A Letter from President Galanos

We were very excited today to receive an e-mail from the Greece Athens Mission President, President Galanos. He was so kind, and said that Craig is proving to be an excellent missionary. He feels that he is learning the language quickly and he has developed a "great confidence in speaking with people", which I am sure surprises none of those that know Craig well. He also said the following: "Fortunately, your son is a dedicated young man who desires to allow the lord to mould his character well. Have little concern on that score. He is rapidly becoming one of our finest missionaries". We were humbled by his kind words and it is again, a reassurance that Craig is where he should be at this time in his life, and giving it 110%.

President Galanos also included the two pictures I have posted here. It is always great to see pictures of Craig and how truly happy he looks in all of them. I am anxiously awaiting our phone call on Christmas so I can hear the excitement in his voice too. It will be the best Christmas present ever!

Have a blessed Christmas and love to all.

Craig was Transferred

We heard from Craig this morning and found he has been transferred to Athens. He spent most of Monday on an 8 hour train ride to Athens, "crazy day" in his words. His new address is the mission address posted on this page and he will get mail once a week delivered from the mission home. He is excited that his new companion is Danish and speaks German. He has only been out two months longer than Craig so both are still struggling somewhat with the Greek language, but I know that the Lord will intervene and guide them and those they teach. He sounds very excited to be there and excited to get started in his new area. I of course am fretting because he did not receive his birthday or Christmas packages from home yet, and likely won't until after the first of the year. He naturally is not worried at all about them and will be excited to get them whenever they arrive.

We are very excited to get to speak with him on Christmas day. He will be calling around 9Am our time. Anyone who would like to share the morning with us and talk to Craig is welcome to come to the house around 8:45. I will have some breakfast foods and we can enjoy the morning talking with Craig. We would LOVE to have you and I know Craig would love to talk to you all as well, so please plan to come if even for a little bit!

Christmas Poem

It was a little difficult today as we did not receive an e-mail from Craig, the first time we have not received one since he arrived in Greece. I know in my heart that he is fine, but it just feels "weird" not to hear from him. I did receive this poem from one of the moms in my e-mail group. Comforts my heart for sure!

This Year for Christmas

I skipped the sales after Thanksgiving.
The thrill just wasn't there.
No pictures taken with Santa Clause,
my decorating has no flair.
His presents are shoes, shirts, and ties, two suits and socks...no fun.
I've bought him all white clothes because...
This year I'm giving Christ my son.

I've spent more time in the temple,
Felt strength come from His words.
I've reread November's Ensign,
and my testimony stirred.
Our family prays more frequently
My tears are quick to run.
Abraham seems closer because,
This year I'm giving Christ my son.

I wonder how those Lamanite mothers,
gave their sons to war?
Or how the pioneers chose Zion ,
their sacrifice was so much more.
My loss will be his presence,
I'll miss his smile a ton
For two years we will pray for him,
I'm giving Christ my son.

I stare at his face when he's not looking.
I memorize his eyes, their shine.
He's always hungered for the part of him, that makes his soul divine.
The stories and lessons he always heard, His choice and mine are one.
I'll put my faith in God's hand,
This year, I'm giving Him my son.

Past gifts have lost their glitter,
I think I finally understand
Christ's birth should be celebrated
by giving Him a hand.
It's because I know Christ lives and reigns that all his packing's done.
My gift has taken years to make,
This year... I'm giving Christ my son

Finally Another Post

City of Kavala Greece where Craig is currently serving.

Craig and his companion Elder Merrell

I know....what kind of mother am I?!?!? I really have no plausible explanation for not creating a post on this blog for nearly 8 weeks other than I have no explanation!! I have had good intentions, but every time I sat down to create a post (and I have a tried a time or two) I just could not do it. Sometimes too difficult, sometimes too much to say, other times I just did not know what I wanted to share with others and what I wanted to keep to myself! That said, as mothers I am sure you understand exactly what that means, you've all been there before, wanting to share with others, but you just can't make the words come out. What I can share at this time is my thanks to each of you for remaining loyal to this site, checking despite knowing there would be nothing here, and for your endless support through kind words, gestures, and most importantly prayers for Craig as he begins this marvelous journey! You are all THE BEST!!

