Alpha and Omega

So, Elder Owens went home this week.
Elder Owen Owens (for reals) finished his two year LDS Mormon mission this past week and left here and returned to Albuquerque.....to the loving arms of his mother, who has missed him terribly (she wrote him that she was going to hug him "right in two")....and now we will miss him, too....
He was a great missionary, and a really nice young man....he was "whitewashed" into our ward, and has trained his last three companions.......and it has not been easy.....the first greenie was very quiet....hard to get a word out of......the second was a real piece of work......he reminded us of Kenneth the Page from the sitcom 3o Rock, if you are familiar....except Kenneth would be much easier to be around....but the most recent greenie has been a great change...a great young man who will be a great missionary, he will be a leader in the Portland Oregon Mission, you mark my words.....he's got one whole transfer under his belt now, and is doing great...we enjoy his personality a lot, but the main thing we have in common is that we both hate to see his companion leave.....we are hoping that his new comp will be awesome, too......Elder Owens was a great example of obedience, and of just "keepin' on keepin' on" no matter what. He never complained, always had a smile, always looked for the positive.......he is a perfect example of "If you didn't know, you would never know!" In our last conversation, he told me that, yes, even though there had been some really tough times, he had learned something from every companion.....never a negative word!

Elder Owens really liked whipped cream, so every Monday night we would try to have some kind of treat that involved whipped cream....real whipped cream....
one night Chanel had a whole bunch of different flavorings....they were all good....really good.... but when Owens took a spoonful of the Hazelnut flavored cream....apparently it was a little strong....and he claimed he was nearly blinded!! This is a picture of him in his state of going-blindness, from which I am happy to report, he recovered....
So Thursday was one of those Alpha and Omega days. I spoke very briefly with Owens on the telephone Thursday morning to wish him well, and to thank him for his service....then later in the day we got a call from another Elder (in the adjoining ward) who had just been assigned a "brand new-out of the box-my suit is still pressed-my shoes are still new-my bike is all shiny-today is my first day in the mission field-Elder..........."

Elder Devaney and Elder Jiminez

They had no dinner appointment scheduled, so they called the Taylors.....and we were more than happy to have them come to our house for dinner that night.....Elder Jimenez is from Miami..as far away from home as he could be and still be in the US...what a nice young man....I couldn't imagine his first night in the field eating cereal in their brand new apartment, so I am genuinely grateful they called...I thought of Geoff's letter on Monday when he asked that we do all we can to help our local Elders, including feeding them .......and it doesn't take much to make the correlation between our dinners with the Elders and the bounty of food in our pantry........lucky us!
We were also blessed to have the Assistants to the President in our home for dinner last Saturday night...Elder Larsen was also going home this week to West Jordan, Utah.......we have known and loved his companion, Elder Wyatt, since he served in our ward a year ago as Geoff was preparing to enter the field.....it was wonderful to have them in our home...they are great young men...truly Servants of the Lord.

I guess I write about this because I am not a natural born hostess......having people in my home....for dinner, especially...has always been intimidating for me, as I worry about what they will think of the food, the decor, the house, the conversation.....you name it...I worry about it, so I just haven't been one of those "inviter-overs." But as of late, we've had a number of missionary companionships, and good friends over to eat dinner.....and everyone has survived, and some have even said they liked the food...they had a good time! Who knew??? Maybe it's because these young men are always grateful.....or maybe they are just helping me to turn a weakness into a strength..(although in reality, Mark and Chanel do most of the work....baby steps........I'm taking baby steps.)

So....thanks, Elders.....thanks for blessing our home with such good feeling and great spirit when you are here....we love you for it and hope our own Elder Taylor is having the same kinds of experiences........Good luck to Elder Owens....Good luck to Elder Jimenez...or, Alpha Jimenez and Omega Owens....our associations with them are just little tender mercies from the Lord to the Taylors..............................Singing by the Choir............