"I have lent him to the Lord; as long as he liveth he shall be lent to the Lord" (1 Sam. 1:28)

I can hardly believe that the time has come and my only daughter, Lara, left to serve a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints . She is serving in the Birmingham, England mission. This is a huge commitment on her part. As a parent, and having her be our oldest child, it is a rather unique experience being on this end of sending a child out into the mission field. I feel so incredibly blessed to be able to support her in doing this. She will serve for 18 months. It's a wonderful blessing to see my children grow up and have their own conviction and testimony of what is true, real, and good. As she has prepared to go, my thoughts have turned to Hannah and her willingness to "loan" her son to God (see 1 Samuel 1-2).

In petitioning the Lord for a "man child" we are told  "she vowed a vow", one that I could never quite comprehend until today. She said, "I will give him unto the Lord all the days of his life" (1 Samuel 1:11). Hannah understood her great role as a mother, to teach her children to love the Lord, thus committing themselves to Him. As a mother, this is the desire of my heart. To have my children love the Lord and choose to be committed to Him. As I have raised them it has been my responsibility to teach them about our Heavenly Father, and our Savior Jesus Christ, and how to recognize and follow the promptings of the Spirit. This has been no small task. And it has been the greatest blessing to see my children increase "in wisdom and stature, and in favour with God and man" (Luke 2:52). It has been so humbling to watch our children choose to serve God because they love Him, and not because of fear.

Hannah said, "For this child I prayed; and the Lord hath given me my petition which I asked of him: Therefore also I have lent him to the Lord; as long as he liveth he shall be lent to the Lord" (1 Sam. 1:27-28). As I hugged my daughter one last time before she entered the terminal it was such mixture of feelings- one of complete and utter joy mixed with feelings, not of sorrow or sadness, but deep, motherly love. There was no fear, no worry, but...incredible gratitude that I have had such an amazing time with this wonderful child of mine. I say as Hannah, "I have lent [her] to the Lord; as long as [she] liveth [she] shall be lent to the Lord". I am so humbled that I was able to lead her, guide her, and walk beside her (see I Am A Child of God). I know I am not "lending her" to the Lord, but she was "loaned" to me. I know that she will be an amazing missionary as she shares the gospel with the people in the England, Birmingham mission.

Some friends have asked, "Why would you send your child on a mission?" The Lord loves all of His children! He wants all of us to "hear his voice" (John 10:3) and "come unto him" (see 3 Nephi 9:14; Matt. 11:28; Isaiah 55:3). This is why I am willing to have my daughter serve a mission- because I also want all of God's children to "hear his voice" and "come unto him". I know that God lives. He loves us with unwavering love. I know that we are led by a prophet of God today (read about prophets here, here, and here). I know that the Book of Mormon is the word of God along with the Bible (request your free copy of the Book of Mormon here or free Bible here). What a blessing to have a missionary who desires to serve the Lord. I invite you to "hear his voice" and "come unto Him" by reading the Book of Mormon which confirms the truth of the Bible. It is God's words and His voice on those very pages. This I testify.

Lara with her brothers at the airport.
(Ethan, Lara, Slade, and Stockton)

Lara with her dad, the week before she left.

Lara with me, the week before.

Lara with her grandpa and grandma Bonney.

Lara with her grandma and grandpa Beach.