Missions Coming Full-Circle

Back in 1994, I was serving a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Hixson, Tennessee.

I met an amazing family there that I immediately fell in love with and adopted, and they adopted me.  Glenn and Karen Collins have four beautiful children, Reine, Noah, Jeana and Callie.  Callie was around 1.5 years old at the time I served in their area, absolutely adorable and I enjoyed holding her and playing with her when we would visit the Collins' home.

I have tried to keep in touch with the Collins' over the past 20 years, doing excellent in some years and horribly in others, but this year I have been able to talk a few times through various wonders of technology to Reine and Glenn, and I found out that Callie is now serving a mission here in Utah!

I was overjoyed to discover that she is only 20 minutes away.  After much waiting in trying to contact and schedule a lunch or dinner appointment with Sister Collins and her companion, we were finally able to connect and we took them to Costa Vida!

I was in heaven talking about the days of my mission and the wonderful things that have happened with the Collins family since I returned home from my mission.  They have been sealed together as an eternal family, now have beautiful grandchildren and are all strong in the Church.  They helped me so much while I was there and I am eternally grateful. Callie shared some wonderful stories and her testimony with me, and I discovered that I had a big impact on their family, even Callie who is now an amazing missionary who brings the Spirit with her wherever she goes.

I was grateful to spend a small amount of time with Gwen this afternoon getting to know Callie better, as well as her companion, Sister Baleivuna from Fiji!

Since Sister Collins is living under mission rules, I didn't get to give her the huge hug I wanted to, but I hope that she will bring her family back to Utah after she is released, so I can see them all and hug 'em all!  They are so very special to me, I can't even articulate how much.

This past couple of days while I rummaged through my mission memories box looking for things from my time with the Collins' and being able to visit with Callie reminded me again how significant and important our relationships with others are, and how much other worldly pursuits don't mean anything in comparison.  I am so thankful for all of my family and friends and the love that I share for each and every one of you.

Best of luck to you Sister Collins when you soon return home to your amazing family.  I'm so excited to hear about your new adventures.  Until then, may all those you come in contact with feel and recognize the Spirit that you and Sister Baleivuna bring with you... and thanks for sharing it with Gwen and I!

Love ya, Sis!

Welcome Home Sagers!

I had the honor and privilege today of seeing President Richard K. Sager and his wonderful wife Lois; who served as my Mission President and Mission Mom 17 years ago when I served in the Tennessee Knoxville Mission (TKM).  The occasion was their report after returning home from another mission in Tennessee, this time as Temple President and Matron of the Nashville temple.

It was so wonderful to see them and to be inspired by their talks.  It was even better to get a few moments to visit with them after the meeting.

Left to right:
Lois Sager, Elder "Dead Cow" Litster, President Richard K. Sager

As a special bonus, President Thomas S. Monson, our beloved prophet and special friend of the Sagers, was in attendance.  I had the honor of shaking his hand and exchanging some pleasantries for a brief moment.  He's an amazing man, and it was wonderful to be in his presence for a short time.

The Sagers have had such a profound impact on my life.  They are two of the most selfless, Christ-like people I've ever met and were an incredible support while I was away from home for 2 years serving the Lord.  I appreciate our friendship that has lasted all these years.  Seeing them today, it was as if no time had passed since our last opportunity to be together.

And speaking of getting together, we're all very excited to start putting together a TKM reunion next Spring... so all of you that served with me under the Sagers in the Knoxville mission, keep watch.  We want all of you to be attendance, so please join our facebook group.  (If that link doesn't work, try this one)

Reunions are so awesome... I've been able to keep in touch with some of my missionary friends over the years, sometimes in person, but mostly through the blessing of electronic communications (instant messaging, email, social networking sites, etc.)  Having in-person reunions can't be beat though, and I hope all of my fellow TKMers will be able to attend ours.

Anyway, welcome home Sagers!  We love you and have missed you!

As Sisters in Zion

I had the blessed opportunity to live in a little piece of heaven known as Big Stone Gap, VA and Wise, Virginia (southwest corner) for about 6 months of my life while serving in the Tennessee Knoxville Mission (TKM) during the latter-half of 1993.

While there, I fell in love with the people there, including Bishop Yates' family. We had some special times while I served there and I miss them dearly. They and their extended family "adopted" me while I was there. I spent 6 months in their ward, and for 3 of them, kept guessing I would get transferred the next month. My final month there, some of the members joked that if I didn't get transferred that time, I would become the ward's next Bishop. Too funny.

In this post, I'll be focusing on the Yates' oldest daughter, Courtney and her youngest sister, Kristen.

Kristen was 4-5 years old at the time, and one of the cutest little girls I'd ever met. As you can see from the back of the picture of me holding Kristen, her family (including extended family) and I used to joke around about Kristen being my future wife. :)

At the risk of embarassing them (bless their hearts, nothin' but love!!!) this is what we all looked like back then:

Kristen Yates and Elder Litster - Fall 1993




Courtney Yates - Christmas 1993


So I'd tried and failed twice to hook up with their family while they made two sojourns to Utah for weddings of sisters between Courtney and Kristen.

Luckily, I found Kristen on Facebook a couple of months ago (thank heavens for modern technology!) As we started catching up with each other, I discovered she is currently at BYU. Of course, I had to invite her for dinner, so I could catch-up in person, being as I haven't seen her in 15 years, not to mention I'd like to pay back at least a small inkling of what her parents did for me while I was serving my missin in Wise!

We planned a "dinner appointment" and I brought her to my home on 22 March. The cutie I knew back then has blossomed into a beautiful young woman her parents can be proud of. I was so happy to see her, to hear that she's strong in the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and happy.

We talked, looked through some of my mission pictures, ate dinner, played Apples-to-Apples with the fmaily, watched "It's Latter-Day Night" (well, most of it... it locked up on us during the last act) and had a wonderful time. Talking with her, hearing that Southern accent, took me "home" to my mission long ago; so many dear friends that I long terribly to see more now, than ever. (Now, there is more to the story of this night, but I have to wait until later to tell it; for reasons that will reveal themselves then.)

After taking Kristen home, I wanted to detour to the airport and fly out to Virginia. I was hoping to see her again soon, and got my wish earlier than I thought would happen. I learned that Courtney (who now lives in Arizona) was coming up two weekends later to go to General Conference with Kristen. Selfishly, I begged them to come to my homs for Sunday dinner again, so I could see Kristen again and Courtney for my first time in 15 years.

Oh, the trip we took down memory lane; sweet nostalgic goodness. We laughed about all the goofy things we used to do when I got to spend time with their family (I had an electronic whoopee cushion, we played fun mind games with the kids, etc.) There was one time they reminded me of when I was with their "mamaw" (grandma) who happens to be a germaphobe and I love to life (which, for the record, is a bit better than loving someone to death.)

I put a big glob of lotion into some tissue when she wasn't looking. I then pretended to sneeze into it when she was looking, and showed it to her afterward. I'm rotten to the core; but what can I say? Boys will be boys. Good times.

Back to the story. I got to catch up with Courtney, hear about her awesome adoption of a beautiful baby from the Ukraine, learn of her family in Arizona where she is also strong in the Gospel. I was happy to hear about friends back in the Powell Valley ward, sad to hear about some unfortunate things that happened in some of their lives, but overall wanting even more to return and spend more time with those wonderful friends.

We ate gabbed and gabbed, ate dinner, played Phase 10 with the family, feasted on Gwen's world-famous chocolate-chip cookies, and re-watched a new copy of "It's Latter-Day Night" that wouldn't freeze up on us.

I was sad to see it end, but again, the night drew to a close and Courtney and Kristen had to head for home. They either had a good time, or would good sports and humored me when it was time for pictures.

So you've seen the before, here is the after (Note the Celestial glow beaming from the ladies; I'm not worthy to be that close to any of them...):

Kristen, Jeff, Gwen - March 2009

Courtney and Kristen - April 2009

Gwen, Jeff, Courtney and Kristen - April 2009

I'm grateful Courtney and Kristen were kind enough to bless me and my family with their presence, sacrificing their short time together to come patronize my need for nostalgia. :) I sure hope I'll get to see the rest of the family soon *NUDGE NUDGE*

I'm seriously tempted to buy airline tickets to fly out there for a weekend soon. I'm dying to visit!

This was another one of those times where I'm reminded that this life is all about people. We don't get to take anything with us but the knowledge we gain here and the relationships we build with people.

Tread lightly and handle those relationships with care. Don't waste a moment, because you'll treasure them later, even some of the bad moments. I'll never forget those I left in that small corner of Virginia. As Courtney and Kristen were in my home, we repeatedly said how floods of memories came back, as if it were yesterday. It's amazing what a few minutes with someone you haven't seen in years will do for you. So much happiness filled my heart. It always does with reunions like these.

Keep that in mind next time your High School, Mission or other reunion comes around. Too many times, I talk with friends who have no interest in going, but don't know what you're missing. Try it, you'll be glad you did.

Thanks, Courtney and Kristenl "Ah love ye!" And thanks Mom and Dad Yates for raising such a wonderful family, and sharing yourselves with me! You've officially stolen a part of my heart, and I send my love to you. God bless!

Mandi's Beautiful Baptism Day

There aren't many blessings more wonderful in a father's life, than that of baptizing his children. Mandi reached the age of accountability and decided she wanted to be baptized.

It was all she could talk about for about a month-and-a-half. All she wanted was to reach her birthday, so she could get baptized. She wanted to have it happen on her birthday, but she, as patiently as she could, had to wait until January to do it. It couldn't come fast enough. :)

She invited everyone dear to her, including family, friends and Primary teachers. It was such a special day for her and she was beaming from ear-to-ear the entire weekend. Mandi was baptized, confirmed a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and received the Gift of the Holy Ghost on Saturday; and it was beautiful.

Sunday was fast and testimony meeting and Mandi decided on her own that she wanted to get up and bear her testimony to the congregation. In Matthew 21, Jesus said, "Yea; have ye never read, Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings thou hast perfected praise?"

I think that anyone in our ward that day would attest that her testimony was that. Normally young children require the assistance of parents to help them get their feelings expressed, but Mandi walked right up to the microphone and shared the tender feelings of her heart.

I really wish that I could've entered this blog entry back then while the words were fresh in my mind, because I was brought to tears it touched me so. Alas, my crazy busy life kept me away and now I must rely on the now-somewhat-faded memory of a couple months ago.

She expressed how warm and wonderful she felt inside as she got baptized and received the gift of the Holy Ghost, and how it made her want to do good and live her life as best she could to please her Heavenly Father. She mentioned how grateful she is that Jesus Christ gave His life for us that we might be forgiven of our sins and return to live with He and Heavenly Father again someday. She said it makes her really happy inside to know that she can be forgiven when she makes mistakes and can have the Holy Ghost help her feel happy again.

I really can't do it justice; her words were inspired.

I also had decided to bear my testimony and we had walked to the pulpit together to share them. A little cute sidenote I have to share... Our good friends Nathan and Jen Horner, who lived across the hall from our West Jordan apartment years ago, live in our current ward and their awesome son Timothy had also come up to bear his testimony. He sat down to wait his turn before Mandi and I had, but was trying to insist that we go first. He's so awesome. :) I had to keep convincing him to go first, because I wanted to follow-up after the kids so he wouldn't have to wait for my long-windedness. He kept insisting... but finally gave in. What a cutie...

Anyway, I found myself a little speechless (hard to believe, I know) after Mandi's spiritual edification and I had to pause, choked up, for a moment before I could share mine. It was definitely a "Parent Payoff" day, and I count myself blessed to have been a part of it. God certainly saved his choicest for this generation.

I'm grateful for the Gospel of Jesus Christ in my own life. And while I'm far from perfect, as you all know, I'm glad to know that my elder brother loves me enough to have suffered for all of my imperfections and has the patience to endure while I learn how to live as He did. I still have a long way to go, but I know He's with me all the way, especially through hard times; and I'm thankful he has blessed us with the Holy Ghost to help comfort us while we get through those.

Luckily the hardest things we're dealing with right now is trying to juggle our demanding schedules with the twins and everything else going on with the rest of the kids. My children are so precious... I don't know how the Lord saw me fit to entrust with five of his valiant spirits, and I hope that one day I'll live up to the expectations.

And moments like Mandi's baptism sure make it all worth it. You're beautiful Mandi! Mommy and I love you so much. We couldn't be more proud of you. Keep choosing the right!

In Honor of Our Beloved Prophet, President Gordon B. Hinckley

For those who don't already know, God's most recent Prophet, Gordon B. Hinckley, President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, passed away Sunday evening around 7:00pm Mountain Time.

I know there are thousands of tributes to this great man in many forms out there; and I would be entirely ungrateful to not post one of my own.

This great man has been an inspiration in my life for as long as I can remember; even before he became the Prophet. I could always relate to President Hinckley when he would address the Church in whatever capacity he served in.

I think part of it had to do with his quick wit and fun sense of humor. He was always good for a one-liner at the most opportune of times. He always made us feel good about ourselves, even when he needed to call us to repentance. :)

There was one experience I'll never forget; one that affirmed to me of his divine calling as the Lord's chosen mouthpiece. I had prayed about President Hinckley when he was called to be Prophet and knew from the promptings of the Holy Spirit that he is a Prophet of God. I'd also had subsequent re-affirmations that this was true when I'd hear him speak and felt the same feelings.

Our Church schedules conferences at different geographical levels at different intervals. As many of you know, there are Worldwide General Conferences held bi-annually. We also hold Stake Conferences (more localized) and Ward Conferences (even more localized) bi-annually.

Every three years there is a Region Conference where several Wards/Stakes are invited to attend and this particular one was held in Downtown Salt Lake City; in the beautiful LDS Conference Center.

We obtained tickets to the Conference and had seating near the back row of the Conference Center. We arrived around an hour early to make sure we were ready to go when the conference began. While we waited for it to start, we chatted about various things.

My wife and I wondered if maybe President Hinckley would appear at our Regional Conference; but that seemed silly to me as there are tons of these for many different regions held every year; I was sure the Prophet didn't make it to all of them in-person. He wasn't scheduled to be at this one; but, of course, we thought that would be really cool.

About 15 minutes later, I felt the Spirit extremely strong and wondered if he really was there. The next thing I knew, a reverent hush fell over the entire Conference Center and slowly, the crowd started to rise to their feet. Several seconds later, President Hinckley stepped in a side door near the front of the Conference Center auditorium.

I don't mean to be irreverent here, but I can't think of any other way to describe it. It was as if someone had hooked the feelings the Holy Spirit brings up to a Gigawatt amplifier and blared it throughout the entire Conference Center. I knew I was truly in the presence of a man of God.

He took the liberty of addressing us in that conference, and to be honest, I don't recall what was said that day; but the feeling will always be remembered every time I remember that experience.

I hope to be half-the-man President Hinckley was. In his late 90's, he exhibited more energy than I have; travelling the world and spreading the love and message of the resurrected Savior of the World to all that had the blessed opportunity of interacting with him.

He feared no man, stood steadfast and true to the principles he taught and lived; yet was gentle, down-to-earth and made all who interacted with him feel welcome and at-ease.

So I pay my tribute to you President Hinckley, legendary servant of God and the legacy you leave behind. Thanks for being such an inspiration to me; I will miss you greatly, and am happy you get to be reunited with your sweet wife, other family members, past Prophets and most importantly, our Heavenly Father and His only begotten son, Jesus Christ.

God bless...

The Prayer of the Children

Listening to children pray is one of life's greater pleasures.

My youngest, Kimmie is very thankful in her prayers. She always makes it a point to thank Heavenly Father for everyone in our family (as of late, this occurs multiple times in the same prayer...) and then commences with speaking in tongues. Some sort of ultra-cool jibberish starts flowing from her mouth for a few seconds and then a pause, a sly grin, and then more thanking for family members. I don't know if she's just trying to emulate mommy and daddy's long-winded and boring-for-kids prayers, but whatever it is, it rocks.

Mandi, my second oldest who caught on to our prayers for protection started a tradition in the children's prayers to say, "Please keep us safe from harm and accident (and purposes)..."

Yes, the prayer of the children is glorious to be a part of. Most of the time they end up sounding like vain repetition, but kids are innocent and have no clue what that even means; so I'm convinced they really mean it everyday... that is until they're saying that same prayer so fast it sounds like they're speaking in tongues as well. Maybe that's where Kimmie gets it from.

The best is, those quiet moments during family prayer, when you know they really have some concerns on their mind; they pause for a moment during their prayer and then ask for something completely unexpected that touches your heart for good. It's those moments where you feel the Spirit touch your soul, and you know that Heavenly Father is hearing them.

Thank God for kids... (you never know, next time you're trying to have one, He'll give you an added bonus like He has with us!)

Confessions of a Father in Training

Why is it that parenting doesn't come with a manual? It's because every child is different; their personality, their needs, employable tactics to help them understand that doing your bidding is best for their well-being (and yours...)

