Familiar & New - and A Longing for Home
I ran to Costco this week to get some food and supplies for our “mission tour” that will take place this coming week. As I walked around Costco I could see the usual muffins, Tillamook cheese, and frozen chicken filets. Everything was so familiar that for a moment I felt like I was back in Naperville at the Costco there. As I walked out of Costco into the parking lot, I felt jolted that it was not the parking lot in Naperville. A wave of homesickness came over me, and I felt a longing for home.
Speaking of familiar things, I have to smile when I go into the LDS church buildings because here many of them have the same furniture as my building back home does. It feels a little freaky to me to have it all look the same.
Familiar furniture in a church building here in Northern California.
Santa Rosa, California has some things that are familiar to me, but in many more ways it is all very new. The first difference that I noticed is all the winding, hilly streets – not the Midwest that’s for sure. This week Mark and I drove to Fort Bragg. I actually had to take some Dramamine because all the turns and winding roads made me car sick. Fort Bragg is a beautiful seaside town on the Pacific Coast.
We spend a lot of time on 101.
Even though Mark and I have been here for almost 2 transfers which equals almost 12 weeks, I still feel new! There are some things I am trying to get used to such as the other day I was driving down Steele Lane. I forgot that if you want to keep going straight you have to get into the right lane immediately, because without really any warning the left lane turns into a left only lane that merges onto highway 101. Luckily the car next to me let me merge or I would have been on my way to San Francisco before I knew it. I waved and wanted to call out to the nice driver, “So sorry, I’m new here!”
How long is “I’m new here” good for I wondered? Is there an expiration date I should know about?
The other day I was out walking around the neighborhood, and I saw a Chicago Bears sign in a neighbor’s yard. Again, a wave of homesickness flashed through me and I don’t even follow the Bears. I wanted to go up right then and there, ring the doorbell, and meet them. I am definitely going to introduce myself to them soon. Hopefully they’re Cubs fans too. This got me thinking about Chicago and Naperville again and what a great place Chicagoland is to be from. Again, I felt a longing for my home and my many friends there.
Our Neighbor’s home here in Santa Rosa.
At the same time I am loving being a missionary and am getting better at knowing many of the things I need to know. I’ve learned all of the 130 missionary names and am now working on the names of about 60 wards (congregations) in our boundaries. I also want to learn the names of my neighbors and the names of the cute dogs they walk. I am enjoying the weather here and loving the people I meet.
Sister Callison and Sister Tibbals
This week I went teaching with Sister Tibbals and Sister Callison in Ukiah. We visited a newly baptized friend of theirs. They wanted to check in on her, leave a spiritual message, and invite her to come to church on Sunday. She hadn’t been in a while. This friend started telling me how for a long time in her life she was very angry with God. She ranted for a few minutes on what her prayers sound like when she wants to “take God on.” She was mad at God for some of the challenges in her life, and at the same time she knew how much she needed God to be with her and comfort her. She was very vocal and also humble. She desperatley wanted to feel the love and belonging that God could give her. I recognized her longing. She was longing for home - a heavenly home.
Have you ever felt a longing for a heavenly home? I believe that deep inside each one of us there is the desire to know where we come from and where we are going. We all want to know that we matter and are loved deeply by our Heavenly Father and His Son Jesus Christ. That is why people stop and listen to our missionaries. They feel the desire to understand their relationship to God and to heaven. Our message is that they are a son or daughter of God, who is their Heavenly Father. God desires each of us to return home to Him someday through the grace of our Savior Jesus Christ.
One of our missionaries, Abby Brockbank, drew this rendering of our Savior, Jesus Christ.
I am eternally grateful for my knowledge of a heavenly home and a Heavenly Father who loves me. I stand in awe of the love of His Son, Jesus Christ who died for me, so that one day it will be possible for me to return to that heavenly home and be surrounded by family and friends.
I love each of you! Thanks for reading my weekly letter home.
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PS Speaking of familiar things - Last night after we spoke in a Stake Conference in Woodland, we took the missionaries there out to Crumbl Cookies for a treat. – thinking of you and miss you Pattersons.
The Woodland Zone!
PPS Stay turned for this coming week, and our “mission tour.” I feel a lot of pressure with all I am doing to get ready for this coming week to make it a fabulous week for the entire mission. I’ve got my whole family praying for me. That has brought me a lot of comfort. Prayer is powerful!