Gosh, now where do I begin?!?! Craig is serving in a city in Greece called Kavala. Kavala is a city in Northern Greece with a population of about 63,000. It sits on the Bay of Kavala across from the island of Thasos. In biblical history the Apostle Paul landed in Kavala on his first voyage to Europe. The pictures I have seen are just beautiful. As it sits along the sea, the terrain is abounding with hills which means lots of walking, lots of difficult walking. He doesn't mind though, great exercise he says! Kavala is a relatively new area for the missionaries to serve (it opened to missionaries about 5 months ago) so they have certainly faced their share of adversity. I am in awe of how well these young men handle the criticisms and of angry attempts to drive them away. They just explain to those who ask for an explanation or walk away from those who shout angry or hateful words and continue with the work at hand. They truly act in such a Christ-like manner. I am not sure many of us could deal with some of the situations these young missionaries face in such a calm, and kind manner. Craig has already been arrested once (this by the way is not uncommon), however he and his companion were released once it was determined they had not broken any laws. They have met MANY wonderful people, some who are interested in learning more about the church and the gospel, some who are just interested in being kind to these young men, but these positive experiences far outweigh the bad and as Craig says "makes it all worth it".

Craig is thriving in the mission field and so are we here at home. The blessing Craig receives from his service are abundant. The blessings we have received as the family of a missionary are amazing. Our faith as a family grows each and every day. Craig's faith shines each and every day. The Spirit comforts us when we feel sad or miss him terribly as we know the Spirit comforts Craig when he feels homesick or discouraged. We feel so blessed and so proud. Craig is an awesome young man and we are so honored to share him with the world as he spreads the good news of our Savior Jesus Christ.

Safely There

According to the Delta web-site (my best friend for the last 12 hours!!!), Craig's flight safely arrived in Athens at 11:00am local time (4:00am here). What a blessing to know that he is safely there. He still did not know what area he would be serving in so he may still have some traveling to do today unless he is serving right in Athens. I am sure jet-lag will also consume him for the next several days, but he will be so busy and excited that hopefully he will adjust quickly!

I am anxious to hear from him, which may be in the next day or two, or it may be Monday, but I know that the Lord is watching over him and the mission President and his wife will treat him as their own. Will update you on the specifics when I have them.

The Influence of the Spirit

I found this in some items here at home, I believe Craig brought it home from a youth fireside, but it certainly applies to each of us, hope you find it as inspiring as I did:

When You Have the Spirit
You feel happy and calm.
You feel full of light.
Your mind is clear.
Your bosom burns with love for the Lord and for others.
You feel generous.
No one can offend you.
You are very forgiving and kind.
You are confident in what you do.
You do not mind anyone seeing what you are doing.
You feel outgoing and anxious to be with others (especially family members).
You are glad when others succeed.
You want to make others happy, even those opposed to you.
You bring out the best and say the best about others.
You gladly and willingly perform Church work.
You feel like praying and reading the scriptures.
You wish you could keep all the Lord's commandments.
You feel you have control of your appetites, and emotions: food and sleep in moderation, sexual restraint, recreation that is wholesome and moderate, controlled speech, and no anger.
You feel a deep desire to help others-usually in a way no one else will know about.
You speak and think only good about others.
You feel sorrow when others have problems and sincerely desire to help them.
You realize that your thoughts and your actions are open to God.


A quote from Joseph Fielding Smith:
"When a man has a manifestation of the Holy Ghost, it leaves an indelible impression on the soul, one that is not easily erased. It is spirit speaking to spirit, and it comes with convincing force."

Craig is officially in the air and headed for Athens. It looks as if they are about 20 minutes into the flight, pretty much on time. Pray for their safe flight and a beautiful reception to the country all 14 will call home for the next 22 months!

