Desire to Serve

“Our desire to serve others is magnified by our gratitude for what the Savior has done for us.” As I pondered this statement made by President Henry B. Eyring in his talk entitled “Trust in theSpirit Which Leadeth to do Good” I thought about my decision to serve a full-time mission. It wasn’t an easy decision for me. Denny and I had talked for many years about serving a mission “when we were older”, but it was 5-10 years sooner than I had anticipated. After some hesitancy, and many prayers about the decision to serve and I finally felt peace in my heart. And so the preparations began.

As the time grew closer for submitting our paperwork, I began to doubt if I was truly ready to go. I stalled for a while, but ultimately I had to make a final decision. As I prayed, I knew that my Heavenly Father wanted me to go but I had fear that I wasn’t prepared. I had many excuses why I shouldn’t go. As the list of excuses grew I also began to realize how blessed I truly was to have a wonderful family and a meaningful career, to be surrounded by people I loved, and to be financially secure. That list of excuses was, in reality, a long list of blessings in my life. My gratitude for the blessings the Savior had granted me grew and my desire to serve did as well.

Just a few of my many blessings. This is the last family picture we
took the week before we left for our  mission. We are looking forward
to seeing everyone soon! I'm sure the grand-kids have grown a bit!

Before we submitted our mission application, I asked my oldest son, Bryan, to give me a blessing. In that blessing I was told that I needed to replace fear with faith. That there would never be a “perfect time” to serve but as I chose to serve the Lord, people were being prepared for me to come. I was also reminded of what an amazing gift a mission would be to me, my family and those who were waiting for me. Our mission application went in that week. On May 7, 2016 we received our assignment to the Adriatic North Mission to serve as welfare/humanitarian missionaries.  As I read through the mission informational booklet, I knew that my Heavenly Father loved me and knew not only what I needed, but also the true desires of my heart. Selfishly, I had quietly prayed that we would not be called to serve anywhere that was hot and sticky and that we would be hands on in service. There was a whole section in the booklet about dressing in layers for the extreme cold! And our mission was not only hands-on, but neck deep in service. There have been many additional blessings for me personally, like being able to volunteer at Riders of Hope, not only allowing me to keep my foot in the door of my career, but to actually expand my knowledge with opportunities I would not have experienced staying home. And meeting incredible people of all ages, religions and backgrounds who have changed my life for good. People who are now lifelong friends. I am not able to post pictures of all those who are now dear to us, but here's a lot of them. Plus nearly 40 missionaries we served closely with. That alone would fill a year's worth of blog posts! 

"My girls" and a few of the other instructors who hugged me
every week when I taught dressage lessons and ate my
chocolate chip cookies like they were the best thing
they had ever tasted! (This picture is missing a few of them)

Senada owns the barn where I was able to teach dressage and therapeutic riding
lessons throughout our time on the mission. I'm pretty sure we knew
each other in another life. God answered my prayers through her. 

These three handsome guys, dad Emin, baby Eren and big brother Isa,
 belong to Senada and are part of our Bosnian family!

Tanja, Emin and Senada's partner at the barn, is part of our
extended family. She put up with our crazy schedule every week. 

I will always admire Esma for her always positive attitude
and fierce determination. She's one amazing young lady!

We met Ilma the first week we arrived in Sarajevo and have loved
learning about Islam from her and sharing many fond memories together. 

These fantastic ladies work for Muslim Aid, but that's only what
brought us together initially. Friendship will keep us connected always!

Aren, the young boy front and center, was one of my riders but
his family quickly become our friends. They had all of the missionaries
over for a five course dinner before we left. Their kindness and
generosity will always be remembered. 

You've seen this family in many of our posts throughout our mission.
It was definitely not "goodbye" with Emir and Dijana, just
"see you soon!" Family in every sense of the word.

We met Ilia up at the barn, but our friendship extended far beyond that.
He's quite the videographer and helped create several videos for
the church. He also put up with Denny's driving and questions
on many road trips. He's devoted his life to serving others and
we look forward to seeing what the future has in store for him. 

This is our little congregation in Sarajevo Branch. We were blessed
with incredible young families, strong individuals and the
best missionaries ever each and every Sunday. And our friendships
will extend beyond the mission... thanks to Facebook and Google Translate!

