Bring Him Home

Last post by parents on a missionary blog. So much to say, so much we are feeling. The anticipation is great, so great. In a sacred experience when I blessed and released Lynda's father when he was in the hospital the veil was lifted and there I saw with spiritual eyes his parents, siblings, in-laws and so many others that eagerly awaited his arrival into the Spirit World. At the time the emotion and expression extended was as much as we await the arrival of a newborn baby, they anticipate and await with the same excitement the arrival of a loved one who leaves mortality to enter the Spirit World. I knew then that there would never be anything to be afraid of when it comes to dying, because as the Savior showed, it is not an end, simply a step or "graduation" as Lynda's mother always called it. I had a similar experience with Lynda's mother also as did Lynda who stayed with her the night before she passed. So as Nathan approaches the end of his two year mission, it is truly and simply just a graduation. Now he gets to apply all those lessons, all his spiritual growth to committing his life to serving those who are less fortunate then he; who are in need of comfort, love, service and strengthening. He will find he will have to balance things now, between a job, school, church callings, service opportunities and life in general but the key will be he has to apply and continue to serve to continue to grow. That will be the test he faces after this "graduation."

Now there is another expression. Never in my life have we so eagerly awaited a reunion. We would never have wanted Nathan to be anywhere other then where he has been for the last two years, but sending a child away for two years knowing the growth that will occur in them in so many ways confirmed to me what our Father must go through when we leave the pre-earth life and come to earth. Now our anticipation is just another parallel of what happens in the Spirit World when we leave mortality and arrive "home."  Our reunion at the airport, a parallel to the reunion in the world of Spirits when we "graduate" from life here on Earth.

Now for us, Nathan's mission has flown by. It feels like he truly has only been gone for a year but it is two years.  It shows to us and we hope to Nathan how quick time in mortality goes by and that we must focus ourselves on those things that truly matter, not on the sham and things that are trivial.

So though we are so grateful for Nathan's mission and the spiritual and personal growth he has experienced, and to be truthful that we have experienced at home, for he has made us grow and challenge ourselves to do more spiritually, we now look forward to having Nathan back in our world somewhat. We know he continues to move on with school, work and church, but it will be wonderful to associate in person again.

So a song to end it all, not a hymn, but one we hope conveys how we feel about Nathan.  It says what we hope for, what we wish for, what we want for Nathan. It is our prayer that as Nathan returns home, our Father may

"Bring him peace, bring him joy, let him rest," most of all Father, Bring Him Home.


God on high
Hear my prayer
In my need
You have always been there
He is young
He's afraid
Let him rest
Heaven blessed.
Bring him home
Bring him home
Bring him home.
He's like the son I might have known
If God had granted me a son.
The summers die
One by one
How soon they fly
On and on
And I am old
And will be gone.
Bring him peace
Bring him joy
He is young
He is only a boy
You can take
You can give
Let him be
Let him live
If I die, let me die
Let him live
Bring him home
Bring him home
Bring him home.

Open House Sunday, March 8th, 2015

Just a short post on this. It is on Nathan's and mine Facebook.  We will be having an Open House at our home, 5877 W. Vogue Ct. Herriman, UT 84096 after our church meetings on Sunday, March 8th from 12:15p.m. until people stop coming by. If you want to welcome Nathan back home feel free to come by after 12:15p.m. We'll have food of course until it runs out . . . .

Again, Nathan will be reporting his mission in sacrament meeting on Sunday, March 8th at 9:00a.m. at our ward building. Here is that information for location if you wish to attend and hear his homecoming/talk.

12682 S Starlite Hills Lane
HERRIMAN, UTAH 84096
UNITED STATES
We are the Pioneer 4th Ward.

Reflections For Now . . .

This is not Anziano Nathan Eads' last post. It is his last post from Italy and his next post will come when he has returned home.

If your gone, well maybe you need to come home. There's an awful lot of breathing room, but I can hardly move . . .  (Mathbox Twenty)

Okay, so here's a slighlty more serious email. Bear with me, it might be a long one.

Well, I honestly don't know what to think or feel right now. I'm kinda in the middle of a lot of emotions right now, but at the same time, my thoughts have never actually be clearer. I'm at peace, and honestly, feeling a little wise right now.

I'm sad about leaving, but I feel like it is time for me to go. I've done a really good work here and I'm content with what has happened. Overall, it's been fantastic.

I've always have seen trials in my life, but I've realized that those trials that I've had, they haven't been because I've been a bad person, or because I'm being punished, but these trials have come for one overall purpose. That purpose has been change.

I talked about that in my dying testimony. I talked about how these trials are the things that change us, and they are the things that put us through the refinier's fire and move us closer to our Savior.