The Time to Travel is Here

I feel like it has been such a long time since I have written. Things have been going very well for Craig and his 13 Greece Athens Mission buddies. They have been working incredibly hard to continue to perfect their Greek and their teaching style. Six of the fourteen were stricken with Influenza A two weeks ago and were quarantined from the remainder of the MTC. Craig was unfortunately one of those who was ill. If you have never had true influenza you cannot appreciate how terrible it makes one feel. Total body aches, fever, cough, congestion, headaches, the whole nine yards. Craig said they were all on medications and symptomatic treatment to be well for travel. Thankfully all have now recuperated and are ready for the trip.

The day of departure is Tuesday, October 16. They are expected to arrive in Atlanta on Tuesday at 2:10pm from Salt Lake City and they depart at 4:50pm on a direct flight to Athens. They will arrive in Athens at 10:50am local time on Wednesday, October 17, which will be 3:50am here. The truly wonderful part abut all of this is that Craig may be allowed to call home while waiting around in the airport on Tuesday! I cannot tell you how excited I am to talk with him and hear his voice! I am planning to be here at home anxiously waiting for the phone to ring. He cannot be sure until that day if he will be permitted to call but all indications are that he should be allowed.

I cannot tell you the peace that I feel about his mission and the journey he is about to take. His love of God and his love of the Church just radiates from him. Craig is so anxious to share his testimony with the people of Greece and I know that the Lord is preparing someone, or perhaps many people, to receive the message of His love. I tell Craig all the time what a wonderful missionary he is going to be, and I know this not only in my heart, but in the reassurances that I get every time I pray. The peace that comes over me, it just can't be described, it is beautiful.

I promise not to wait so long in between posts from this point forward. I know there will be many new and exciting stories to tell about life in Greece, the people, the country, his new companion, and I can't wait to share it all with each of you! I have posted Craig's new address, which is the main mission address and they will forward his mail. Once he is settled in an area, he may have a local address that can be used also, but that will change each time he is transferred, so I will keep updating as necessary! Thank you again for all of the wonderful letters and e-mails of support you have sent Craig, and for your prayers of love, comfort, and support. They mean more than you will every know!

Love from here!
Craig's Family

Pictures

Elder Deppe, from Germany. Craig describes him as "the funniest German I've ever met".
Elder Steinvourte, from Holland. Craig says that his English is "perfect". He is classics major in Europe, just like Craig so they "get along great". Craig says that the two of them "love to make fun of modern Greek" and they help each other out understanding the modern grammar as opposed to ancient grammar.
Elder Almundsun, from Norway. They decided to see how they would look with a "mega-part".

"Elder Steinvourte being himself"

No explanation required!!

Elder Heller, he is from Germany. Craig said that they were practicing to be ushers for the devotional that evening.
Elder Long, Craig says he has lived all over the world. His parents are Italian. Craig says he is the prankster of the group. He likes to put the alarm clock in the ceiling set for 2:00 am, "the Brits didn't appreciate that".
Elder Ence, Craig describes him as "one of the nicest guys you'll ever meet. He left the MTC already for Lithuania.

Elder Forbes from Norway. He and Craig have become great friends.

Elder Burgon and Elder Mansfield from England. Craig says they are "absolutely hilarious".

Elder Mansfield with his "game face".

Craig's companion Elder MePhee from Texas.

Elder Mansfield

Elder Heller, he is from Germany. Craig says that they have become pretty good friends.
Elder Carlberg from Sweden, Craig says he is a Swedish equivalent of a Navy Seal graduate.

Elder Mansfield being himself.

Elder Steinvourte, Elder Schmaal, and Craig. Craig writes that Elder Schmaal is absolutely hilarious, he doesn't speak much English but he still tries to talk 400 miles an hour.


We received a letter yesterday from Craig and he sent all of the pictures that he had taken of the other missionaries in the group going to Greece. It is great to see how much fun they have despite the hard work and long days they put in at the MTC. An instant reminder that they are still 19 year old young men after all.