Six weeks after we arrived in Sarajevo, the Bradfords arrived in
Banja Luka. We'd never met before but we both lived in Ashburn,VA
and have many friends in common. They were the only other Senior Couple
in Bosnia, but Banja Luka was four hours away. But we loved seeing them during
our monthly Zone Conference meetings and Senior Conferences. 

David and Judy Grant were serving as Mission President when we
arrived. We have a deep love for them and look forward to seeing them
sometime in the future when we visit Utah. 

Dave and Becky Melonakos stepped in to the role of Mission President
when the Grants left. We enjoyed our time with them and know that our paths
will cross again. It was fun to have someone to go on a trial ride with!

In his talk President Eyring spoke about three feelings and three commitments regarding serving others. This counsel is very applicable to everyone, not just those serving missions.

Three feelings:

1. The feeling of greatest importance is love.

That feeling of love is a gift from God. The scriptures call it “charity” and “the pure love of Christ” (Moroni 7:47).  But charity is the pure love of Christ, and it endureth forever; and whoso is found possessed of it at the last day, it shall be well with him.

I know from personal experience, both before and during our mission, that love is the very foundation of service. As we served our mission, I felt a great love for the work and the people we had the opportunity to meet. My desire to serve increased as my love for those in the mission increased. We partnered with so many who persevered to make life better for people in Bosnia and Croatia. I have witnessed that love in the eyes of those who held a child with disabilities in their arms, Red Cross staff assisting refugees and NGOs trying to make a difference.  Unconditional love knows no boundaries nor does the pure love of Christ. It is through that unconditional pure love of Christ that true service is offered.

I'm not sure I have ever witnessed greater unconditional love
than Adisa has for the children who pass through the doors of Mala Sirena.

Lejla and so many others from Los Rosales bring true joy to those
they work with on a daily basis. Smiles abound as you walk through the halls. 

One of many caring people we met as we visited ten different centers
for children with disabilities throughout Bosnia. 

2. A second feeling is the influence of the Holy Ghost.

The Holy Ghost will guide you to find the service the Lord would have you give to others for Him. (D&C 11:12).

And now, verily, verily, I say unto thee, put your trust in that Spirit which leadeth to do good—yea, to do justly, to walk humbly, to judge righteously; and this is my Spirit.

There have been many times in my life that I have been prompted by the Holy Ghost to do something for someone else. Sometimes they are simple things like a phone call, a visit or even just a smile to a stranger. But sometimes they are more involved, even life changing, promptings that I have received. As we follow the promptings of the Holy Ghost we are able to serve in a way that is of most importance to our Heavenly Father. This was so important as we have served in the mission. Our greatest responsibility was to find humanitarian projects in our assigned area and without the influence of the Holy Ghost in a strange country that we knew nothing about, it would have been nearly impossible to discern where service was most needed. Every meeting we had, every NGO we met with had a need. It was impossible to fulfill every request. We were continually guided by the Holy Ghost in so many ways throughout the mission, from finding partners and projects to helping meet the needs of local church members and friends. We spent much of our humanitarian efforts on improving the quality of life for children with disabilities in Bosnia and as I sat in our final teacher education workshop of our largest project two days before we left, I felt immense joy knowing that we had followed the promptings of the spirit as we served in Bosnia. That we had done what God wanted us to do while we were there. Service that Denny and I were uniquely qualified to offer. I know that the Spirit lead us to do good.

The room was full of dedicated teachers and therapist with a great
desire to improve the quality of education provided to children with
disabilities. Nirvana, in the white handing out certificates, has had a huge
impact in Bosnia. She and her staff have devoted their time and talents
to teaching others best practices and helping change the educational
system in Bosnia. They fight a tough battle on behalf of the children. 

3. The third feeling received through service is that you want to be closer to the Savior. 

I know that as I have served throughout my life, I also had a desire to be closer to my Savior. As we served our mission, my desire to feel the Savior near increased exponentially. I know he walked beside me on my journey the past 18 months.  I continually feel of His love for me as well as those I served and that love has drawn me closer to Him. As I drew near to him in my heart I was able to see those I served through His eyes, as children of God.

Widows in rural Bosnia who received free gynecological exams

LDS Charities was able to help bring running water to the rural
Bosnian school that these young children attend. 

My sister-in-law made new friends at the refugee center in Kutina, Croatia. 

Refugee children in Zagreb received much needed school supplies.
It's hard to imagine what these children have endured in their young
lives, but God loves them and cares about them. 

