Last night, Halloween evening–while we were watching “Charlie Brown’s The Great Pumpkin,” the phone rang in the kitchen. Nate, my son-in-law answered it, then gave the phone to me saying, “It’s somebody who knows Rhen.” You know him as The Bald Kid.
I said, “Hello?” and the voice on the other end said, “Hello? Is this Launi Anderson? This is Cheryl Esplin, from the General Primary Presidency.”
Insert big, huge gasp here.
For those of you not of my faith, I’ll tell you–this is a big deal. Big, like if you were of the Catholic faith, there would be the Pope, then whoever is in charge of the ladies organization, and then whoever is in charge of the children’s organization–well, it would be one of them…calling me.
I sputtered something like, “Hello, ahhhh…” and she very kindly said, “I just returned from Siberia where I spent several days getting to know your son. I have to tell you that he is a wonderful young man and you should be very proud of him. He translated for me while I was there and he is simply amazing, I really enjoyed spending time with him.”
I said something goofy like, “Oh, Rhen–I just LOVE him.”
She said, “I think you should. In fact, he made me promise that I would call you and tell you that he loves you so much and that you have always been his inspiration.”
What a cute boy to say something like that.
I asked if he was well and safe and if he was getting enough food. She laughed and said that they feed the missionaries very well in this mission. She told me that he was so kind and helpful to her that she wanted to be sure to do what he had asked her to…and call me, to give me that very special message.
Feeling like a pretty lucky momma of an awfully sweet guy today.
Stay well and safe, my boy–and know that such a big piece of this momma’s heart is with you.
aww- that made me tear up!
He is an amazing person! How fun to get a message like that! 😀
That is so wonderful – I am so happy for you!
You know, there was so much going on at the time that it didn’t really “hit” me until about an hour after the call, when the house had gotten quiet. I looked up at Lyndi and said, “Oh–I just got a call from the General Primary Presidency!” She kinda laughed and said, “I know, I was here.”
Then it made me cry.
:}
Yeah, it was positively nuts. I should keep a journal…oh, wait. I do. It’s called a BLOG!! hahaha!
😀
Earlier this year, we had a man and his wife come to visit us from Russia–sadly, I wasn’t home. He told Nate and Lyndi that he was the mission driver in Novosibirsk. When they saw Lyndi, the wife said, “Oh, Elder Anderson!” I guess she saw Rhen in Lyndi’s face.
The part they didn’t say was that they were in Utah because he was being called as an Area Seventy.
Crazy stuff.
wow, sounds like he is making a great impression and doing lots of great work!
Hey Launi,
That is so awesome! I don’t know your son personally, but from what you’ve written about him here & the look on his face in all of his pictures – he is a pretty fantastic young man who loves his mama with all of his heart! So very sweet.
I love that Sister Esplin was so touched by your son that she called you herself! Makes you realize you’ve done a good job being a mom. No better way to tell then to see the lives of your children effecting others. So awesome!
We received a similar call from one of the Seventy after he visited with my son on his mission. Meant so much to us!!! It is still fun to see him speak during conference & say, hey that’s the man that took time out of his busy schedule to tell us about our son while he was serving the Lord. Warms this mom’s heart. Hugs my friend!!
Oh man, I totally got all teary! How cool!
Oh my gosh!! That gave me goose pimples…what an super exciting phone call!!! You should be so proud of Rhen!! What an amazing young man!!
Oh my goodness!!! I got all teary, too!!! That is the coolest! You should be SO proud 🙂
I know that was a wonderful phone call. so happy for you. I am also a member of the Church . I live in Brookhaven Mississippi. We attend, Red Star Ward. I love your blog.
Made me smile. And you are a fabulous mama. No doubt about it.
Yes, I guess he is. But usually I have to hear about what he’s doing from someone else because he doesn’t think to tell me the really cool stuff. Too modest I guess. :}
Oh, my gosh–then you had the same kind of experience with your boy! That is fabulous. Isn’t it fun having amazing kids?
I sure do miss him though. 😕
Well, you would have laughed if you had been here. I was pretty much a doof on the phone. She sounded so classy and cool, and I was all like, “Ahhhh….” Honestly.
Yeah, I’m crazy about him, and his brother, and his sisters. What treasures they are to me. :}
And he’s coming home….in not toooo long. 🙂 😀 😆
Welcome, welcome! And thank you for your kind words. I’m so glad you found my silly little blog. And by the way–what a cool name for a ward–Red Star. So great! We should be friends. :}
It was a pretty dang fun phone call. I think I may have even told her that I was a terrible missionary mom because I blubber the whole time he’s gone. What a dork I was. But she was very kind and gracious. I would love to look like her too…so classy. Plenty to work on…that’s for sure. :}
So amazing with technology, fast planes and simple phone calls how connected (or re-connected) we can feel with each other! I love that she was sweet enough to call you and I ESPECIALLY love that he asked her to. 🙂 He’s awesome!
You were not a dork. I think you were fine. You were nice and polite. 🙂
I just HAD to stop stalking your blog silently… hop on and comment super fast… WOW! So special!
I feel silly cuz I don’t have anything interesting to add… just… that it touched me very much and really made me smile. I know how special that must have been… just wow… *hugs you
Hooray for your boy! Praying for him. <3