A favorite post from Sister Turk's Blog

Mommy, Do I Have to Serve A Mission?

Every mother that has ever read this book has wept.

I will never forget thinking about my own son leaving on a mission.

I thought... "How can I not see his face for two years"

It about rips your heart out.

But I think that the hardest part for a mother is really knowing

that it is the end of their boyhood.

Your son... will turn into a man while he is serving his mission.

They come home all grown up with unbelievable

 talents and attributes and knowledge

that they did not have before.

They have experienced things that they will never 

be able to put into words.

Being on this side of the mission

is a very sacred experience for me.

I am involved with them while they 

are feeling things that are unspeakable.

I watch them dig deep to see what they are really made of

and to find out who they really are.

It's like watching a movie in fast motion

as they mature right before your very eyes.

Nothing on the face of the earth can replace a mission.

To serve the Lord full time, for two years

is the most gratifying, educating, sacred experience 

one can have.

At the end of this book... "Mommy, do I have to serve a mission"

the little boy grows up and leaves home and serves a mission

and then at the end of his mission...

He writes home and says

"Mom, do I have to come home... these people need me"

I am crying just typing this.

I understand more than ever how a great missionary feels

at the end of his mission.

It is very difficult to leave after having 

experiences that have changed your heart for the better

and have helped changed peoples lives forever.

President Turk and I have shed many tears as there have been a few 

missionaries that have chosen to leave early.

They don't know what they are missing.

That regret will be with them forever.

But more importantly 

they are missing out on learning things 

that could change the course of their life

and their eternity.