The trials we encounter in this life, and the ones I've encountered in my mission have been the things that have made me more like my Savior, and what permit all of us to learn, to grow, to become better, and to become comfortable in the prescence of God.

The things that happen help us to find out who we are and who we can become. I'm more of the person I always thought I was. I'm quiet, thoughtful, wise (which is a huge surprise), and honestly, in some ways, I see that I've become the person I've always wanted to be.

The mission has been great, it's been something I would change for the world. I'm happy.

Love you guys again!

See you next week!

NaNa

Weekly Email February 23rd, 2015

I've loved where I've been, yes I've loved where I've lived....by my heart's where I'm going.

So, I've decided to send two emails this week. One will be the normal weekly one, and the other will be kinda how I'm feeling at this moment in my life. However, I want it clear that I will write the final blog entry when I get home, most likely the next day. So if you want you can post the second email on the blog, but with the accompanying caption that it is not the last post.

Also because I wanna post another song, that I think Mom will love.

Secondly, Mom: STOP. TRYING. TO. DO. EVERYTHING. BY. YOURSELF!!!!! Wait until I get there so I can help, I'm gonna need stuff to do so that I can stay super busy!

Also, of course I would love your old bedroom set. It's a nice set up, so I think it would be perfect as well. I am perfectly happy with an iPhone 5s, in fact, that was the one I was planning on getting anyways. You read my mind Mom.

That's a lot of appointments....... I'm not honestly looking forward to all of that. I don't want to get looked at!!!!

Yeah, sorry about the lack of pictures. I lost some of them when Zito tried to copy some over at the internet point, so I swore I would never send pictures from an internet point again. I also thought, because I was so close to coming home, I could just show you them all when I get back.

Okay now for all the stuff that Dad wants to Know:

First: Well, that's the thing. I went to the bank to withdraw money, and it said my card wasn't qualified to international withdrawls. Could you talk to Granite about that and see? Either way, I'll be ready. I will definitely have less than 800 in customs. I don't buy a whole lot.

Second: A suit, shoes, two white shirts, my ties, and some other things.

Third: Sounds good.

Fourth: See above.

And now the "urgent questions".

1. I'd like it (open house) after the block. It'd be nice and easy, I wouldn't have to worry too much about things, and I could just relax with my friends.

2. Not really (outside of family anyone specific he wants at the airport).. I'm not super picky about whose there. I'm fine with meeting with the Stake President at that time, as long as I'm in bed by 10:30! (joke) [Nathan will meet with our Stake President to be released between 8:45pm and 9:00 pm or as soon as we get to the Stake Center after our airport reunion).   But seriously, I'm gonna be super tired. Let me sleep please!

I'm down for whatever food. I'll start eating the new diet quickly, need to get adjusted after all.

I don't wanna take a lot of time in writing today, just because I want to get some stuff done this day so that I can really focus on finishing this week, and in that sense, my mission by burning out as bright as I can.

So, this week honestly was a bit of a hard week, but that doesn't really matter at this point. Just a lot of things didn't work out as we wanted them to, and it was different.

Unfortunately, N has decided to not meet with us any more. We've tried calling him and getting appointments set up, but he never responds, or rejects the calls. We're not sure what has happened, but we're still praying for him to change and meet with us. Going to invite him to church this Sunday, so that at the very least, I can see him one last time.

Also, we had to reschedule with I to this week. Hopefully we can get a family home evening with her and her family this week, and keep things going good over on that end.

R is still a boss, and is doing amazing. He actually had an interview for another job this week, and it seems like things could go really well for that one, as it could mean he could have a better chance to come to church on Sundays. We've been praying for this to happen, and, like he always does, the Lord has answered a lot of prayers.

We also have a new investigator, E, who came from Rome 5. He's a great guy, and basically gave himself a baptismal invite. We taught him the Restoration this week, and we'll be teaching him the Plan of Salvation this week.

Overall, lots of miralces. This week is another full week, plenty of people to see, plenty of things to do, and with the Lord blessing us as He has, things will go fantastically.

Okay, next email coming up!

Love ya!

NaNa

Anziano Nathan Eads Homecoming

We confirmed that Anziano Nathan Eads will be giving his homecoming talk on Sunday, March 8th, 2015 at 9:00a.m. at our building. Our building's address is:

12682 S Starlite Hills Lane
HERRIMAN, UTAH 84096
UNITED STATES

We are the Pioneer 4th Ward.

