MISSION #1: We served an official 18-month mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Guyana, South America in 2011-12. Most people who know me know it was one of the high points in my life. We came home two weeks early because I had fallen and developed a macular hole in my right eye which required a surgery doctors in Guyana were not trained to do. I have always been disappointed we did not get to say goodbye to those we had grown to love like family and I have always been sorry we’ve never been back for a visit. I know, without a doubt and to the depth of my soul, my Heavenly Father knew Guyana was where we would be able to use our unique skill set and where we would be able to make a difference for a few people.
Guyana was also where we met Selwin and Simeon Lovell.
MISSION #2: I feel my second mission was a call from the Lord to help these two fine young men get settled into a new life in a new counrtry.
I remember so well, the day Selwin called from New Jersey. He and his identical twin had – just a few days before – arrived at their father’s suggestion to come to the US to live with him and his family of four in a very small apartment. Sel and Sim were, at the time, 20-years-old. Four days later, their stepmother packed up their belongings and set them out of the street. The Brown’s – also in New Jersey from Guyana – took the boys in for awhile but it quickly became apparent having two grown men move into their small accommodations wasn’t going to work either. They tell me I was the only other person they knew in the US – or, more likely the only one whose phone number they had.
When they called me to ask if they could come to live with us, I was unquestionably startled. I told them I would need to talk to Brother Ed and the bishop. I knew they both wanted to serve a mission, go to school, find jobs and get married … and we needed twin beds which we didn’t have. When I reached out to Bishop John Goldhardt about my concerns he said, “don’t worry, Sister Sappington, the church and our members will help. You bring those boys here. Our ward needs them!” A couple of days later we sent them airfare and twin beds arrived at our house.
The twins arrived on October 30, 2012. Soon after, they submitted their papers and while we waited for mission calls to show up in our mailbox, we taught them some of what they needed to know to live in America – including driving and banking … and I loved every minute of it.
They are now both returned missionaries (Simeon served in Atlanta, Georgia and Selwin served in parts of Mississippi and Louisiana), college graduates, naturalized citizens, husbands and fathers. I am truly happy to have been part of their transition. They were not mine in the beginning but I love them like those to which I gave birth.
 |
| Penny enjoys the view out of the van window. |
MISSION #3: My next mission was a bit different. My mother lived alone in California for about five years after my father passed and seemed to be doing OK until she tripped over her cat Penny and broke her hip in about 2013. My brother Larry and I then “helped” her make the decision to move into assisted living. We promised we would not sell her double-wide which made the move a little easier for her, but after awhile we began to realize she was developing dementia which eventually became Alzheimer’s (it was probably Alzheimer’s from the beginning). After about a year, the AL where she lived reached out to “suggest” we needed to move her into memory care which we did but when family members weren’t showing up to check on her, some of the staff began to take advantage, including the theft of her wedding ring set.
At that point it became obvious we needed to make a change in her living arrangements. After lots of discussion, we decided to move her to St. George (she was so NOT happy about leaving California) and into a memory care unit about half a mile from our Bloomington home. I dropped in every day – always at a different time – and sometimes more than once … and made sure to get to know her caregivers by name and face.
As it turns out, my 3rd mission was not so much a service to my mother as it was to her ginger kitty Penny who had diabetes and required a shot every single day … a task I performed for 18-months (ironically, the length of our mission to Guyana) until Mother passed away and Penny went to live for a couple of months with one of the caregivers.
MISSION #4: My 4th and perhaps last mission is my service as District Governor-nominee, District Governor-elect and, after three years, finally as Governor of Utah Rotary District 5420. From July 1, 2018 to June 30, 2021 I had the extreme honor to serve alongside some of the most amazing Rotarians in 45 clubs around the state as well as with Rotary International leaders in a few of the 220 countries where Rotary exists in the world.
There is a possibility Ed and I might have the opportunity to serve in one of Washington County’s two temples when the complete re-do of the St. George Temple and construction of the Red Cliffs Temple is completed, both in the summer of 2022. Together they will need about 3000 volunteers.
I certainly hope there is a MISSION #5 in my life and my Heavenly Father sees these efforts as “missions” …. and gives me at least a little credit for doing some good in the world!
