Mission Reunion-will I remember?

On Saturday morning I received a call from my Mission President, Amos Burnell Hunt of the Philippines, Cabanatuan Mission circa 1996-1998 (I think). I was excited to talk with him, and even more excited when he invited me to our mission reunion.

"When and where?" I exclaimed, "I would LOVE to go." We had not had one in several years.

"Today, at 1:00 p.m. in Salem, Utah."

Well, it was one of my super busy Saturdays, and I did not know if we could make it, but I could not say, 'no'...even if I had to drive for three hours to visit for a mere 15 minutes. He was my mission president, you see, and apparently, he had been trying to track me down for months.

As we drove south in the rain, I worried that I would not remember anyone. My mission experience was different than some. My husband's mission buddies in Hungary, are as close as soldiers in WWII (think 'White Christmas'). We, on the other hand, were extremely isolated with possibly once a week communication with our District Leaders, and several months without any contact with any higher authority. I really did not intimately know my fellow missionaries, unless they were my sweet Filipino companions who probably would not make the reunion.

I had 14 companions. 11 were Filipino, one Samoan, one Canadian, and two Americans. This reunion would take place in Utah, and I knew that none of my companions would be there. And, well, I never worked closely with a lot of Elders. Our mission reunions just aren't that big, unless they were to be held in the Philippines, or Samoa, where most of our missionaries came from.
Yet, when I arrived, I did remember these good missionaries. And those I did not remember wore nametags. And those that did not wear nametags, were interrogated by my husband who deftly got their names.

It was a great 21 minute reunion (I had to get back to Salt Lake).

I am grateful for my mission, and that Heavenly Father sent me to the best mission on earth: the Philippines Cabanatuan Mission. Seriously.