Eighteen months out. Eighteen months done. Seriously, I'm so thankful that my daughters didn't have to serve missions as long as my sons did, or if I can state that better, I wish my sons had only served eighteen months.
Glo's mission has certainly been different from the three before her. I'd like to say it's because she served in the States, but really it was because she could call home. I can't even imagine how different it would have been if the boys and Hannah could've called home other times besides Christmas and Mother's Day. There was a closeness and a connection to Glo that I wish I had been able to have with the other three.
And wildfires. And COVID. She certainly had to have some flexibility in how she served.
I could hardly wait for her to come home. As everyone says, Glo is my mini-me, and if nothing else, it's nice for someone besides me to tell John that he needs to stop loudly picking his nails during movies! And The Three Musketeers would be back in action, at least for a little bit.
One of the fun things about her coming home was that she actually gave a homecoming talk two days BEFORE she stepped on a plane to come home. The Chelsea ward (where we lived until March) had wanted her to speak after she got home over Zoom (since we aren't having in-person church meetings with COVID), but the ward leaders had gotten permission to begin in-person meetings the Sunday Glo was scheduled to speak. Because the meetings are limited to 25 people per meeting, she would have needed to speak four or five times that day, and our family and friends alone would have taken up an entire meeting block. So Brother McNiven asked if she could speak virtually the week before so that the entire ward would be able to hear her, and so it wouldn't be a burden on her.
Glo was hesitant, because it's not allowed per mission rules, so we called her new mission president, President Puffer. He has only been the mission president for ten days, and we weren't sure what he would say. We left a message on his voicemail, and he called us back almost immediately. He told us that it would absolutely give Glo permission to do that because he had heard only the best things about her from both President Meservy and the assistants. In fact, he told us that he knew she is a "top notch" missionary. What a beautiful thing to hear! So, Glo signed on to Zoom for the church meeting, and we got to listen to her speak about her mission from her mission. She was glowing, and happy, and it was obvious that she loves her mission and the people.
As a family, we had recorded "Write Thy Name Upon My Heart" for a musical number. We have sung/performed it for every one of our missionaries, leaving and coming home. It just made sense to do it again, even though it wasn't live. I played piano, and the three kids sang.
There was no drama about her coming home. She threw away the dresses that she had bought at the missionary mall in Provo before her mission, and packed up everything else. She didn't need to go through customs, or anything, and she had her phone with her.
Everyone came home, thank goodness. I mean, how would it have looked if everyone was home for everyone else coming off their missions, but not for Glo? I didn't know if it would work considering her siblings all have jobs, but they made it work! And even John was there ;-)
I didn't think I would get emotional since we talk so frequently, but how she dropped everything, ran into my arms and started sobbing herself? Yeah, I couldn't hold back the tears. And I didn't really want to let go of her so that others could hug her, but I did.
Since she got in at 11 p.m., we headed to the stake president's home the next morning, and it was really beautiful to hear her bear testimony to him of why she was sent where she was. And when she was told that she could take off her mission tag, how sweet it was to realize that it was the same tag that Hannah had worn throughout her mission and that she had given Glo to wear on hers. In fact, I have several pictures of Glo flipping up the tag while wearing it to show the heart sticker that Hannah had put on it during her mission. She would always say to me that she was wearing it next to her heart. We're giving that tag a rest until the next Hermana Kennedy is called.
I can hardly believe the Kennedy missionary kids have come to an end. I have the four plaques on the wall in my office, and what pride I take in the service my kids have rendered. Each one has crazy stories and life changing experiences to share, and I am amazed at the courage they showed and the sacrifices they made to serve.
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| All of the elders who came out with Glo were sent home at 15 months, and three of the sisters went home when given the option with COVID. |
And wildfires. And COVID. She certainly had to have some flexibility in how she served.
I could hardly wait for her to come home. As everyone says, Glo is my mini-me, and if nothing else, it's nice for someone besides me to tell John that he needs to stop loudly picking his nails during movies! And The Three Musketeers would be back in action, at least for a little bit.