San Francisco Was Great

We received an e-mail from Craig today. His trip to San Francisco went very well. He and his companion went with two older couples who will also be traveling to Greece. They were each interviewed briefly. It was Craig's first opportunity to speak Greek to a native. He felt that it went very well. The man who interviewed him also liked that he knew Ancient Greek. They ate fish and chips at Fisherman's Wharf and they walked along the wharf and watched the seals and seagulls.

Craig said it is so different being a missionary and walking along the street. He described that some people walked up to them and talked to them like they had known them forever and others acted like they were the devil incarnate. Interesting how we treat others especially when we don't know or understand. My prayer is that everyone my son will come in contact while on his mission will respect him and his faith. I know, however, that will not likely happen, and that breaks my heart. These missionaries are such awesome young men and women who just want to share something so good, so beautiful. Pray that those approached by Craig and missionaries around the world will open their hearts and their minds to God's word and His love, and that they will be kind to these young men and women. Craig's story also makes me examine myself and my reaction to others when approached by them. I will pray that I am more tolerant and open to their words. Perhaps they just have a job to do, maybe they are hungry and are asking for some spare change, or maybe it is a person that could change me and my life forever, just like the missionaries who first visited our home ultimately did for Craig. I promise to be more tolerant.

He's Doing Great

It was a great day because we actually received two different letters today from Craig. One envelope had letters for each of enclosed, and the other was a short update. His update was to let us know that he will be traveling on Wednesday, September 5 to San Francisco to the Greek Consulate. He and his companion are required to pick up their Visas in person so they will be taking a day trip there and returning in the evening. He said they are providing them with money for lunch also. He said it was a nice surprise that they will be permitted to go. I am sure it will be a nice little break from the hard work he has been putting in at the MTC.

I am amazed by all that he has been doing since arriving at the MTC. Early last week he had to give a 15 minute talk in Greek and on Saturday he and his companion had to give a 45 minute talk. They are no longer allowed to communicate in the classroom in anything but the Greek language. I cannot believe that after only three weeks he is already prepared for this, it just amazes me. Again, how great God is for giving him the knowledge and the confidence to meet these challenges head on, and loving every single minute of the experience!

Our family unfortunately had some difficult news to deliver to Craig last week. David's grandmother, Grandma Ho Ho as we all so lovingly called her, passed away. She was blessed with 93 years and she truly blessed all of us. Craig loved visiting her (she spent the last several months of her life at St. Andrew's Health Care in Batesville). When he was a senior at Oldenburg Academy he would visit her several times a week, and again visited often this summer while he was home. She too was very proud of the mission he was to serve and the two of them had many wonderful conversations. We called the MTC and they called Craig to the Mission President's office and delivered the news to him. He said that he was sad and it was difficult at first but he said that he knows without a doubt that Grandma is happy, well, and in good hands. He also said, "The Lord looks after all of his children and gives the same love back ten fold of what they showed in this life. And I know we all can agree that Grandma's love for us and the Lord was awesome. I know she is okay." What a comfort those words were for us and for his Grandma and Grandpa Meister to read. He is an amazing young man!

He has mentioned so many times that letters and cards from home mean so much to him. He said "It is so nice to get mail." The time all of you have taken to drop him a note or card mean so much to him and so much to us. Your prayers have been a tremendous comfort and have made this transition for him and for our family go very smoothly. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts!!

A New Letter Today

I was very excited to get home this evening and find another letter from Craig in the mailbox. I don't even get upset about the bills that arrive on these days!!