Anziano Eads' 2 years in the Rome, Italy Mission

I made a video from some of the pictures that Nathan has sent us over his mission. Unfortunately not everyone is in it nor are all of his baptisms as those are on my other computer and not on the new one that I am now using.  I hope that after Nathan gets home he can edit this one or make his own with all of the pictures that he has.  I cannot embed it in the blog so I'll post the YouTube link. The hymn is Be Still My Soul because as an individual, and as part of our family, we testify that life is all about change, that change is the nature of both mortality and life and as such, we must place our hope, our faith, our love in our Father and in our Savior who provide an anchor, a rock as we navigate through life.

The challenge is not the changes that come, it is that we are still, and know in those times of change, that our Father is aware of us, knows us, knows our joys, our happiness, knows our afflictions, our trials, our sins and as such, prepared a way for us to overcome them, to endure them, and if nothing else, find meaning in that change. He will lift our burdens from our hearts if we let Him; key is IF we let Him. In the end, we are here, together, to lift each other, to comfort each other, to mourn when called upon to mourn together, to ease the burdens of each other, and to show what it means through our efforts to bless each others and be an example of the love of our Master.  The world is in need of love, less hate, less division, and more unconditional love.  In the end, it is our relationships with others that we truly believe matter, starting with our spouse, then our children, then family and from there, all of our Father's children.  A mission shows that, teaches that, hammers that lesson home and gives a foundation in which one can build upon for the rest of their lives. We know Nathan will do that, use that part of his life as a foundation to continue to build upon so he may bless the lives of others.

We thank President and Sister Waddoups for all that they have done for Anziano Eads, and for the wonderful pictures from both zone conferences and of Italy and the customs of the people of Italy. We give thanks to each of Nathan's companions for all that they have taught him, and hopefully for what he has shared with them. We are deeply appreciative to the LDS members of Italy, for their faith, love and support of Anziano Eads and for the people of Italy who have in anyway expressed their kindness and love towards him.  We know you have had a life long, no, eternal impact on our son and for that we are eternally grateful. We will continue to pray for you and the growth of the Church there long after Anziano Eads comes home.  Thank you!



Nathan Video 2 Years in Rome, Italy Mission

Email February 16th 2015 2nd to Last

What's up you guys?

So like always stuff from home right off the bat!

Believe me when I say I will probably make the adjustment back to normal life perfectly fine. I'm not super concerned, I can adapt really easily.  Dad nailed it when he said I've grown and matured, spiritually, and in every way.  I've had to change and adapt to change for two years and a missionary learns to do that well. Coming home means the area has changed, not all the lessons I've learned and how to apply them to life now. That will be the next challenge after the mission, to apply the spiritual lessons of two years to continue to grow for the rest of life through while navigating mortality. A mission and a mission in the Rome, Italy Mission is one of the best starts though!

Dang it! You got my song reference! I was hoping that it would be a new song. Poop!

Thanks for the info about the financial stuff. Yes, I'm buying a suit and some new shoes. So don't worry too much about it; I may buy some other things as well.

I'm super happy you guys enjoyed California! I can't believe I missed it by just two weeks, though! I'm a little sad about that, but hey there is always next year, so it should be okay. I've got plenty of time.

I'm glad the Valorie liked the car. It should be a great thing for her.That was really charitable to help her out by giving her the 2009 Altima.  Hopefully things get better for her. I'll keep her and Aiden in my thoughts and prayers. Thanks for taking care of the car I'll drive; I can't wait to start driving again.

I'm almost thinking about taking my original plan and go to SLCC and then transfer after I get my associate's. We'll see.

I was really thinking about going back to Iceberg, just because it seems like I can get my old job back easily enough, so it'd be a safe option. But I'll talk to Sister Fausett as well, just to see what I may need to do to get in.

This week was a great week for us. We were able to teach plenty of lessons to our investigators, and things went great!

We met with N this week, and we started reteaching him the lessons, as we both felt that would be a great idea. So we talked about the Restoration with him and we brought a surprise member with us. Anziano Zito came back for a day and he wanted to help with the work, so we brought him to the lesson with us. It was really good, and the spirit was fantastic! Great to see my former companion!

We also met with R this week, and we're rounding out the commandments with him. We talked about obedience this week, and he was d'accordo with all of that. We also talked about how the Lord always prepares a way to overcome our trials.

We also had a really good lesson with I, a friend of ADC's. She's (ADC) been an investigator for a while, and she been on and off. We talked about the differences that come into our lives when we accept the Gospel. We taught the lesson with our ward mission leader, and it was another super, powerful, spiritual lesson.

And that was all our appointments this week. This week is another full week, we have plenty of things to do, so it's gonna be fun!

Okay you guys, I love all of you! Talk to you for the potentially last time next week via email, then in person!

NaNa

Picture of Anziano Eads, Anziano Craig Jones (Nathan's companion) in the background with members eating Gelato.