Knowing these special children of God touched my heart in so many
ways. I know that we were led to projects to  help change things for good. 

President Eyring continued to discuss the three commitments of serving others that go hand in hand with the feelings he discussed.

Commitments:

1.    As you experience those feelings, the first thing you must commit to do is to go and serve, knowing that you do not go alone. When you go to comfort and serve anyone for the Savior, He prepares the way before you. (D&C 84:88). And whoso receiveth you, there I will be also, for I will go before your face. I will be on your right hand and on your left, and my Spirit shall be in your hearts, and mine angels round about you, to bear you up.

In our mission call letter it says, “As you serve with all your heart, might, mind and strength, the Lord will lead you to those who are prepared …”  I know without the commitment to serve, to put forth effort to act on the promptings of the Spirit and to follow the example of our Savior our time on the mission would have been wasted. But as we made the commitment to serve we were blessed and guided to know how and whom to serve. We had the Savior directing our footsteps on our mission. It would not have been possible for us to perform the service that He placed in our path without His “angels round about” us. Those “angels” came in many forms. Family and friends from home that supported us as we served, our newly found extended family in Bosnia who embraced us with open arms and project champions who shared a glimpse of what could be. Just look at all the pictures I've already posted for a small sample of those angels. 

2.    The second thing you must do is remember the Lord as you go in service for Him. Sister Linda K. Burton says, “Pray in faith to know what the Lord would have you do in your circumstances. Pray to know whom the Father would have you serve out of love for Him and for our Savior.”

Serving a mission opened my eyes to many realities of service. Truly serving is not about recognition for doing good, it’s not about the amount of money you can offer. It’s about serving for the Lord in ways that He wants you to serve the people He puts in your path. We all have different circumstances and are able to serve in different ways. If you ask our Heavenly Father, he will let you know how you can serve given your personal circumstances. You don’t have to be a full time missionary to serve. You just have to have the desire and love for your Savior and Heavenly Father’s children. As you pray about ways to serve others, you will be guided to those who need your love and assistance. We had many serve us while we were on our mission. Young missionaries who let me play “mom” when I was missing my family, dinner invitations and homemade meals, saving us from CO poisoning, beautiful paintings of cherished memories, welcoming hugs from young equestrians, birthday party invitations, a trail guide when I needed to escape on a horse, help navigating the Bosnian medical system, text messages of encouragement, assistance finding honest suppliers… this list is endless. Those who served us were not all full time missionaries. They were just people who followed the promptings of the Holy Ghost.

3.    And the third commitment is to be personally modest about your good works. Matthew 6:1, 3–4). That thine alms may be in secret: and thy Father which seeth in secret himself shall reward thee openly.

During our time in Bosnia we met so many whose daily lives are focused on doing good for others. It is very easy to be prideful and take credit for doing good works, but those we met who had a true desire to serve others without personal gain or recognition have touched our hearts. One example is our friends Emin and Senada who run Pegasos Equestrian Center and Riders of Hope. They offer so much to others through the equestrian programs, yet are some of the most humble people I have ever met. They do it because they love others and want others to feel loved and accepted, to be part of a community and have treasured memories regardless of their financial status.  Almost every NGO we worked with gives of their time and talents to improve the lives of others without recognition for their good works.

In his closing remarks President Eyring says, “Faith in the Savior and gratitude for His Atonement will lead them to do all they can for those God asks them to serve. We grow closer to the Savior as we, out of pure love, serve others for Him.”

I am so grateful for the opportunity I had to focus my life for a short time on serving others. In the blessing my son gave me before the mission I was also promised that I would feel more joy than I ever thought possible as I served a mission. And in our mission call letter it said “Greater blessings and more happiness than you have yet experienced await you …as you serve” , I know that both of those promises have been fulfilled. My joy is great indeed. I only hope that I have shared that same joy and happiness with others.

I am greatly blessed to have met so many amazing people, people who have touch my life and become part of my family. I will miss everyone dearly. I know that God lives, that his son, Jesus Christ is our Savior and died so that we could live. I know that through the atonement of Jesus Christ we have the opportunity to return to live with those we love, with our Savior and our Heavenly Father. God knows us personally and desires that we find joy in this life and share that joy with others.  I'm so blessed for eternal family and friends to share this life with. I pray that you will each find that joy in your lives and know that God loves you, that Christ walks beside you on your individual journey and that you are never alone.