Our Trip to Virginia

Doug and I planned a trip to Virginia to get Daren from his mission, see the area, and meet some of the people.  It wasn’t the best time of year for Doug to be leaving because it is typically harvest.  We thought it was going to work out and be between fields, however the rain stalled things and the grain wasn’t cut.  This caused a little bit of anxiety, but thanks to our boys the job was done without us.  This is the first year EVER that Doug has missed part of harvest.  We were blessed to have boys who could step in and take over.  Thanks Reed and Scott for doing an awesome job.

We arrived in Richmond on August 9th.  We were told that we could pick Daren up at the Mission Home after 3:00.  Our flight didn’t arrive until 3:45 and we were on our way to the baggage claim when I noticed some missionaries.  One of them had been Daren’s companion in the MTC and so I quickly said hello and told him who I was.  He said Elder Rockwood is somewhere in the airport and then I really started searching the hallways.  Our phones had been turned off for the flight and when we turned them on there was a voice message.  Before I could retrieve it, I received a text asking where we were.  It turns out that he had accompanied the missionaries to the airport and he was already headed back to the car when the mission president had texted that they needed to catch the departing Elders to get their VISA cards.  As they were rushing back inside Doug spotted a group of Elders and I quickly picked Daren out of the group.  I hurried to catch them and yelled “Daren”.  He thought he was clever and kept on walking but finally stopped to give his mother a big hug.  We were so excited to find him at the airport.  It was a good thing as well, because we were able to follow the other Elders to the mission home.  (I don’t think we would have found it on our own and I had the mission office address)

We had a wonderful visit with the mission president.  He is a great man and truly called of God to serve over that mission.  It is one of the largest missions and there are many Elders with special needs.  He knows all the details of each of them and cares for and loves them. 

 

 

The next day we traveled to Washington DC.  Daren wanted to attend the Temple there before leaving the area.  This is the Temple for the members of Richmond and South, however it is out of the mission area and so he had never been able to attend.  It was a nice ride and super to spend time in the Temple together.

 

We were able to visit some of the history of this area over the next couple of days.  We visited Monticello (home of Thomas Jefferson), the Museum of the Confederacy, Jamestown, Kitty Hawk and the Outer Banks.  There were many more places we would have liked to visit but time was limited.

Of course, the best part of the trip was meeting a few of the people who were special in Daren’s life for the past two years.  We instantly connected with so many of them.  It was a wonderful experience. 

Sister Whitley lives in Hampton.  She has been a member for about 4 years.  She was always feeding and taking care of the missionaries. 

Brother and Sister Smith live in Newport News.  Brother Smith had been the ward mission leader and was always helping the missionaries.  Sister Smith is originally from Brigham City.

President and Sister Hansen shared their home with Daren for over 7 months in Edenton, North Carolina.  The missionaries live with them and they are like mission parents.  Sister Hansen is from Orem, Utah and also a school teacher so we made a good connection.

The Giobelli family live in Edenton.  They were a riot to visit with.  We stayed later than we should have laughing and visiting.  Sister Geobelli was a really Southern lady.  Maybe we will be able to have them visit us someday.

The Ledfords also live in Edenton right on the Abermarle Sound.  We have been a little concerned about how they faired with the hurricane that hit last week.  We called them the redneck family.  Brother Ledford (Marty) is an avid hunter and fisherman.  You can tell by the names of their two sons, Hunter and Fischer.  They were some of Daren’s favorite people. 

Marsha was baptized about 6 months ago.  She was so full of excitement and had such a strong and powerful testimony of the Gospel.  She was in a car accident a few months ago and has had some health problems since.  She still remains happy and is constantly serving others.  Her compassionate spirit reaches out to all.

These are only some of the people we met. 

We also met Bill and Fran in Hampton.  They are not members of the church, but opened their home to us for a night.  They fed us a wonderful meal and provided accommodations.  They are retired and run a clothing closet in connection with the Catholic Church for the homeless along the waterfront.  Daren met them as the missionaries donated time to help at the business.  They were finding it hard to get members of their congregation to help and heard about the missionaries from the soup kitchen.  Fran is from France and a short petite little lady.  They have grown attached to the missionaries and call them “their boys”.  I was amazed at their generosity.  I am currently knitting hats to send to them.  They said that is a big need when the weather grow cooler.

We had a wonderful trip and the memories will last forever.