Tender Mercies

Here is just one little example of how I feellike our whole family is blessed by Golda's mission service.  This is a letter I wrote to Golda on Sunday:

Dad and I went to the ranch to celebrate Dad's birthday on Saturday night.
Actually, Dad went up Friday after a concert and I met him Saturday. We
were thinking of driving to Capitol Reef or somewhere on Sunday. But Xanthe
was singing with the senior primary in stake conference, so we decided to
go home and go to SC with the kids. On the way in, I said a little prayer
that I wouldn't be cynical about this big, long meeting, and that I would
"get out of it what Golda would want me to."

Xanthe and the kids sang so beautifully. Sarah Scheuller led them. It was
actually magnificent. Dynamics and everything. All the speakers were good.
Then a guy got up, Brother Wright from the 12th ward, and his topic was
missionary work. He held up a Chinese Book of Mormon and said, "I'm going
to Hong Kong on business, and I got 3 copies of this to hand out to people
in HK!"

Hello, answer to my prayer! Not a subtle answer, either, but a direct
reference to your mission. I guess Heavenly Father just wanted me to know
that He was listening. :) 

Later, I wrote her again to tell her what had happened since church.

So, you know the guy that spoke about HK in Stake Conference today? I texted him afterwards and told him about you. I asked him if he would be willing to take a small packet of letters to HK for you. Then I went about my day. Hours later, he texted back and said, "I would love to, but I'm leaving in ten minutes."
My heart fell. I was so sad that I hadn't had everyone write a letter, and hadn't been preparing something for you. I could have had something ready, but I had nothing. I didn't know he was leaving so soon, or whether he would deliver something to you. I actually raced around the house, looking for something I could send you. I didn't even have time to write a letter. I finally just texted him back, "If you see Sister Dopp, give her a hug for us!" I was so bummed! I felt like I had failed you. I said a little prayer like, "Help me!" Then I got up and walked into the garage and there were your language materials that you had wanted us to send. I grabbed them. I looked in the phone book an found out that the Wrights lived on Westbrook. I drove over and rang their doorbell. He was literally just walking out the door, and I held up these two heavy books and said, "I feel so dumb. Do you have room for these?" He and his wife were so nice. He slid them right into his carry-on and I even hastily scrawled you a little note. I found out that their two sons are married to the Wahlstrom girls, and their kids were in Coco's class at Davis. He knows Dad and Bill because he's an attorney.
So, I don't know if you really need those language materials, but if you don't, when you receive them, just open up the book and pretend that every line says, "Your mom loves you. Your mom loves you. Your mom loves you."
Because I just wanted to send you my love, and that's all I had. And then turn the page and pretend it says, "Heavenly Father loves your mom. Heavenly Father loves your mom. Heavenly Father loves your mom." 
 Because He found a way for me to send you something so that I wouldn't feel discouraged that I had missed that opportunity. And if you turn the page again, I'm sure you'll agree that it says, "Heavenly Father loves Sister Dopp. Heavenly Father loves Sister Dopp. Heavenly Father loves Sister Dopp." :)
Love, Mom

After I dropped off the books, I just burst into tears that the Wrights were so nice, and that I wasn't going to have to have regrets about missing the opportunity to send those books.  It would have cost so much money to ship them, I wasn't planning on it, but I knew Golda wanted them. Sunday night, Golda's emails came, and here was her response to my story:

 Oh my goodness is your goal to make me cry every week? hahaha.
That means so much to me, you do not even know. I know that you love me and
I probably tell my companion and zone how much I admire my parents about
every day. Seriously whenever I talk about my family, I get to happy and
proud. Everyone knows my family "as Sister Dopp's family with the cool
names and everyone in her family dances."
Don't feel bad that you couldn't get letters to me, and thank you so much
for sending the books!!!! I'm sure they're the ones I needed, and even if
they're not, I will read "Your mom loves you. Heavenly Father loves your
mom. Heavenly Father loves Sister Dopp" on every page. I know it's true. I
know it's true because that is literally what The Book of Mormon teaches. I
have an eternal family, God loves ALL His children, and I have a personal
Savior whose love is unimaginable.
Yesterday at General Conference I was overwhelmed with love. I had my
journal out and writing all my notes, and the picture of the family that I
keep inside it. I thought of my investigators, especially Jeung Ji Muih who
loves me and is getting baptized next week, and the missionaries
surrounding me, united in sharing the most important message of the
eternities with others, and of you guys, my eternal family who mean
literally everything to me. It was overwhelming. Like I literally didn't
feel like I could hold so much love in my being. I now understand Nephi
when he said "hath filled me with His love, even unto the consuming of my
flesh." A little graphic if you read it at first, haha but there is no
other way to describe how completely Heavenly Father's love envelops us! I
also understand how Heavenly Father needs to teach us "line upon line",
because there are things we simply couldn't process, understand,
appreciate, or have the capacity to experience.
I love HK and I am starting to love trials. Thank you for the pictures!
Tolly is the happiest little creature! I miss him! Tell everyone hi!