David's Mission

It was January, 18 years ago, that we received the sad news.  During a routine ultrasound we learned that our second child, a son, would not live once he was born.  Due to both of his kidney's being filled with cysts, his little body was not compatible with life outside the womb.  That is devastating news for a parent to hear.  In that very moment you grieve the life that you have already lost, the life you thought you would have had with this precious child.

That grieving continues, not just after the initial incident passes, but at various moments over the years.  Milestone events that should have been joyous moments, such as the first day of school, become times of reflections and times of pulled heartstrings.  In our religion there are many milestone moments that we celebrate: the choice to be baptized; entering into the youth program, and receiving the priesthood for boys; and, as a young adult, the choice to fulfill a full time mission, to name a few.

That final example is the milestone facing us this year.  David would have been 18 years old this coming May.  At 18 years for boys, and 19 years for girls, our young people have the opportunity to put their world on hold and serve the Lord for a time.  Why do they do this?  It is not to gain numbers in our congregations, it is not to inform others that their religious choices are 'wrong', and it's not to make their resumes look good.  Our members love the Lord with all their hearts.  They know the Savior, and they know the joy that knowledge has brought them. It is all about LOVE.  Our young people choose to sacrifice those few years of their life by taking that message of love to others, in the hopes that others might come to know the Savior personally as well, that they might find the joy and peace that we feel in our lives when we have the Savior in our hearts.

Not long after David's short stay on earth, I knew I wanted to honor this future milestone for him in some way.  Now that this time has arrived for us, I want to introduce to you our family's plan. David is still very much a part of our family and very near to us often. He is currently fulfilling a mission for the Lord, just in a different way than we would have imagined. He is bringing hearts to the Savior in his own way and we want to honor David's mission on the other side by fulfilling the mission for him here that he would have served had he lived.  We could not think of a better way to honor David than to serve and love God's children.  We invite you to join us on this mission, a mission to bring hearts to the Savior.  It is our hope that this influence to spread across the world.

Each month, for the next year, we will be picking a theme of service.  Along with that theme, we will choose one larger scale service activity to do.  For example, the theme for one month could be "Serve the Homeless", with an activity being the making and serving of lunch to the homeless one afternoon.  But that is not all.  Throughout that month we would turn our hearts to serving that group in other ways we see needed, such as stopping to talk to someone in that situation, looking them in the eyes and really paying attention to them, and offering them love.

It's hard to express in words the vision of this and the feelings of the heart that lead us here. What I do know it that I hope this influence to be more than just our family; I hope it spreads, much that way the Church's Light the World initiative does. Our 'mission' will be year long, and will hopefully change lives in the same way. We invite anyone who would like to join to take note of the following things:

1.  You don't have to participate every month and in every activity.  Choose ones that speak to you. Remember, even one small thing can make a big difference.
2.  Use the hashtag #davidsmission to share this mission with others.
3.  Please share your ideas for themes and services that you see a need for in your area, so that we might prayerfully consider the best ideas for this coming year.
4.  Each month, a facebook event will be created that you can choose to participate in.
5.  Spread the news!  Please share this post on your social media accounts.  Invite others to follow our family and to spread Christ's love, for that is ultimately the reason behind David's mission.