Lillie Continues to Do Well on Her Mission

We are so proud of our Lillie.  She continues to do well on her mission.  We miss her every day.  She sent these pictures.  It is already snowing in North Dakota, and it is two weeks before Thanksgiving.  

And one thing we are so proud of her, is that she continues to play her violin!!  Growing up was a little bit of a struggle to get her to practice, but she DID it!!  And she is really good!!  She has a beautiful tone and makes us proud when we hear her.  She played in a recent stake conference on her mission.  We know it was so beautiful!!  She looks so pretty playing her musical number!!

Trip to Baltimore

Kim and I decided to take one last trip out of town before the fall started up. We actually went up to see Katy Perry on a whim!!  It’s been too long since going to a show like that. But we were surprised there were lots of people our age and older. And Kim and I knew a lot of pieces Katy Parry did. It was thoroughly enjoyable!!

Lillie continues to play her violin

We were planning on sending Lillie her violin once she got settled, but when she transferred to her first apartment, the missionary who just left for home, left her violin in the apartment.  What a tender mercy Lillie will always remember!!  Of all the apartments to be transferred to, she went to the one where there was a violin!!  So she has been able to bless the lives of people through her music!!  We are again, so very proud of her.  Here she is practicing for a musical number for a mission conference with a general authority.

Lillie had her first baptism!!

We are so proud and happy for Lillie.  She had a baptism on Sunday May 11, 2025.  It is a young woman named Annabelle.  She is 14YO, and Lillie was really able to identify with her.  Lillie said the spirit really worked on Annabelle.  We just could not be more happy for both of them.

Happenings and whereabouts of our Lillie

A lot has happened with Lillie on her mission. She wrapped up her training, travelled to her mission, and is doing missionary work in her first area. By all accounts, she looks happy, is adjusting well and working hard. 

She loved her district in the MTC.  They looked like they learned a lot, had fun together, and loved each other  they will be lifelong friends  

We were most worried about her travel day. The missionaries left the MTC early in the morning and had to take a public bus and two trains to the airport—lugging all their bags!!  But she ended up making it to ND just fine. Lots of Elders helped her with her luggage!!  So nice!!

Lillie met her mission president as soon as they arrived. It was comforting to see she made it to her mission. 

Her first area is a place called Williston, ND!!!  It took her and her companion about 4 hours to reach her area from the mission home. It’s an oil town and is bigger than Prince Frederick population wise. 

Some first day pictures from the mission blog that we spied!!  It was fun to see glimpses of her!!

We saw this picture of her at lunch. She must have been so exhausted!  Poor girl!  Lots of travel and then lot of orientation meetings. 

Her first apartment!!  Looks pretty nice. 

Lillie in the missionary training center

The instant messaging is a blessing and a curse. We were going through withdrawals of not hearing from Lillie instantly. Now we would have to wait for our weekly exchanges. At least it’s not like when I went on my mission where we could only write letters. So after a week we’re excited to have her email and text us and also video us. It brought peace to our hearts to know she was doing well. It was the best hour of our week to see her in FaceTime  

She loves her district and companion. So that is good. They have gone to the temple together and have been learning a lot about how to be an effective missionary.  Her pictures look like they are all having fun. 

Before she left we gave her a gift of emotional support chicken nuggets. Lillie loves chicken nuggets. She left some at home since luggage space is such a premium as a missionary. But I am glad she did. We needed some emotional support. 

So sad to see her room empty. 

And as I would come home every night, she would always be right there at the end of the kitchen table doing her school work or working. I miss seeing her there. But we know she is doing a good thing and it will bless her life, our lives and the lives of the people she teaches in North Dakota. 

Trip to drop Lillie off at the Missionary Training Center

Kim just couldn’t get off of work. As a teacher it is hard. I actually had a work commitment in Utah, so I was happy to have it coincide with Lillie’s dropping off. 

Tuesday February 11 began way too early. We had a 7am flight which meant we had be there by 5am, which meant we had to leave the house at 3:30am. It’s no wonder she slept the whole way. 

I upgraded us to first class with miles. I wanted to send our baby away with class!!

When we arrived in Utah we had some time to kill so I took her to see a giant ice cream monument for the very first ice cream shop in Utah. Haha. 

Then we had one last lunch together. Japanese!!  She loves her shrimp tempura!! 

That night I took some of her friends from college out to dinner and to say one last good bye to her. They have been such a good influence on her. I wanted to thank them!!  Two are from our stake. Andrew and Ethan!!

The actual day was here and I was getting sad. I shared with her D&C 31 where Thomas Marsh was promised some great blessings for his family as he served as a missionary. I believe it will be the same for us as Lillie serves. We went to the Wilkinson Center at BYU so more of her friends could say one last good bye. It was sweet to see how much they all loved each other. Look at how glowing she is as that day. 

Then the time came. I was very emotional. In a blink of an eye we drove in the parking garage, unpacked her luggage, said good bye and gave each other hugs and she was off. I was very sad that day. But happy and proud at the same time. 

Meanwhile at home a huge snow storm struck. Luckily we had some great friends help shovel us out so it made me happy to know Kim was not stuck in the house. 

  

We will miss her so much. But she has become such a wonderful girl. She has a testimony of the  gospel!!!  That’s the sweetest thing for us!!  It really comforts our hearts and makes me want to do everything possible to be with her and Kim forever!!

Lillie begins her mission with home MTC

Missionary life began for Lillie with home MTC the Monday after she was set apart. We were still relishing having her home with us. Stretching every last moment with her!!  Her schedule was busy. And it was off set two hours from Utah since she is on the east coast so she had classes sometimes until 11PM. But they also let her get up at 8:30. So that was good!  

Here she is bright and early on her first day. She looked so beautiful!!  And radiant!!

Look who was her companion!!  Actually she didn’t need one. They said she could be at home alone if we had to go out. 

This is how she studied. Three 2-hour classes, workshops, teaching investigator role playing, companion study, and devotionals!!

And during breaks this is how we found her!  It was a lot!

Did you know sister can wear pants now?  So one day she looked so casual, like she was going to school. 

All in all she had a busy week and learned a lot about how to teach. And we were all lucky to have her at home with us stretching out our last days with her before she finally leaves. We love her a lot. 

Lillie is a missionary!!!

On Sunday February 9, 2025 Lillie was set apart as a missionary for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. We could not be more proud!  She is going to be a great missionary because she has a desire to help others and be their friend. Doesn’t everyone just need a friend to help them along in life?  In her blessing the stake president blessed her with confidence (something that will help her be bold), blessed her with greater patience (which will go a long way because she has tendencies to be less patient like her father) and blessed her with health (a good thing to be blessed with because of her severe eczema. It was a special blessing. 

And the very next day she started home MTC for a week. Think 9 hours of church!!  She did so well, even though she was exhausted. She glowed with missionary energy this morning. 

And she was surprised to see who her companion would at home MTC. See below picture. 

Here she is studying hard!!

On her break, I came down to find her like this: