The One-Year Anniversary of the Two-Week Quarantine in the great Michigan Lansing Mission

Dear Family and Friends,

Today marks the one-year anniversary of the two-week quarantine in the mission. The missionaries were told to go get a two-week supply of groceries and to stop all in-person contact. Remember when we hoped and thought the COVID crisis would last for a couple of weeks? Since then, it has been a journey for all. The journey for the missionaries has been complex. Some left countries and people they loved with little to no information about what was ahead. Some found out they would not be able to continue missionary service due to underlying health conditions that put them at greater risk. Some stayed put with instructions on what they could and could not do changing daily. Some struggled greatly with the isolation and the toll it takes on mental health. The blessings were there amid the struggles. Missionaries discovered how to do missionary work in ways either not done or underutilized prior to the pandemic, especially in learning to use technology and social media to reach out and connect with others. I can't imagine another group of young people more prepared for the challenge. It's been remarkable to be a part of it. When all is said and done, we believe that this generation of missionaries will be counted among the Lord's finest servants. If you know any full-time missionaries, go online and read their stories. Many of them are posting about their experiences and reflecting on the past year. I will share a few on Facebook.

We are so grateful that we are well past that lockdown point. Missionaries can get out. They can teach in person. We can have zone conferences, district councils, occasional district activities, and interviews in-person. They give service in their communities at non-profit organizations. We usually use a blend of in-person and technology to come together. Good things happening, and we trust more are ahead!

MAKING FRIENDS IN MICHIGAN

During a global pandemic, we see it has been harder for us as mission leaders to meet people than we might in more normal times. But after eight months, we are beginning to feel like we are settling into the Michigan Lansing Mission. Besides church leaders, families, and missionaries others we’ve enjoyed getting to know:

1. Everyone who works at the Lansing Capitol Region Airport

2. The owners and workers at several restaurants

3. A few local law enforcement officers, thanks to Elmer’s speeding. He got pulled over twice in one week for going 18 and 19 mph over the speed limit. Time for TiWi? He received two warnings, and his charmed life continues.

ROLE REVERSAL

When we were raising kids, I was usually the more strict parent, and Elmer enjoyed his stint as the fun dad. But we've experienced a role reversal here in the mission. When the missionaries want a yes, they will call me. Elmer is the heavy who gets to say no. It’s nice to be the fun mission leader!

MISSIONARY WHISPERERS

Some of the elders and sisters I feel most grateful for in our mission, I call "the missionary whisperers." They are all young, yet they have developed compassion, empathy, and understanding beyond their years. Some missionaries struggle to make the transition to missionary life, even if they want to be here. It's made it a little tougher without the in-person MTC experience as an interim transition experience between home and the mission. Others are on a journey to find out why they came to serve. If they can have as a companion one of these compassionate, faithful, purpose-driven missionaries, they most often catch the vision of why they are here and gain an enthusiasm for working hard and doing some good in the world. They better understand who Jesus Christ is and want to be nearer to Him and be more like Him. They change from one who turns inward to one who is able to turn outward.

Recently we had a zone conference where one of the young missionaries who spoke with profound insights was a missionary who could hardly look us in the eye when he got here. Thankfully, his first companion recognized who this elder truly was as a special, insightful human being capable of great things and accepted him just as he came, a natural introvert who would help many people in the mission. Both of these missionaries remind me of the many lighthouses here in Michigan. They light the way to show others the path to safety and peace through our Savior Jesus Christ. (Warning: I may include a Michigan lighthouse or two in every blog post going forward. I'm in love with them.)

Frankfort North Pierhead Lighthouse * photo credit @mollypate2

Big Sable Point Lighthouse * photo credit: @_sovereign_photography_

There are missionaries who struggle with mental health issues - mainly depression and anxiety, which is made more difficult during the loneliness of this global pandemic. One thing I would say to parents, youth leaders, and priesthood leaders of young men and young women preparing to serve missions is that they must get to know these young people much better. They need to be close enough to them so that they can say as Dr. Seuss wrote, “Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don’t matter and those who matter don’t mind.” We can all have the honest conversations that need to happen when they need to happen, but it is better if those conversations can happen before they come out to serve.

EXCITING FAMILY NEWS

Yesterday, our ninth grandchild was born - a baby girl for Lizzy and Tyler. Her name is Maeve Elizabeth Heap, and Lizzy and the baby are doing well. The vital stats are: 6 pounds 13 ounces, 19.5 inches, lots of hair that is pretty light. Keep scrolling down for photos. We couldn't get through zone conference fast enough yesterday for me because I needed to stare at my phone waiting for the news! During the past year, we have been blessed with four grandchildren. We recognize that this year has been one of loss and heartache, but we also see the blessings in how the Lord is mindful of us and still gives us good things in our lives.

