Tom and Debbie's Mission Blog: November 2024

We have spent the last three weeks getting settled into our own home and lifestyle. This has included several opportunities to share our Palmyra Temple Mission experiences. While pondering on this glorious experience, we have begun getting involved again with our family, our ward, and our community and have now visited all of our doctors and dentists. We have been able to serve as patrons in the temple, including in the new Taylorsville and Layton temples. Our son and daughter-in-law have moved out of our condo and into their own home. This has been a joyous transition that required a lot of work for them and a little bit of help on our part. Our bishop suggested that we consider a new opportunity as Pathway Online Institute Service Missionaries. After prayer and consideration we decided to pursue this opportunity and have now been approved for this calling that will take around 10 hours a week.

Visiting the new Taylorsville and Layton Temples and our new Service Missionary Assignment

Sharing our Mission with others:

Coming home from our mission has left us with mixed feelings. We have so many wonderful memories of our time in Palmyra, New York. We love sharing those experiences with others every chance we get. On October 28, we had the privilege to spend an hour with the Singles of our ward, sharing more of the details of our mission. We spent many hours the week before preparing a PowerPoint presentation with many photos and stories to share. We hope they enjoyed listening as much as we enjoyed sharing. We used the same presentation and shared it with our neighborhood family home evening group two weeks later. Just a few days later, we shared it with Pat Whetman, our shut-in neighbor. Be careful if you ask about our mission, we are more than happy to share more than you probably are ready to hear.

This is the first of 40 slides that we shared in our mission PowerPoint

Temple Patrons:

We went to the Jordan River temple the first week that we were back from our mission. Then the temple closed for two weeks of maintenance. This gave us opportunity to visit the two new temples that had been dedicated during our mission. One week we went to the Taylorsville Utah Temple and the next week we went to the Layton Utah Temple. These were enjoyable and spiritual experiences. It is always interesting to see the new layouts, art and decor of these temples. The pearls inside the box, the ordinances of the temple, fortunately remain the same.

The new Taylorsville Utah Temple

The new Layton Utah Temple

A New Church Service Mission:

While we were serving our mission, we chose to focus only on our mission, not on any post mission plans. We wanted to wait and see what we felt directed to do. We maintained that position for the first two weeks. On the third Sunday that we were home, we visited with our bishop for our tithing declaration interview. Before the interview he gave us a paper that described a new Service Missionary opportunity and asked us to consider it. The Church had a need for more than 100 new Church Service Missionaries before the end of the year. The responsibility is to facilitate and support on-line institute classes for Pathway participants. As we studied, pondered, and prayed about this, we each came to the conclusion that this was part of what the Lord wanted us to do. We felt that it was an excellent opportunity that could fit into our current situation. We talked to the individual in the Church Education System, who described this further. Subsequently we completed the on-line application and received the endorsements of our bishop and our stake presidency. We are now officially approved and will begin our initial training right away, so that we can begin our service at the first of the year. This will be a new experience for both of us, requiring us to learn new processes and systems. It will give us the privilege to be more involved on a personal basis with the young and older adults of the Church. It will once again take Sister Rueckert way out of her comfort zone, but her faith and obedience qualifies her for this calling. We are both willing to serve however the Lord asks us to serve and we know that he will help us along the way.

An overview of this new Service Missionary position that begins in January 2025

More details our new responsibilities

Using our Prius "Truck":

Our Toyota Prius served us very well on our mission. We put on more miles in the past 7 months than we had in the previous two years. However, a super power of this vehicle is when you fold the seats down. It turns into an amazing transporter of goods and materials.

As we have come home, I have spent quite a bit of time trying to improve the living conditions of some of our single sons who are living in a manufactured home (trailer). This Prius has helped transport a new washing machine, a new door for the inside, and materials to build a floor and support for a storage shed that was purchased by Ben while we were away.

Ben helping build the new floor for the storage shed out back. All the materials were transported in our Prius.

