia had just started high school. He ended the call by telling us that missionaries are blessed but that the families who are sacrificing their sons, children, brothers are blessed as well. It was a sweet reminder to me that the Lord is mindful of Matthew, of course, but that he is also mindful of us as we pray for and worry about and miss our missionary while he is gone.

When we spoke to Matthew last Wednesday, he was looking pretty rough around the edges. He has worked so hard to be positive in all his emails and when he calls and he has rarely complained about anything, but he looked so downtrodden and was so subdued that Kevin prompted an early end to the call with all our other kids so that we could have a few minutes alone with Matthew. Apparently, his newest companion is chronically late and Matthew, who is perpetually early, was incredibly frustrated and discouraged. Up until now, he has never been late to mission meetings, member meals, doctor’s appointments, etc. But now, he is always waiting on his companion and is always running 10-30 minutes late for everything. His companion’s tendency to procrastinate everything exacerbates the problem and Matthew has no idea how to handle the situation. He has tried everything he can think of to motivate his companion, but nothing seems to help. So, frustration and discouragement have been Matthew’s constant companions for the past several weeks. We counseled with him as best we could, offering support and reminders that he is not alone, but when it was time to end the call, he still looked extremely down. As such, I have been worrying about him, as has Kevin.

I think that often the Lord knows what we need before we do, because I didn’t realize how much I needed to see the light back in Matthew’s eyes until I saw him with Pres. M today. That defeated look was gone from his countenance, and he was smiling and radiating light like he usually does. I came away feeling lighter and relieved myself, and I am so grateful for a mission president who is prompted to make a call to a missionary’s family far away so that a missionary mama can be reassured that her son is ok. And as a last comment, that grin Pres. M has when he speaks in conference? That is his natural demeanor. He is always smiling. He is one of those people who seems continually filled with joy. What an amazing example he is to all of us whose lives he is touching. His call to serve as the president in Matthew’s mission was unexpected for all of us, but I think the Lord knew that just like Matthew, he is needed in Arkansas more than anywhere else right now.