A Very Difficult Week- Carolyn's passing

There are many times on a mission when your heart  just goes home. We try not to let it interfere with our calling, but sometimes there are things at home that make it impossible not to have one foot in the mission and one in the US.  The week of July 9th 2012 was just such a week.
On Tues. July 10, 2010 we received word that our dear sister-in-law, Diane Carolyn Hilton Bird, had passed away. She had been ill for many years and had been such a courageous and wonderful fighter. She had never lost her optimistic and kindly spirit and although her passing relieved her of great suffering, for us it was a tremendous loss.  Since neither she nor I had any sisters born into our families, we were both grateful, when she married my brother Allan, that we finally have a sister. She was a wonderful wife, mother, sister, and friend. Her example and love were a blessing to our family.  In addition to being a great sister and example of a wife and mother, she and Allan and my Dad, were our traveling buddies. The "fearsome fivesome" took wonderful trips together four years in a row, had a fabulous time and only wish that health would have allowed us more travels together.   

We cruised to Alaska...

Visited Hawaii,

 

Toured Germany, and France, took a Rhine River Cruise.

Then did a Mediterranean Cruise to Rome, Florence, Barcelona, 

Monte Carlo, Palermo, Malta, Tunisia,  Pisa, and  Pompeii

 Our last trip was to Banff Canada where we enjoyed the beauty of the country's 

rivers, lakes and waterfalls and walked on glaciers. 

 

What a great  experience we had as we shared these times together!

One of the hardest things we've had to do while serving our mission was to miss the funeral and to be so far away from our family during this time of loss. Jennifer and Marvin, Ryan and Corinne and Baby Ryan went to Texas to represent our family.  It was comforting to know that they were there giving support and love.  

 Stacy, whose baby is due in a month, Scott whose little 3-year-old was having heart surgery that week, and Emily, who opted to stay home and be of support to those in need at home, didn't go, but were a great support to us and to the Bird family as well.  We felt the strength of the spirit comforting us as our hearts were drawn to our family.  The love of our Heavenly Father, our knowledge of the great plan of happiness and the strength and love of our  family  and our eternal bond blessed us and helped us to get through this difficult time. 

Here in Kinshasa, I needed to do something to help me to celebrate Carolyn's life. It seemed that I needed to honor her, even though I was so far away. I came up with an idea that was a bit unorthodox, but I know that Carolyn would have been happy about.  She always loved craft activities. Whenever they came to visit almost every summer, we always ended up doing some kind of craft project. Nobody enjoyed it more than she did.  So, I invited my sweet senior sister missionary friends to a lunch and craft activity, Carolyn's Craft Day. 

I guess that it was an unusual way to honor Carolyn , but it was a great comfort to me and I was grateful for the support and love of my fellow sister missionaries. We crafted and they listened to my stories about times with Allan and Carolyn and what a great lady she was. It was an afternoon that I know Carolyn would have loved !  I'm grateful for our senior sisters missionaries who came to help me celebrate the life of this wonderful women, whom I loved dearly. She will be missed, but we will meet again in a joyous reunion someday!