He continues to sound very pumped up about his experiences at the MTC. His days sound very full. He said they leave their rooms around 7AM and don't return until 9:30PM. They have classes that generally last about 4 hours with 1 hour meal breaks in between. Thursdays are preparation or "P" days. Once he is in the mission field his "P" day will likely be Monday, but the days vary in the MTC because there are so many young men and women in one location. "P" days are used for writing letters, doing laundry, etc. He can also go to the Temple on "P" days as well (the Temple in Provo is right across the street from the MTC). The Temple is a very spiritual and uplifting place for LDS members to go with only certain ordinances being performed there. You must be worthy to go to the Temple as well. He always describes his experiences there as "amazing". I can only imagine how special those visits are for him.

He said that his understanding has blossomed beyond anything he could have ever imagined or expected. He said "I can only imagine what the next two years have to offer". That makes my heart glow. What a truly wonderful experience this will be not only for him, but for our entire family.

He said that despite their cultural differences, he and the other 13 young men who are traveling to Greece together get along great. He has had many opportunities to help with translation of lessons from English to German for some of his classmates.
It was great to hear from him as I know you all can imagine. The toughest part of the two years is not being able to pick up the phone and call him or not seeing his name show up on my cell phone when it rings. However, the gifts and joy he is receiving certainly outweigh any difficulties we may experience along the way.

Will update when we hear from him again. Thanks for reading!!
Love to all!

Our First Letter from Craig

We are so excited. We received our first letter from Craig today. He sounds GREAT!!! He describes the MTC as "amazing". He said the Spirit that is there is just indescribable. His companion is Elder McPhee. He is from Texas and went to BYU last year also. He really likes him. They are the only 2 Americans in their district of 14 missionaries who will be going to Greece. The others are from Germany, Norway, Sweden, England, and Holland. He is very excited because he has been able to use his German quite a bit. One of the young men from Holland was also a Classics major like Craig. Isn't it just amazing how God sees that everything is JUST RIGHT!!

He encouraged us to pray if we have concerns or things are difficult while he is gone. He is so right when he says the the Holy Spirit is "THE COMFORTER". I knew in my heart (as much as I miss him) that he was just smiling from ear to ear and that his life as a missionary will be more than he could ever imagine, and I know that it was the Holy Spirit who gave me that comfort.

He is able to receive e-mail on Thursdays and he will have about 1/2 hour to read and respond to them. I was unsure of what e-mail address to use because I wasn't sure his missionary account was set up yet, so guess what, I e-mailed my note to all three of his accounts (I know he will laugh hysterically when he sees what his goofy mom did !!). His accounts are: rcmeisty@hotmail.com, rcmeisty@byu.net, and rcmeisty@myldsmail.net, so take you pick.

Thank you all again for all of the prayers and kind words you have sent our way since Craig left. You have no idea how much it means to us to have so many people praying for Craig.

Will update more when the next letter arrives.
God Bless!

Pictures from our visit to Utah & Craig's first day

We truly enjoyed our two days in Utah before taking Craig to the MTC.
Craig and Renee being silly!!

Craig and Renee at lunch before going to the MTC.

A mother gets the honor of being the first to place the name tag on her missionary.

Craig's name tag: Elder Meister The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints

Craig with Mom and Dad

Well yesterday was the day. We dropped Craig off at the Missionary Training Center (MTC) in Provo, Utah to begin his two year mission. It was a beautiful day, bright and blue skies and an emotional day as well for all of us. Certainly one of the proudest moments of our lives as parents. We feel honored that we can share Craig with the world, as he shares his love for the Lord and for our Saviour Jesus Christ. We know that the power of his testimony will change the lives of many of the people that he has an opportunity to share it with while in the mission field. The changes may be in baptizing new members into the LDS faith, introducing someone to the saving power of Jesus Christ, or by strengthening someone's existing faith and bringing him or her even closer to God. All which are successes for a missionary.
Craig will be in the MTC for two months before leaving for Greece on October 17th. He would love to hear from all of his family and friends. His address while at the MTC is:

Elder Randall Craig Meister
MTC Mailbox #142
GRE-ATH 1017
2005 N. 900 East
Provo, Utah 84604-1793

I will post further updates as we write and get additional information from him. We thank you for your continued thoughts and prayers.