Come What May

“Wrinkles should merely indicate where the smiles have been” (Mark Twain). At age 21 I have finished serving a 12 month part time mission in the Family History Department.  As one might imagine I have always been kind of a rarity when I put on my name tag each day.  As far as I know, there is a relatively small percentage of young family history missionaries and an even smaller percentage of those attending BYU.  Most of the people I work with have about 30 to 40 years more life experience than I have and I often notice the age gap: when they talk about children, their grandchildren, when they mention that they don’t hear very well, when they bring up their time in the 60s, and most especially when I hear the testimonies, stories, commentaries, and questions indicative of a life full of service and struggles that no 21-year-old can quite understand. I am often touched by the sweet examples of service from my much wiser, more experienced elders.  They were my...

Life as a part-time family history service missionary has been a delight.   This year has been full of tender moments, a few frustrations, and plenty of humor. I have learned a little bit about shortcomings, service, patience, people, family history, and continue to be blessed with a life full of sweet, happy, entertaining moments. Most of my mission was served at a little desk in a little apartment staring at computer screens and answering phone calls and chat rooms. Surprisingly it was never as boring as it sounds.   I was blessed to speak with hundreds and hundreds of incredibly interesting people with lives and problems and histories and opinions that I will never know much about. This year I’ve kept a list of my favorite comments, conversations, (and even some very generous compliments) that made each day a little more enjoyable this year. Here is a taste of my mission life: “Lexie on a scale from one to ten…you’re about a six.” (That’s how Brett comforted me whi...