The Moment

Could this be the very first Blau missionary
of this generation? I think so ... I KNOW so!

I have so many thoughts that I want to record about the events of this past weekend, but I just got home after a marathon 24 hour drive back from Utah. I'm exhausted. My feet are horribly swollen (they are not big fans of the mega-car trips). Plus I have a lot to do to catch up because of the time I've been gone. But I feel as if I absolutely need to write down this event before I do anything else.

Because it is life changing. For all of us. I want to always remember this moment in time, so I'm putting off  my recovery so that I can say the things in my heart.

Last weekend was the October General Conference of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. I love Conference! Conference weekend is always an event weekend for the Blau family. It is a big deal. It always has been. Herman and I love it! Every one of the Blau kids love it ... even the little ones! It is a time when we can recalibrate our spiritual selves, hearing counsel from the Lord's anointed servants, counsel that makes a difference in our lives today!

We take each of our kids out to Conference when they turn twelve so that they can get a good picture of what the Church looks like outside our little pocket of Missouri. It is a big deal. We fly out and the kids get one on one time with Mom and Dad as we explore the Utah valley and attend Conference. Well, this year Laney wanted a chance to attend Conference so that she could also check out the two BYU schools in Utah and Idaho, trying to decide which school to attend. I decided to come out with her and make it a Mother/Daughter trip. Lots of fun/interesting times, but for this post I just want to talk about the Saturday morning session of Conference and the historic announcement that is going to change some Blau lives.

We didn't have tickets to the Saturday morning session of Conference, but we thought that we had a decent chance of getting in through the standby line since Saturday morning is always lightly attended compared to other sessions. Looking back, I think I should have noticed that something was up because the Conference Center was packed. No one in the standby line was able to get in, and I've never heard of that happening on a Saturday before. I wonder if maybe somebody leaked that something big was going down that day. Who knows? Anyway, they have a new standby procedure that makes way more sense than what they had done in years past. Now they take everyone in line and sit them inside the Tabernacle to wait until seats are available. If none come up then we can just sit and watch the broadcast from the Tabernacle. It is still really cool to see it from there because of all of the history of that building and General Conference. The seats are a little uncomfortable, but I wasn't complaining. It was awesome to be there with 3000 other people watching together.

When President Monson got up and mentioned how every seat in the Conference Center was filled the entire group of us in the Tabernacle groaned because we knew that we had no chance to get in there through standby. But all was well! We just sat back and prepared to enjoy the session from the warmth of the Tabernacle. And what an amazing session it was!

As soon as President Monson began talking about the age of Elders who serve their missions I knew he was getting ready to announce a change for the young men who serve. I grabbed Laney's knee and whispered, "Get ready. Something big is getting ready to happen." And it was big. Up to this time young men have to be at least nineteen in order to serve a mission. Now the Church has announced that young men can serve when they are eighteen after they have graduated from high school. So exciting! I thought of Spencer and what this would mean for him. That means he will be leaving on a mission in a little more than four years. Four years! That seems so incredibly short to me. He is still so squirrelly (and I mean that with nothing but love). But it is wonderful to think that he can begin to serve the Lord right off the bat once he finishes school. He won't have to deal with any limbo as he waits around for his birthday that year. And for Spencer (and lots of other young men) that will be a great thing! I thought immediately of a few young men in our area that can receive great benefit from this new rule. I had no doubt that this was inspired.

But President Monson was not finished. He went on to explain that instead of 21, now sisters could leave to serve their missions when they are 19 if they wish. That was huge! Especially for the young woman sitting right next to me. Young women are not required to serve missions, but it is an option for them if they desire. Laney has been thinking a lot about her future in the past few months. I know that she has been wondering if she will serve a mission or not. I know that she wanted to, but the uncertainty of what life would bring for her at the age of 21 made it difficult to plan. We have always just told Laney to have it in her mind that she would be going on a mission. She should prepare for that no matter what. If she gets married instead, then that is okay. But if she doesn't get married then that is okay as well. She is ready either way. There is never any harm in being prepared for a mission, even if she never goes. What we have always wanted to prevent was Laney becoming one of those girls who heads to college, only interested in "Husband Hunting." You know who those girls are ... and for a bit we were worried that Laney would be that way because she understood the importance of marriage and family and was intent on being the best wife/mother that she could be. Nothing wrong with that. What is wrong is putting aside any personal growth at all through quality education and righteous studies simply so you can mold yourself into something that you aren't, just to catch a guy. We did not want this to happen. So we really talked to Laney about getting herself ready for a mission. That way she wouldn't end up in the middle of the college meat market game that is ridiculous in so many areas. Instead she would be preparing herself to be the best person she could be, ready for whatever Heavenly Father has prepared for her.

