Corona Homecoming

Thursday March 12th I got an unexpected call from Sister Rushing. I was actually FaceTiming with Kennedy when a strange foreign number called in. I thought it was probably someone from Rwanda or maybe Marie from France and I would just call them back after I finished talking to Kennedy so I ignored it. Then it came through again and I also got a message from google hangout from Karsyn that said "Mom, please answer your phone!". So I immediately hung up with Kennedy and  switched over to hear Karsyn in tears. I'll be honest, my initial thought was that something really serious was wrong. I had just spoken with her two days ago on her P-day when she told me her headache of two weeks was still bothering her and she planned on seeing a doctor this week. To make light of it, she kept joking that she thought she might have a brain tumor. So when that call came through and all I heard were tears, my first fear was that she really did have a brain tumor! Maybe that was a blessing in disguise so I didn't fall completely apart on that phone call with her when she told me that she had to come home due to the COVID-19 virus. But my composure only lasted a few seconds once reality set in. I could hear the disappointment in her voice and immediately remembered my own disappointment and heartbreak when I had to leave my mission a month early. Her little heart was breaking at the idea of finishing her mission 5 months early and so suddenly and my heart was breaking for her.

This was the first wave of missionaries that were being sent home from their missions due to the coronavirus. The Church decided to send home all European Senior missionaries, as well as any missionaries that were at increase risk to complications if they became infected. This included anyone with compromised immune systems or auto-immune conditions, including asthma. Up until this point, the Alpine German-Speaking missionaries were working as usual but had been told to get several weeks supplies of food and necessities. Karsyn and had her companion had done as asked and were working as usual when she got a call from the mission nurse asking her how many times she has had to use her inhaler while on her mission. Karsyn told her she thinks she had used it 4 times. Then didn't think too much about it...until she got a call back from her mission President. He told her that all senior couples and missionaries with asthma were being sent home. He knew she hadn't used her inhaler a ton and would go to bat for her and fight hard to keep her on the mission. Well, it turned out as much as he hated to see her go and as much as Karsyn wasn't ready to go, there was nothing Pres. Brown could do about it. We found out the following day that Karsyn would arrive home on Saturday night.

Things were just starting to get real for us here at home about this same time. Wednesday night, the night before we learned Karsyn would be coming home, two NBA players (Rudy Gobert and Donovan Mitchell from Utah Jazz) were diagnosed with COVID-19 and the NBA cancelled all games until further notice. All other sports quickly followed. Between all sports being cancelled and knowing the Church was sending missionaries home, we knew this was something serious. Thursday March 12th all large gatherings were banned, leading the Church to cancel all church meetings, including seminary. Then by Friday March 13th, Washington State had cancelled all K-12 schools. When that happened most colleges followed suite to move to online classes only. Layton's college actually cancelled their classes at the first of the week since they were close to the epi-center of the problem in Washington. So Layton was already home when we found out Karsyn was coming home.

 All returning missionaries were told to self-isolate for 14 days after returning home. Washington State had banned any social gatherings and respect what is now termed as "social distancing" (meaning no contact within 6 feet of other people and only in the outdoors). Those two restrictions made for a very different homecoming than our other girl's had and what Karsyn had expected. We were asked to only send parents to the airport to pick her up but it seemed silly to leave the boys home who would be quarantined at home with her anyway so all four of us went. Then Becca Sivits, who was Karsyn's piano teacher for years and YW leader and who adores Karsyn and Karsyn adores her, also came with her husband. We got there in plenty of time to get Kennedy and Nathan up on FaceTime on an iPad so they could be a part of it and show off their awesome Welcome Home poster.

Karsyn messaged us that she had landed but needed to head to the bathroom to freshen up and change into her traditional dirndl dress, so when we finally saw her come out from the terminal she looked adorable! I also made sure that Will truly understood what I meant by "mom gets the first hug" statement. That was the rule last time when Cassidy came home but that all went out the window when Will saw Cassidy and he took off running towards her and he got the first hug. Not this time! Mama got her hug first!

As soon as a few friends heard she was headed home, they jumped right in with ways to make her homecoming special. Karen Zundel offered to cut out a bunch of hearts and set up a station on our front porch where people could come by and write greetings on a heart to stick on the front door. She had a bunch of hearts cut out, lots of pens and hand sanitizer wipes for all those that could come by. And not to help matters at all, but it snowed that morning! So I offered to write out any messages from those that were afraid to get out in the snow.

Then Krista Lindhorst made a couple posters (The Germany map and the Welcome Home with gold banner pictured above) that we took to the airport in addition to a few of our own quick Coronavirus pun posters the boys made last minute. Then Heidi Parker dropped by a huge balloon bouquet with all the colors of the German Flag! I was so grateful for all the help since I was busy getting her room all ready for her and couldn't find my welcome home mission banner anywhere. The front porch looked fabulous by the time we arrived home from the airport with her - hearts and words of love and color everywhere!

The hardest part of coming home is when you are officially released and asked to take off your name tag. To this day I still want to cry when I think back to that moment. I know that moment was extra hard for Karsyn as it was 5 months earlier than she had ever thought she would be asked to do so. What a blessing that her dad is the Stake President and was the one to release her from her mission. He did that in our home and after meeting with her alone for a bit, they came out to join the rest of us so she could share her testimony one last time with us as a missionary. Cassidy and Sam joined us for that through FaceTime.

She shared the most wonderful testimony with us; full of the spirit, passion for missionary work and love for her Savior. It was begrudgingly, and through many tears, that she took off her missionary tag. While all our hearts felt for her, we were so glad to have her home. It was obvious that she had learned and experienced all she needed to in her 13 months in Germany and Austria. Her mission was all it was meant to be. She gave all she had yet came back with so much more. We are so proud of this good and faithful servant!