LDS Missionary: France Paris Mission

General Authorities & Sad News

The days began to blend together and before I knew it my dad’s birthday on Halloween, then we were listening to Elder M. Russell Ballard speak to us about being good communicators.

Getting up started getting much easier. I guess it is true that it only takes three weeks to create a habit. I generally was able to jump out of bed right as the alarm went off. Elder Pieper continued scaring Elder Garland most nights.

There was one night that was scarier than any other. Just a quick note about me, I never really liked scary movies because I don’t like the feeling I get when I watch them. This particular night began with Elders Garland, Coleman, and Pieper started a conversation. Soon, Elder Garland and Elder Coleman were left speaking together.

“Wait, Pieper is too quiet! Where are you?” Elder Garland said in his English accent as he flipped on his bluish flashlight.

Elder Pieper was sitting straight up in his bed staring at Elder Garland. Elder Garland decided that was better than anything else and flipped off his flashlight.

About a minute later, Elder Garland must have been feeling antsy because no one was speaking. The eerie blue light filled the room with a glow that barely reached the door. Elder Pieper, once again, without noise, had climbed on top of my desk. He was standing next to the door on top of the desk in the smallest amount of light possible for me to be able to see him. Somehow, Elder Pieper was moving only from his waist up. He was moving back and forth without his legs moving. It was one of the creepiest things I had ever seen.

The blue light flipped off and maybe half a minute passed before it was back on and Elder Pieper was somehow back in his bed, looking at Elder Garland.

“What are you doing?” Elder Pieper whined. “Stop turning the light on! There’s nothing to be afraid of.”

“Right. I don’t trust you, Pieper,” Elder Garland said. “You’re so creepy.”

“Alright, Garland, I promise I won’t do anything else. Just turn the light off so we can sleep,” Elder Pieper said.

The next speaker we had was Sister Sheri L. Dew, a former member of the General Relief Society Presidency. She spoke about God and His divine plan for each of us. One of my favorite things she said was, “God knows who you are, where you are, and what your life mission is. He also knows what you need to complete that mission.”

It was such a great thought to reflect on since I was about to serve my mission. It was good to hear that God knows what I needed to do for my mission.

Only two days later was another Apostle, Elder David A. Bednar. He taught about the doctrine, principles, and applying them to our lives. Elder Bednar’s wife spoke first and tried her best to embarrass him. Then when he got up, he took his opportunity to say his rebuttal. Then Sister Bednar stood up and gave her final word over Elder Bednar’s shoulder, and Elder Bednar’s face went the most red I have ever seen anyone’s face go. They were a lot of fun to listen to.

Then it came to November 12. It was a Saturday. We had just come back from lunch. The elders were all laughing and having fun as usual. Elder Coleman came back and handed out everyone’s letters. I received mine and opened the one from my dad. It said:

“Hey Jord,

How is everything going today? Hope all is well. It’s been a strange day here, You know Rick Ence, right? Justin’s dad. He was out riding a horse and got bucked off about a week ago. He was in the hospital, and they found a growth on his lungs. It was too late for them to do anything though, and he passed away the other day. He was my age. It’s so sad. It’s been so weird for me because that could have been me. Justin is apparently planning on staying in Brazil. That must be a difficult decision to make. He’s at the mission home now. He said the mission president gave him a blessing and said it was his choice, but Justin decided to stay. He was able to talk to his family and his brothers told him, ‘Dad wouldn’t want you to come home...’”

The world seemed to dim. Everyone was still joking and playing around, but it seemed so distant.

My mind went straight to Justin. Justin Ence wasn’t one my good friends. He was the star quarterback and safety on the football team. We knew each other and had hung out a couple of times, but not extensively. Justin was on his mission in Brazil. He had had a full-ride scholarship to Dixie State College before he left, and I honestly thought he was much better to play somewhere else, but he decided to serve a mission instead. His oldest brother was in my parent’s ward and his other brother was my sister’s age and didn’t serve a mission. It would have been so easy to not serve a mission for him, and this would be such a good reason to come home, but he was deciding to stay.

 

That night, I prayed the most fervent prayer I had ever given in my life. I asked that the Ence family would be comforted and that they would be able to understand His plan. I asked that I may also understand His plan and why these things happened.

 

I felt the most calm feeling come upon me. Tears started streaming down my face. It was a completely different feeling from the one I had on the plane on my way to San Francisco. It was almost inexplicable. I finished my prayer and didn’t know what to do. I sat there on my elbows and knees on top of my bed for a few minutes. I heard the other three elders climb into bed and the lights were flicked off.

 

“Guys…” Elder Coleman started. It was about the only word that got through the void as I lay as still as before. I decided I should just go to sleep. Elders Garland, Coleman, and Pieper spoke for a little while before it was quiet. The words seemed distant as did the remainder of the day. It was too much to take in. I knew that God would take care of the Ence family because of the feeling I had had, but I couldn’t get over the fact that Justin is staying in Brazil. I was so happy that he was going to finish his mission even with a family tragedy.

Eventually, I fell asleep and continued with the next day as if it were normal. There was no reason to bum out any of the other missionaries, so I kept it locked away.