Florida COVIDcation

Erik has been home from his mission for just about 16 months now and finished up his first year at Utah State -- first semester was living at home doing school online and second semester was living in Logan doing school in person.

The original plan several years ago was for Erik to come home in September, head to a niece's wedding in Georgia in October and then continue on the Florida to see his mission sites. But COVID disrupted all those plans, including the wedding. March 2021 came around and Covid seemed to be doing okay. We thought for sure by October things would be even better. So we booked our trip to Florida, a year later than originally planned.

The Saturday before we left, Ash went to Homecoming and the next Monday we caught the red-eye to Orlando.

This was Alex's first time on a plane, and he was pretty excited. Our early morning arrival gave us the chance to rush to the beach to catch the sunrise, something Erik had done several times when he was serving in the area.

We enjoyed our beautiful morning, but our late flight also tuckered us out a bit. So after driving through one of Erik's areas and stopping for lunch at a Wawa gas station (one of his favorites), we found a park to have a snooze before checking into our hotel.

The next day was Sea World. And this is where things went a little south for Ash. Her date from Homecoming texted her to say he tested positive for Covid. And despite being vaccinated, later that day she began to feel very tired.

Thankfully our hotel was pretty central to most things we were doing. She ended up being okay for the first half of the day but then needing to go back to sleep.

Universal with Harry Potter World was on our agenda along with Gatorland and my favorite, the Kennedy Space Center.

I grew up watching Space Camp and the Challenger explosion. I would often play astronaut in our unfinished basement with my dad's motorcycle helmet on, pretending I was going to the moon. I spent one summer checking out books from our library (two blocks from my house) about space. I was going to be an astronaut one day. The Space Center was a dream come true for me. And an even bigger dream was seeing a rocket take off. They happen a couple of times a month and we happened to be in town the day one was launched. We set our alarms for 5:30am and got to see it from our hotel window against the dark, night sky. That was a pretty awesome experience.

On Sunday we went to one of Erik's last wards located in Sanford and afterwards visited the Orlando Temple site. We headed back to the beach with Ash (at this point she had missed several days of activities). The crowded Sunday afternoon beach was a much different beach than the quiet early morning beach we were used to.

Our last day was Disney's Animal Kingdom. Pure magical is all I can say. Disney definitely knows how to do things right. This park had such a different feel than Universal. While we were there, a park ranger (not sure what to call her) approached us to tell us that is was national Okapi day and would we like to go behind the scenes and meet one. Tyler and I both looked at each other like what was the catch. How much was it going to cost us? Was it really national Okapi day? There was no catch. She took us behind the gates to where they keep the animals and we got to meet an Okapi up close and personal. Unfortunately, they wouldn't allow us to take pictures, so you'll just have to take our word for it. We easily spent 45 minutes where no other tourists were talking to these keepers about Okapis and feeding him his lunch of leaves and tree branches. It was really quite an amazing experience.

And just like we began our trip with a beautiful sunrise, we ended our trip with a beautiful sunrise. Florida was an amazing trip. I'm so glad we were able to make it happen.

Missionary + Experiences + Tender Mercies

Our missionary son doesn't call home much or write, so I love when I get little glimpses from other people. Nate's Grandma Laura has a cousin who is serving in his same mission and will keep me updated from time to time.

She says: Missy, your missionary is changing lives here, especially with the missionaries. He is such a hard worker, and his diligence and obedience blesses everyone that he woks with. He is making a difference! She basically mentioned the same thing in a letter to Grandma Laura that was forwarded to the entire Ellis family. "Your missionary serving here in the Colorado Denver North Mission, Elder Nathan Leary is one of our finest missionaries! And that is the truth. He has an extremely good work ethic, and his companions love him. He's making a difference here!"

He consistently challenges me to look for opportunities. One of my goals over the past couple of years has been to follow through on those little thoughts and promptings I get.

This week I did just that and couldn't wait to email or talk to Nate about it. This is where that little tender mercy comes in. Nate's p-day is usually Monday and it didn't surprise me when he didn't call. But on Wednesday, immediately after hanging up the phone from arranging a much-needed blessing for a neighbor, Nate called. I couldn't believe it. P-day got moved due to meetings on Monday. I was ecstatic to tell him of my missionary experience.

We came home from our Thanksgiving vacation and I had a thought that I needed to reach out to my neighbor about her upcoming surgery. I knew it was happening; I just didn't know when. She messaged me with these words: " Hi Missy. It's Thursday Dec 2nd and I stay all night then come home Friday. I start PT Monday morning. OUCH. I'm so scared. . . ." That was the part that really got me thinking.

I could have just sent back some encouraging words. But the spirit told me that this lady needed more. She might could use a blessing.

Now, a little background. I would never have guessed that she belonged to my faith, but she shows up on our records (there is another story there). We've been neighborly. I've gone walking with her and shared my produce. She's asked us to watch their yard. But she's never been one I thought might in the least be interested in any kind of religion. The book The Power of Everyday Missionaries taught me you can never predict who or who wouldn't be a good candidate; you always ask and invite. So that is exactly what I decided to do.

Wednesday morning I sent her a quick message, asking if she'd like a priesthood blessing. I explained that God wants to bless all of his children and that I've had several blessings in my lifetime that have brought comfort and peace to me, something I knew she was needing.

I sat . . . and sat . . . and sat with my finger on the send button. I was a bit nervous not knowing how she would take it.

I finally pushed send, shut my laptop lid, and went to work.

At lunchtime I checked my messages and there was one from her. Oh how I was a little scared to open it. But I did.

"Hi Missy. Yes. I would like one."

I couldn't believe what I was reading. I knew I had followed through on promptings from the past couple of days. It was such a good feeling to know that the Lord trusted me with an errand and I followed through.

After several texts and phone calls, I went with her ministering brother and a member of our stake presidency, both who live on the same street and two people she knew (although she did message me later about how grateful she was that I came with -- it helped her feel more comfortable). It was a beautiful experience, one I hope to talk with her more about. She has never had a priesthood blessing in her life, so the two men did a wonderful job explaining how the whole process worked.

The whole day was one of shock and excitement. I got a little glimpse of what a missionary must feel. And it's something we can all be a part of. It made me want to try a little harder.