I have been trying to recognize more where God has put people in my life so we can help each other, and I invite you to do the same. Elder Neal A. Maxwell said, "Within each of our circles of friendship there lie so many unused opportunities to love, to serve, and to be taught. Indeed, one could apply the scriptural phrase about there being "enough and to spare" (Doctrine & Covenants 104:17). None of us ever fully utilizes the people-opportunities allocated to us within our circles of friendship. You and I may call these intersectings "coincidence." This word is understandable for mortals to use, but coincidence is not an appropriate word to describe the workings of an omniscient God. He does not do things by "coincidence" but instead by "divine design."

We try to stay out of trouble and put plenty of miles on the car. Last week we drove from Lansing to Grand Rapids to Lansing to Kalamazoo to Petoskey to Cheboygan to Kalkaska to Petoskey to Harbor Springs to Petoskey to Houghton Lake to Lansing. Elmer seems to know where we are going. I still mainly rely on GPS.

Other mission happenings include saying goodbye to 11 wonderful missionaries as they finish their service, welcoming nine new missionaries, mini-transfers within each transfer as missionaries go to their original assignments in Brazil, England, and Mexico, speaking in stake conference to about 15 people (and we assume many others on Zoom - where to look is always a problem), and loving all the time we get to be together.

We love you all and are thankful you are part of our lives.

Elmer & Amy

After church in Midland where we heard Sister Elmer play the cello on her last MLM Sunday

With my cousin, Sister Pulsipher

Top Row: The Assistants, Elder Burnside and Elder Bennion with departing missionaries Elder Caldwell, Hermana Lee, Hermana Loosle, us, Zuster Elmer, Sister Duffin, Sister Waite, Sister Mangum, Sister Hogge, and Sister Hart. Kneeling: Elder Pepa and Elder Miller

And they are off!

President Heap and the Three Amigos - I mean Assistants:

Elder Pepa (last day), Elder Bennion, and Elder Burnside

With Sister Hogge before she departs the mission

Sister Duffin and Sister Elmer ready to brave the very strict Lansing Airport TSA

Sister Mangum and Elder Caldwell bid farewell to the MLM

President Gentile came to say goodbye to Sister Waite and Elder Miller who had a delay and Sister Waite barely made her Chicago connection to Southern California

Our new missionaries! Elders Green, Reynolds, Gubler, Chytraus, Gotcher, Elliott, Simmons, and Sisters Nance and Mosher

Elder Sorensen spent time with his zone leaders Elder Power and Elder Graham while waiting for his new missionary to arrive.

Elder Millward, Elder Simmons, and Elder Bess of Petoskey

Elder Bonsignore and Elder Reynolds of Mt. Pleasant

Sister Daniels and Sister Nance of St. Joseph

Sister Brown and Sister Mosher of Bay City

First thing they said simultaneously upon meeting? "I LOVE your hair!"

Elder Gubler and Elder Sorensen of Meridian

Elder Johnson and Elder Green of Grand Rapids

Elder Gotcher and Elder Spencer of Grayling

Elder Elliott and Elder Corry of Saginaw

Elder Chytraus and Elder Diaz Acevedo of Grand Valley

Sending Elder Rasband back to Brazil - second attempt did the trick!

Sunday in Grand Rapids with Elders Neerings, Iverson, Green, Johnson, Clare, and Clark

After four visa applications and three travel dates, Sister Reynolds got off to her original assignment in the England Birmingham Mission.

The Assistants see Elder Egli off to the Mexico Puelba South Mission on their preparation day

We send missionaries back to their original assignments with mixed emotions. We'd like to keep them all but want them to serve wherever the Lord needs them.

Grand Rapids Zone Conference

Kalamazoo Zone Conference

Selfies for Sister Heap

A baptism in Kalkaska

With the Cadillac missionaries - Sisters Olson, Johnson, and Crawford

Kalkaska missionaries - Sisters Klusman and Gill - and me

In front of one of the best Zoom backgrounds in the mission located in Petoskey with Elders Bess, Millward, and Simmons

More Petoskey missionaries - Elder Findlay and Elder Ibarra

Doing a Michigan thing (we think) - Michigan charges a 10-cent deposit on every can and bottle but gives it back if you recycle. It took us a long time to gather all these cans for $4, so this may only be an annual event for us.

Lansing and Jackson Zone Conference

With Sister Srianan and Sister Reading who serve in our "home" ward (we've been there once in almost 9 months), but the Meridian Ward is awesome and just got a new bishop!

President Heap and the sisters who serve in Jackson, Jonesville, Meridian, and Holt - Sisters Seng, Hawea, Rigby, Kershaw, Reading, Srianan, Kurtz, and Sunkees