A most precious Mother's Day Gift

I received this gift in the mail today....

Dear Sister Sawyer,

We want to thank you for sharing your lovely missionary daughter with our family. First, let's give you some background:

Our son Warren has been away from the church for at least five years. Much of the time he was openly antagonistic not only towards the church but faith in general. He married a beautiful non-member girl named Angela, but she kept her distance from us and the church. Warren and Angela associated closely with a young man named Camillo. All three of them rebelled together as a teenagers and had walked a very rough road in life.

We loved Warren and Angela, but our hearts ached to see them make wrong and destructive choices. We prayed, we fasted, and hoped for a change but saw nothing. Every time we tried to bring up the subject of the gospel, we got a cold response.

Imagine our surprise one day when Warren called and asked for a ride to church with Angela and Camillo! They came to church and were introduced to your daughter and her companion, Sister Kim. First Camillo and then Angela agreed to listen to the lessons in our home. That gave us the opportunity to see these two fine missionaries in action - teaching and testifying of the truthfulness and life-changing power of the gospel. Camillo and Angela warmed to them.

The transformation in these three young adults has been astonishing and truly miraculous. They are blossoming under the light of the gospel and with the gift of repentance. Their countenances have lightened and their eyes show joy. Warren received permission from the Bishop and baptized both his friend Camillo and his wife Angela. And Angela has said she wants to be sealed to Warren in the temple!

Your sweet daughter has taught with love and conviction and this is changing the lives of real people. If you could have joined these discussions, I'm sure your heart would be filled with gratitude to be her mother. She has helped steer Warren, Angela and Camillo to a better road and this has lifted not only us but others who love them. She's participated in a modern, real-life version of the story of the prodigal son.

It must not be easy for you to be separated from your daughter. But because you have made that sacrifice, our family has been extremely blessed. We are very grateful to you for sharing your wonderful daughter with us. We hope and pray God will bless your family for what you've done for ours.

And so I think you again and hope that on this Mother's Day, you will know that your very special daughter is blessing the lives of many people as she serves her mission.

Janis & Doug King

Yes - I cried. But they were happy tears.
(except I have a rotten throat infection that caused me
to have ulcers so it was actually a painful, happy cry)

Kayla was transferred from this area yesterday.
I know her heart was full... she knew it was time
to move on, but she loves these people so much!

I am very proud of my missionary!

p.s. After I emailed this to Robert - he told me
"That’s pretty cool, but it made me cry and now I can’t see to grade my papers."
I told him that it's ok... he can just fail them all :)