My son is a joy and a delight. He's a bright and clever young man with an incredibly creative imagination and sometimes an insatiable appetite for destruction. This demon side usually comes out when he's involved in an accident that inflicts pain on his person.

As with most children, the knee-jerk reaction is to get uncontrollably angry at the inanimate object that somehow reached out and tripped, punched, slapped, or otherwise committed a felony in attempting to inflict injury on said child. With my son (and now my youngest daughter who is the epitome of older sibling emulation) this is first conveyed by very loudly yelling and/or screaming at the inanimate object with phrases riddled with expletives like "stupid piece of crap" or "fetchin' bastage" -- of course none of which, he learned from me.

Once the yelling ceases and the child realizes there is no reactin from said inanimate object; realizing the purposes have not been fulfilled and that feeling of sweet revenge not yet achieved... he, like many, will commence clobbering the inanimate object in order to achieve that feeling.

Quickly the child learns that this only nets them more pain which then cycles into more anger, which is then... you get the idea.

In this particular instance, I was upstairs talking with a friend of mine after excusing my son to bed for the evening. I start hearing banging sounds emanating from the basement; and realizing we need to sell the house in order to acquire more room for our child count which is about to almost double its size in a few months, I immediately want to panic.

Excusing myself and heading downstairs, my son realizes I'm entering the room and stops cold and looks at me like he knows he's in trouble. Now, my knee-jerk reaction is to start laying into him about how he's destroying the abode that we happen to need to sell in the not-so-distant future and how that needs to stop before I'm forced to remove a potential line of future posterity for my family name.

In the midst of the yelling match that ensused neither I, nor my son, listened to a word the other was saying... except the cutting ones I heard about my son wanting to move out becuase I didn't give a crap about him and didn't care to listen to what he had to say.

Little did I know that he'd been bonked on the head by the ladder up to the bunk he sleeps on and was having a reactionary episode in light of that fact. I told my son I wasn't about to listen to him until he calmed down. My lovely, beautiful, nurturing, much more intelligent than I and wonderful wife had entered the scene by this time.

Despite her asking me to mellow out with him, I angrily then left the room to say goodbyes to my friend so I could focus on remedying the screamfest that my wife was now enjoying at several decibels above that of a jet engine. I have to imagine my neighbors were enjoying it too.

After my friend left, I calmly went down into my son's room - where he still esteemed me as his enemy. My wife must have said some special prayers, because my whole demeanor changed as I took a deep breath, climbed up on the bunk and laid down beside my son; and started to talk in a calm voice to him.

It's amazing how much more can be accomplished when both parties involved in the discussion are calm. And it's amazing how much love and forgiveness a child and parent can feel for each other during the calm after the storm.

I think the Gospel of Jesus Christ puts it best:
Doctrine and Covenants: Section 121 - Verse 43
"40 Hence many are called, but afew are chosen.
41 No power or influence can or ought to be maintained by virtue of the priesthood, only by persuasion, by long-suffering, by gentleness and meekness, and by love unfeigned;
42 By kindness, and pure knowledge, which shall greatly enlarge the soul without hypocrisy, and without guile—
43 Reproving betimes with sharpness, when moved upon by the Holy Ghost; and then showing forth afterwards an increase of love toward him whom thou hast reproved, lest he esteem thee to be his enemy;
44 That he may know that thy faithfulness is stronger than the cords of death."

I wasn't moved upon by the Holy Ghost to reprove with sharpness - but I did reprove with sharpness... too much sharpness.

Luckily, like I forgave my son, the Lord will forgive me as I repent for yelling at my son and not taking the time to listen to and address his concerns the right way.

Thankfully, my son decided he doesn't want to move out after all, and that I'm still his bud... we had a wonderful chat about multiplication tables and other cool things he's doing at school. I even got to teach him the cool trick with the number 11 when multiplying by 10, 11 or 12.

It's those moments that make parenting worth it... when I can learn a lesson, my son learns a lesson and it's taught in the spirit of love, not anger. I'm just grateful my Heavenly Father is wiser than I and doesn't smite me everytime I make a dumb mistake... cause I make a lot of 'em...

And I'm grateful He has given us manuals to help us in our quest to become better parents to our wonderful children.

It seems children are here more to teach us than we are to teach them at times... God bless the children.