And Laney is ready. She could start a mission today. She is smart and courageous. Her testimony is stellar. She is willing to serve everyone. She knows how to make her bed, boil water, and iron a shirt. She is ready.

But she was going to have to wait until she turned 21. She would attend college, keep working and growing, and if circumstances allowed, she would go on a mission. I know that she would be thrilled to do that beyond measure, but who knows what life will bring in the next three and a half years? I have the feeling that Laney needed a bit more certainty as she made her life plan. ... and President Monson just gave it to her. This announcement changes everything for her. Now it is not a question about whether she will go or not. She is going. Where she has been concerned about making college plans for next year, now she is concerned about getting ready for her mission. Don't worry. She will still be going to college. It will just happen after her mission. (and by the way, I think she figured out where that college will be thanks to President Eyring. I'll say more on that in the next post.)

It was absolutely amazing to be in the Tabernacle to hear this announcement with 3000 other people. There was an audible gasp as the announcement was made. Then chatter. We were all on fire with enthusiasm. At first Laney just stared at me with her mouth open. Then she turned to the girl sitting next to her, hoping to share her enthusiasm. Unfortunately Laney seemed to have sat next to the one girl in the place who was unimpressed with the news. Bummer! I have to say that I had felt VERY impressed that Laney needed to attend Conference today with a friend. I wasn't impressed that it had to be anyone in particular. Just someone in addition to me who was closer to her age. Originally I thought that it was probably just because I thought it would be great for her to see some of her friends from EFY while she was in the Salt Lake area. We had it worked out for one of her friends from EFY to be there for this session, but when we got up early that day we found a text saying that it wouldn't be until the afternoon session. No big deal. But as I sat in the hotel room I felt an overwhelming prompting to get someone else to come this morning with Laney. She has several friends who live in the area, but seriously, was I going to call someone up out of the blue at 5:30 in the morning and say that we needed them to meet us by 7 am for Conference? I have to confess ... I ignored the prompting.

Well, as I sat with Laney in the Tabernacle I could see that she was bursting with the need to talk to someone else who was affected by this announcement. Someone else who would be riding on a wave of spiritual enthusiasm that would not abate. I gave her a giant hug and rubbed her back as the tears ran down her face. Why do I never remember to bring tissues to things like this????  But as much as I was there to experience this with her, she just needed someone to (reverently ... and figuratively) jump in the aisles with her after this announcement. She was able to do this a little bit by texting her friend, so all was not lost. The jumping in the aisles would have to wait for a bit. But I have to say that I was sooooo grateful to be with Laney during this announcement, to see the pure radiant JOY on her face as she really saw the doors open on her future, giving her the option that she had desired so much. I will never, ever forget the look on her face when she found out that she could serve a mission in only fourteen months. It was like she received the very best gift ever. The windows of heaven seemed to open straight to her heart. Amazing.

And now things change for Team Blau. Laney will need to prepare to serve a mission beginning next December. And then, because of the new rule it looks as if we will have a non-stop line of Blau missionaries for the next fifteen years. It kind of scares me a bit to think about getting ready for that. I thought I had a bit more time. But the time is now, and although it is a bit daunting to think about getting everyone prepared to serve, I know that it will be important and worth it. Herman still has people who he baptized in Brazil more than twenty years ago write him to tell him how much they love him and what he brought to them. I think of my AMAZING, wonderful, righteous, fun, smart, kind, PERFECT missionaries, Sister Gomm and Sister Heckmann, and I love them so much for what they taught me. They made a difference in my life that is ETERNAL, and I have no doubt that I will have the opportunity to greet them in heaven with open arms and tears in my eyes offered in gratitude for the service they offered so many years ago. Now my children can have the same opportunity to make an eternal difference in the life of someone else. How could I not support them and sustain them as they make this choice in their life?

We attended the Sunday morning session in the Tabernacle as well, and for the intermediate hymn we all stood and sang "Called to Serve." Standing in that room with so many people as they sang this song was incredible. It was a powerful experience for me to hear all of these voices raised, singing this missionary anthem. I couldn't help but think of each of my children singing this song as missionaries with power and enthusiasm. I know that this change was inspired. It is going to change the dynamics of missionary service throughout the world. It is going to change the lives of so many young men and women for good. I can't help but wonder what amazing blessings are in store for the world because of this change. But this I do know ... Team Blau is all in. We are missionaries. We will serve whenever and wherever we are called to serve. Bring it on! We're ready!