Doing the Extraordinary

The Blau crew hanging out with President and Sister Colson. We love them!

We made the most wonderful visit last night. You know, Herman is gone a lot performing service as a stake president ... a lot more than I expected. No complaints though. We receive so many hidden (and not-so-hidden) blessings because of the sacrifice that I wouldn't trade it for anything. Still, it is super nice when we get the chance to travel with him as he does visits throughout the stake. Yesterday Herman knew that he needed to take a quick trip over to Salem to visit with a senior missionary couple who are serving there and are having some health concerns. At the last minute he decided that the whole family should jump in the car and come along, so we did.

And it was an amazing experience!

The Colsons are from southern Utah. They are great-grandparents, and they love missionary work. They love people. They had already served a senior mission together in Indiana, and after returning home they had settled in to their lives and thought that that would be the end of their missionary service. Sister Colson was dealing with some pretty difficult health issues, and they just didn't think that another mission would be possible for them. But one day they were sitting in a church meeting when someone from their stake mentioned that he had a friend who was serving as a mission president for the Oklahoma Tulsa Mission (that's our mission!), and he said that he really, REALLY had a need for senior missionary couples to come and serve here. That mission president was/is our current mission president, President Shumway. Well, apparently when they heard this both of the Colsons just had a powerful experience that let them know that they were the couple that was supposed to come here. They had health concerns. They weren't sure how they could do it. They just knew they were supposed to come.

So they did.

I'm not exactly sure how this happened. Herman would know all the particulars about the events leading to their call to serve in the Salem Branch. I just know that Herman told President Shumway that he needed a senior missionary couple to help build up this branch, both in numbers of attendees and also spiritually. President Shumway sent the Colsons, and Elder Colson became the branch president. They also called two amazing young missionary elders to serve in the branch presidency and as executive secretary. Herman gave them the charge to build. Build. Build. Build. 

So they did.

You know, branches in the Church are so interesting to me. For those who don't know, generally the congregations are organized into wards which are led by bishoprics. But for areas where there are fewer members congregations are organized into branches which are led by branch presidents. Same basic structure ... just smaller. Because of the smaller numbers EVERYONE is put to work helping out in some way. Technically that is the way that wards work as well, but in branches it just seems so much more important that everyone pitch in. It may not be this way everywhere, but I have found that there is such an amazing feeling of welcoming and fellowship in these smaller branches. They are just soooooo happy to see you there. There are people that thrive in smaller branches that might be overlooked, unfortunately, in larger wards. Branches can be good for people. But they can be difficult too if too many people start getting offended with one another and form divisions. There can be some well meaning people who don't have a firm grasp on basic gospel truths that might teach false doctrine as truth (although that can happen anywhere). I love the feelings I have as I visit branches because I feel like you can find the purity of what it means to be doing your best to come to Christ, whoever you are, whatever your history. The Lord doesn't expect perfection in us. He just wants us to come to Him, wherever we are in life.

So, back to our story ... The Colsons have been serving in Salem, and the branch is just thriving. It is amazing to hear about the work that is being done there. People are being baptized. People are returning to fellowship and activity. Old wounds are being healed. New life is being infused into the branch. I wish that I could share some of the stories they shared with us, but so many of them felt a bit too sacred to share on a blog like this. Amazing stories. As we sat and talked with the Colsons last night they told us of miracle after miracle that they have seen as they have visited with people in the area. They are making a difference.

But here is the meat of why I wanted to write this post. As a stake camp director one of my biggest fears is that someone will have some sort of catastrophic injury during camp and that it will be because of some stupid lack of planning on my part ... it will have been my fault. That's my fear. So far it hasn't happened, thank goodness. But there was a big accident this year. I just didn't know about it. One evening during camp we have an opportunity for the bishops and branch presidents come to camp to spend the evening with their girls. They can take the time to do whatever they'd like. I guess that the Colsons had brought a giant beach ball with them, and they planned on just batting it around with the girls. It seems as if Sister Colson went all out in her play and ended up falling backward and landing flat on her back. It hurt that night, and the pain never really got better. After getting checked out she found that she had fractured a vertebrae in her back. Ouch! 

A broken back seems like it would be an automatic reason to cut your mission short and return home to recuperate, wouldn't it? That's what we expected when we arrived at the Colsons's apartment to check on them. Surprisingly, Sister Colson was up and standing to greet us at the door. She told us that she is doing pretty good. Standing isn't a problem. Sitting for too long is. She really needs to recline to be most comfortable. She was wearing a special brace that kept her back straight, but she said she wasn't in horrible pain as long as she kept herself in a good position. She smiled the entire visit, and it didn't look like one of those fake smiles that you paste on when you want to make others think that you are okay when you are not really okay. Her smile seemed genuine. 

As Herman talked with the Colsons about what options were available to them they consistently said that they would be staying. They both said that there is still work for them to do. Sister Colson feels like she can still make a difference in the area, even while she is in a little pain. She said that it would be too hard to travel home anyway in her condition, so she might as well help here. As they talked about their work in Salem you could just feel the immense love they have for the people of Salem ... everyone. They didn't judge anyone harshly. All they wanted was to find a way to give everyone the opportunity to come unto Christ. That's all. Sister Colson repeatedly said that there is still work that they are meant to complete here. They want to finish all they are supposed to do.

I was amazed as I heard them speak. They are at a time in their lives when the could take it easy, but they aren't. They are out trying to make a little difference in the world. As we left their apartment I turned to Herman and said, "When we go on missions when we are older I want to be just like them." And I do. They just radiate love and kindness. We went to visit the Salem branch a month or so ago, and Savannah and Katie went to Young Women while there. There were no other YW there that week, and the YW president was gone as well, so Sister Colson volunteered to teach the class for them. When they got out of class Savannah was GUSHING. She fell in love with Sister Colson that day and couldn't stop talking about how wonderful she was. Savannah is not a gusher. She does not sit around and talk about how much she loves people. But here she was gushing about her love for Sister Colson. When the Colsons arrived at camp Sister Colson saw Savannah and broke out into this huge smile, telling her how happy she was to see her. Love. So much love. I'm not sure that I can ever be that sort of person, but I'd sure like to strive to be more like that. 

I am constantly amazed in my life with the rather ordinary people around me who are doing rather extraordinary things to make the world a better place. There aren't going to be newspaper articles or books written about the Colsons. Their names aren't going to be recognized around the world. But in this little pocket of Missouri these two angels are quietly going about, doing the work of our Father in Heaven, shaping lives and showing love, giving hope to those around them. People are better because of the Colsons. I want to be like them.

As we were leaving Sister Colson pulled me aside to tell me about the book she was reading. It is Look Up My Soul: The Divine Promise of Hope by Gerald N. Lund. She shared a part of the book blurb on the back of the book. It said:

Hope is more than just a wish that things will get better; it is a power that makes things better. It is a spiritual gift from God, and with His help, we can make hope a vital and vibrant part of our everyday life and of our eternal spiritual survival.

She loved that quote and showed me all of the many spots in the book that she had bookmarked. As she shared it with me I thought of all the work she and her husband are doing in Salem, and I thought that she is a living example of someone who is accessing the power of hope. She is bringing that power to all the people she encounters in Salem. She is doing the extraordinary.

Have I mentioned that I want to be like her?