A DASH OF ASH: there once was a missionary

I'm dead tired, and stressed out of my mind about this wedding. And do I have time to blog, NO. But i'm forcing myself to do it because I'll never have time. I still haven't caught up on my sleep from the Washington trip and I have to get up at 9:00am to get my hair done because that's the only time I could squeeze it in before our engagement pictures on Saturday. And on top of it all I have to move in to our new apartment tomorrow, which I have no time to do either. Today I had an epiphany. I know now why they invented the "honeymoon." It's so brides can de-stress after months of ripping their hair out. Seriously... I'm counting down the days to the honeymoon now because I deserve a vacation.

Soooooooooo I will make this post brief {if that's possible}. I wanted to share a few thoughts about Spencer and I's adventure to the overcast city of Tacoma. For those of you who don't know, that is where Spencer served his mission {Spanish speaking} and we took a little last minute road trip to go revisit the homeland. First off, no one should ever be allowed to drive 15 hours. EVER! Especially twice. I literally turned in to the hulk {as Spence would say} a few times from either hunger, driving leg cramps, and an overly full bladder. 2nd of all, visiting a mission is not a vacation; it's work! Once we were there we spent the whole time in the car just driving around visiting people and places {his mission covered mainly 3 different cities mind you}. And to make things worse half the people didn't speak any English so I just sat patiently, like a good little fiance, and let Spencer converse.

BUT there were lots of positives about this trip:

1. Quality time with The Stink {aka Spencer}

2. Getting to hear Spencer speak Spanish.

3. And getting to meet all the lives Spencer changed while serving the Lord for two very long years. Seriously I was so exciting to hear him talk about all the great experiences he had. One thing that touched me most was that since Spencer only taught Latinos, he was put in a lot of poor neighborhoods. We visited many people that Spencer baptized or reactivated that lived in trailer parks and didn't have much. When I walked into their home I felt sorry for them, and I also felt uncomfortable myself sometimes with the smells or their appearance. But here Spencer was, not noticing their state of living or their lack of possessions; he just has so much love for these people that he could see through all of that and love them like brothers and sisters.

One family in particular that Spencer baptized lived in a trailer park and consisted of a husband and wife, and their teenage son who has multiple sclerosis. They didn't speak much English and the husband was a manager at Wal-Mart. They were obviously from humble means, but they had a big heart. Their son {despite his limitations} was graduating that next week from high school in the top of his class. When Spencer was leaving to come home from the mission, the father of this family asked if he could keep his missionary name tag. Spencer gave it to him and he said he would keep it forever. When we went back to that trailer park this last weekend to visit, the father jumped up in the middle of our conversation and grabbed the name tag to show Spence that he still had it. And in Spanish he said something along the lines of "See Elder I still have it. And I'm going to give it to my kids, who will give it to their kids, so that they will know the name of the person who changed our lives forever." Spencer later told me he was holding back tears when he said that.

This is one of just many example of me realizing what a lucky girl I am. I don't know if I am capable of taking 2 years out of my life, moving to a place where I know no one, waking up and 6:30am every morning, and getting doors slammed in my face repeatedly. I know our future family will be blessed for the sacrifices Spencer has made, and that he is the man he is today because of that. I mean seriously most 19 to 21 year olds are too busy getting drunk and chasing after girls and would NEVER make that kind of commitment and sacrifice. Spencer is worlds ahead of most guys his age in maturity. So with that said Stink... I love you and I am so proud of you {even though I'm mad at you for not coming over tonight and helping my pack}.

WASHINGTON