One of the fun things about her coming home was that she actually gave a homecoming talk two days BEFORE she stepped on a plane to come home. The Chelsea ward (where we lived until March) had wanted her to speak after she got home over Zoom (since we aren't having in-person church meetings with COVID), but the ward leaders had gotten permission to begin in-person meetings the Sunday Glo was scheduled to speak. Because the meetings are limited to 25 people per meeting, she would have needed to speak four or five times that day, and our family and friends alone would have taken up an entire meeting block. So Brother McNiven asked if she could speak virtually the week before so that the entire ward would be able to hear her, and so it wouldn't be a burden on her.
Glo was hesitant, because it's not allowed per mission rules, so we called her new mission president, President Puffer. He has only been the mission president for ten days, and we weren't sure what he would say. We left a message on his voicemail, and he called us back almost immediately. He told us that it would absolutely give Glo permission to do that because he had heard only the best things about her from both President Meservy and the assistants. In fact, he told us that he knew she is a "top notch" missionary. What a beautiful thing to hear! So, Glo signed on to Zoom for the church meeting, and we got to listen to her speak about her mission from her mission. She was glowing, and happy, and it was obvious that she loves her mission and the people.
As a family, we had recorded "Write Thy Name Upon My Heart" for a musical number. We have sung/performed it for every one of our missionaries, leaving and coming home. It just made sense to do it again, even though it wasn't live. I played piano, and the three kids sang.
There was no drama about her coming home. She threw away the dresses that she had bought at the missionary mall in Provo before her mission, and packed up everything else. She didn't need to go through customs, or anything, and she had her phone with her.
Everyone came home, thank goodness. I mean, how would it have looked if everyone was home for everyone else coming off their missions, but not for Glo? I didn't know if it would work considering her siblings all have jobs, but they made it work! And even John was there ;-)
I didn't think I would get emotional since we talk so frequently, but how she dropped everything, ran into my arms and started sobbing herself? Yeah, I couldn't hold back the tears. And I didn't really want to let go of her so that others could hug her, but I did.
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| One of my favorite things about Markie is that he always comes through on a group hug when he knows there's a lot of emotion happening <3 |
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| How beautiful is it that little Baby still remembers Glo? |
Since she got in at 11 p.m., we headed to the stake president's home the next morning, and it was really beautiful to hear her bear testimony to him of why she was sent where she was. And when she was told that she could take off her mission tag, how sweet it was to realize that it was the same tag that Hannah had worn throughout her mission and that she had given Glo to wear on hers. In fact, I have several pictures of Glo flipping up the tag while wearing it to show the heart sticker that Hannah had put on it during her mission. She would always say to me that she was wearing it next to her heart. We're giving that tag a rest until the next Hermana Kennedy is called.
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| I love this picture so much. |
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| What a win for Boden, outfitting all three of us in our dresses, and what a win for us without showering. We had to wake up REALLY EARLY for the appointment, but we look pretty good! |
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| And no sooner had we puled into the driveway than Glo put on her worn-out running shoes and went for a run with the brothers....and Cher. |
And the following Sunday Glo not only spoke in our new ward (and we sang again for the final time), but she spoke to the high council as well. The best question from the high council came from a Hispanic man. He asked her, "What did you gain from serving with Latinos?" Glo isn't known to show a lot of emotion, but to that question, tears welled up in her eyes while she spoke of the feeling of a ward family that she gained from serving with the people on her mission. She explained that growing up, she had never felt like the ward was her family, or that she had much connection to anyone, but because the Latino people are so loving, she was always instantly accepted as were her investigators, and she always felt like she belonged. It was really beautiful.
I can hardly believe the Kennedy missionary kids have come to an end. I have the four plaques on the wall in my office, and what pride I take in the service my kids have rendered. Each one has crazy stories and life changing experiences to share, and I am amazed at the courage they showed and the sacrifices they made to serve.
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