I really think I have the coolest family in the world.
On Sunday, my dad was reading us some family history from his side of the family and reading us stories of our ancestors that had crossed the plains with the pioneers.
All I could think about was how cool it was hearing about these people, hearing what their hobbies were, how they met their spouse, challenges they faced while crossing the plains, etc.
It really left an impression on me about how important family history is, and if someone hadn't written down those stories, they would have been forgotten over time.
After thinking deeply about that, a special memory that I shared with my Great Grandma, Nana Fisher, came to mind.
My Nana (my moms mom) immigrated to the US when she was 19 with her sister after serving an LDS mission in Scotland. She was converted to the church when she was younger and her dad was the only one in the family to not be baptized.
Because of the missionaries that converted my Nana and her family, I was born with the gospel in my life since day one.
I am so so so lucky!
She met my poppa at a stake dance and the rest is history.
My Great Grandma, Nana Fisher immigrated here with her husband in 1972, 9 years after my Nana had moved here.
She has always lived her life faithful in the gospel and is the most selfless person I have ever met.
She dresses up every Sunday in her church clothes even if she is sick and can't go to church because her mother always taught her to put her best clothes on for the Lord.
She is so stubborn and still does yard work... at 96 years old!
About 3 or 4 months ago, I took my Nana Fisher out for dinner just to get her out of the house.
I think we stopped about 5 times, just going in to the restaurant so she could talk to people who looked like they were down.
After dinner, I took her grocery shopping to pick up a few items.
We ended up being in the store about an hour because she had to take scenic routes to smile at the workers who, "never get the attention and appreciation they deserve."
When I took her home and walked her in, we were sitting and talking.
She gets up and takes me over to a picture frame hanging on her wall.
She begins to tell me a story about how her bishop had talked to her about serving a mission years ago.
She had some sort of illness at the time that gave her sores on her face and she said, "look at me, I can't serve a mission looking like this."
Her bishop then says, "If I were to give you enough money for you and a friend to go around the world on a trip, would you go?"
She said "I wouldn't want to go around the world, I would want to go to the Holy Land. I have always wanted to see where the saviors been."
After talking back and forth about the idea of her serving, he asked her to come back to him when she was ready.
Not long after this conversation, she went to visit her daughter Myra in Kentucky.
My Nana's husband had passed away a few years prior and so she went alone to visit her.
While she was there, Myra had a hair appt. and my Nana Fisher didn't want to go in, so she just stood outside the salon and walked around in a small grove with lots of trees.
It was mid November, so the leaves had all fallen on the ground.
She was walking around and kicking up the leaves when she kicked something that had appeared to be white among all the brown leaves.
It was some sort of sewing project and the white that stood out so much from the leaves was a white cloth.
She picked it up and cleaned it off as best as she could, and read the words that were stitched in the fabric.
"the Lord saying,
whom shall I send,
and who will go for us?
Then said I,
Here I am, send me,"
Isaiah 6:8
She said she stood their crying holding it because she knew that she was meant to serve a mission and she had received her answer from the Lord.
How cool is that?
She has it now framed and hanging on her wall.
I cried when she told me this story.
I am such a baby when it comes to missionary work!
I am so grateful that I have such faithful women in my life to look up to, and that I get to tell my kids about these women one day.
Make time for the people you have in your life, and listen to their stories!
It is such a blessing.