As we moved home, our son, Jacob, and his wife Deb had just purchased a new (to them) home just 2.2 miles away from our condo. Jacob and Deb had lived in our condo since they were married, right before we left for our mission. This arrangement was perfect for us while we were away and it seemed to work out well for them also. They have spent the last month, closing on the house, repainting the interior, making other needed improvements and moving in. Since this is their first home together outside of our furnished condo, this included quite a bit of purchasing of furniture. In the end, between their two cars and our trusty Prius, we were able to get them totally moved out of our home. Again, the Prius was able to transport their Futon Bed, living room chairs, a chest freezer and much more.

Looking at their new kitchen before repainting the walls

At the end of one of the several moving days

Partially moved into the living room

Time with our Jacob and Deb, who cared for our condo while we were gone:

After completing the move, they had a house warming lunch which included Deb's parents who had just returned from their mission to the Philippines an hour earlier. It was good that they did not yet have a sofa, for it gave extra room to feed a crowd. They worked as a team to prepare and move into this house. They also made a good team to prepare a wonderful dinner within days of moving into the house. Amazingly, most of the boxes were emptied and the closets and shelves were full.

A nice steak dinner provided for both sets of parents and Deb's brother in law and two sisters who provided transport back home to Idaho for the retuning missionaries.

The new living room, turned into a banquet room

Jacob and Deb in front of their new home

Closer up view of these great kids and their house

It was a joy to live with these two for the first month home from our mission. They became beloved by the members of our ward who are already missing them. While in the middle of the painting and moving, Deb participated in a multi-stake presentation of "From Cumorah's Hill" on November 1 and 2. This was put on for two nights, Friday in South Jordan and Saturday in Riverton. The author of the script was Brother Brad Wilcox, who is also a member of our stake. He was in attendance and gave an introduction of the play. It depicted individuals in our time, learning from the stories of the Book of Mormon. The people from the Book of Mormon would come out of the Book of Mormon to give answers to today's needs. We loved it and loved seeing Deb singing in the choir.

Deb's program and guide

Brad Wilcox introducing the presentation

Moroni coming out of the Book of Mormon

Korihor sharing with a sister who had doubts

Deb, singing in the choir, middle of the top row

Visit with Caide:

While we were on our mission, our grandson, Caide, was diagnosed with the same illness that took the life of his mother. This illness, HDL2, is genetically passed on with a 50% probability. Caide is now in a care center in South Ogden. He is very happy and his favorite nurse is a wonderful nurse who also cared for his mother. Her name is Olivia, Caide calls her "mom". We visited right after our visit to the Layton temple, which was near the care facility. It was right before Caide turned 22 years old. They were having a party for him when we arrived. He is happy and well cared for at in this location (Post Acute South Ogden).

Caide with his grandparents

Caide with his nurse "mom", Olivia

Caide's mind has deteriorated to a seven year old level. However, his love and smile are enormous.

Other Grandchildren Activities:

Halloween:

We have come home during a good time of year to support our grandchildren. Our first activity was to celebrate Halloween with our grandchildren in Cache County. We went up on Halloween night to have a home made pizza dinner and then to see them go out to trick or treat. With three of our children in Hyrum and Nibley, this becomes a common trip.

Enjoying homemade pizzas with the grandchildren

And some more of them and Dan and Amy who hosted this dinner

A couple grandsons attacking their elephant cousin

Happily Trick or Treating with the dads

Oma and Opa in their "costumes"

Back to Back Middle School Performances:

Sometimes it is hard for us to keep up with grandchildren's performances. Sometimes it is hard for them to keep up with their own performances. Such was the case on November 14. Two of our grandchildren, Jacob and Jasper, were in a middle school performance of School House Rock Jr. An hour and a half later, Jacob was also in a Canyon School District Middle School Honors Concert at another location. He had to leave one performance early to sing in the next. We were able to help by taking Jasper home.