On 25 June 1967, she and her sister were baptized by immersion for a remission of their sins and became members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Six years later, after finishing high school, graduating from Brigham Young University and teaching school for one year at Craftsbury Academy, this same girl, me, was married to Robert John Crossett in the Cardston, Alberta Temple where we began our adventures together.
Fifty years and one week after I was baptized Bob and I received our mission call to serve as office specialists in the Oregon Portland Mission. Nineteen days later we had turned our house over to Jonathan and Alissa, disposed of many items, and I am embarrassed to say, left a huge mess of mostly my stuff for Jonathan and Alissa to take care of/throw out, and that evening, 20 July 2017 we were set apart to serve as full-time missionaries together, a dream we had had for all of our life together. This mission we had prepared for all those years together by serving our family and our brothers and sisters in the Gospel in every capacity we were able.
We arrived at the Provo, Utah Missionary Training Center where we were trained on how to be full-time missionaries and especially how to fulfill our responsibilities in the mission office.
We arrived in the Portland area on Saturday 19 August that year. It was our first experience together in apartment living in a large city. On the following Monday was the total solar eclipse which we were able to view from our apartment, a stunning event. Early that afternoon we met the other office missionaries and our local trainers. Thus began a nearly two year adventure together.
During those two years, many of you sent emails, text messages, comments and Likes on Facebook, and Pins from Pinterest, letters, cards, paintings, and the occasional phone call. I cannot emphasize enough what a blessing those communications those were to me. Even though Bob and I were together, doing what we had chosen to do, there was a great deal of homesickness for the loved ones and familiar places and activities at home in Vermont. Every single contact was a blessed and encouraging event for me and I thank you for them.
Now, just under two years later we have finished our first full-time mission together and have arrived home to Vermont. We are ready to start another adventure together in our old age. (In this case it is selling our home and moving to a more clement climate...)
Because of the lovely winters in Oregon (the first winter we had about 1/4 inch of snow overnight on Christmas Eve so we had a white Christmas for about half an hour when we woke up!) where the lowest temperatures approached 25 degrees F, we have decided that we would like to be done with icy roads, freezing rain, and feet of snow to shovel every year and have found a home in South Carolina. It is terribly wrenching to make that change but we have studied and researched and planned and prayed to know what to do for much of the time we have been away from our family and friends and familiar and loved surroundings. As we pray to know what to do with our lives, Heavenly Father will give each of us a confirming answer to our prayers, either positive or negative, or He is silent and lets us make our own decisions when we have studied it out in our minds and when that decision is one we can make on our own.
Before closing I need to say that this mission has been such a blessing in more ways that I can say. I hope you have felt our prayers in your behalf as we have felt your prayers and loving wishes during these years.
There were days in the office when we were so busy that we longed for the day to end. As Mission Secretary much of my time was spent on the telephone with "Oregon Portland Mission, this is Sister Crossett" beginning the call. Every call was different and sometimes there were several calls at once. Often I was able to forward the call to another office missionary for whom it was meant, either the Housing Coordinator who was my husband, the President's secretary, the Vehicle Coordinator, the Finance Secretary, the Departures Secretary, or the Supplies and Technology missionary. Many times there were calls for the President which we were able to handle on his behalf.
As Mission Secretary other responsibilities I had were to prepare files for incoming young missionaries, to handle requests for rental and housing and other assistance from the general public, to pass referrals along to the appropriate missionaries, whether they were local or anywhere else in the world. This was rather taxing when we needed missionaries in foreign countries and in foreign languages I did not speak (which was actually every language other than English, though I did try to improve upon that lack...). Welcome letters and packets for incoming missionaries were my responsibility as well as informing the President and others of our incoming missionaries and preparing boarding passes for out missionaries who were returning home.
Another responsibility I had was to call the office missionaries for a devotional every day after having prepared a devotional calendar. We would have a thought and prayer each time. May I say this was not my finest hour. Often the senior missionaries assigned the thought on a particular day were not scheduled to be in the office, even though when I created the calendar I thought they would be.
Another joyous task I had was to create the Oregon Trail, the monthly newsletter we sent to all our full-time missionaries.
All these activities, along with our services to the local ward we had been assigned to assist helped me become even more committed to the Gospel of Jesus Christ. And even firmer in my testimony of the Gospel.
I learned that there is a mission for every single one of us. Each of us can do something to forward the Lord's work on the earth, something perfectly fitted to each one of us, whether it is full time or part time, whether away from home of serving while still living at home. Each opportunity is a valuable service to our Savior and worth doing.
I know that God is our loving Heavenly Father.
I know that Jesus Christ is His only Begotten Son and our Savior and Redeemer who has atoned for our sins, made it possible for us to be resurrected at the end of our lives, and made exaltation with Them in the Celestial Kingdom.
I know that the Holy Ghost will tell us all things that we should do to be happy and be worthy to return to Their Presence.
I know that the boy Joseph Smith really did see God, Our Father, and Jesus Christ in a vision and became the prophet of the Restoration. Through him in 1830 the Lord's Church was restored to this earth, to prepare us all for the Second Coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
I know that today we have a prophet on the earth who leads and directs us all in the way we should go to be happy on this earth and prepared to live again in heaven with our families and other loved ones.
I know that by living the principles of the gospel of Jesus Christ, our hearts and lives can be filled with love which we can share with others.
As we fill our lives with this love, we can bless and serve others, and make the tiniest show of gratitude for Our Savior for His atoning sacrifice on our behalf.
At the last day, we can be lifted up to meet the Savior and sit down together in heaven. I hope we all live on the same street.
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