Tuesday, May 6, 2014

Home...

Epilogue...

Well,  a two year journey that started with a white envelope being sent from a Prophet ended on Wednesday evening with a simple conversation with one who holds Priesthood Keys.  In the past 30 months, the Williams Family has undergone a transformation due to simple call from the Lord.  

We retuned home on Wednesday after a long and uneventful flight from Johannesburg, South Africa.  We feel lucky to have been able to travel to Mozambique and visit the wonderful people of this land.  For those that helped donate shirts, we thank you deeply.  We delivered these shirts to President and Sister Kretly once we arrived.  We know that they will be used by humble missionaries who desire to serve.  We feel honored to have been able to help in such a small way.  
After spending the weekend of April 18th in Maputo, Mozambique, President and Sister Kretly delivered Elder Williams to our hotel on Monday morning.  We spend the day just getting to know each other again.  It was wonderful. I remember the few hours that we spent alone in the hospital with Zachary when he was first born and the past ten days have been very similar.   We got to understand who our son had become and how the Lord had changed him.  This time was precious and I will always be grateful to the Lord for this time.  I suspect in the coming weeks, months, and years, I will continue to get to know who Elder Williams has become.  I look forward to this time.  
Monday afternoon and evening was spent visiting families in Maputo and Matola.  Words are not adequate to describe the feelings we felt as we met these humble people.  We felt honored to be welcomed into their homes and to feel of their spirit and commitment to the Lord.  During the next week we spent time in Maputo, Matola, Beira, Manga, Johannesburg, Kruger National Park, and Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe.   We talked a lot about the people of Mozambique and about the lives that were touched by the Lord.  Ultimately, we talked about the truthfulness of the gospel and ability of each of us to be crafted by the Lord.  This is truly His work and we are His children.  

We arrived home on Wednesday, April 30th and were greeted by welcoming family and friends.  It has been a wonderful time to be together again.  A few days later, as I sat around the dinner table on Sunday and had all of my children seated around me, it occurred to me how good life really is.  

Today... there were no empty chars.