Hiding Place

Feeding Georgi the Guitar cake for his "name day" (like birthday only better)

The other day, I came across my old mission sketchbook — not my journal, but the place where I wrote a bit more creatively: descriptive paragraphs, recipes, and song lyrics, mostly.  And I stumbled upon a song I’d forgotten about, called “Hiding Place.”

Now I’m not a great songwriter; I recognize that.  I don’t know enough about music, or the piano, or poetry to put together anything truly excellent.  Still, it’s a wonderful creative outlet I’ve enjoyed over the years.  When I started playing this song again on the piano, some fascinating memories came flooding back.  I remember writing it on a P-day in Pernik while I was companions with Sister R., and being a little bit baffled by it.  I wasn’t quite sure who I was writing to.  The other day, a good 7 years later (holy crap, I’m old!), I finally realized:

I was writing to ME.

This song is about faith, doubt, and finding the courage to tell the truth about yourself.  Long before I had any idea what was really going on with me, I knew I’d have to face myself; and this little song, as simple as it is, was permission to do what I needed to do.

I was pretty stunned.  So I opened up Garageband on my husband’s Mac and recorded it with the cheap little headset I use to Skype with clients.  The sound quality isn’t great — there’s a bit of background noise (at the very end you can even hear a watch alarm go off) — and I just messed around a little with some harmonies, but it’s actually pretty special to me…so I thought I’d share.  🙂

How Did You Feel About Your Mission?

My 20-year-old sister is in the process of deciding whether or not she should serve a full-time mission and sent me an email asking me about my experience.   Of course, prayer and personal reflection are her primary decision-making tools; still, she feels that an important part of her process is gathering as much information as she can about what missions are really like.

Knowing that several of my readers are returned missionaries, I asked for her permission to share her questions on my blog.  She jumped at the chance to get wider feedback.  So here are her questions and my responses.  If you’re an RM, please take a few minutes to respond to the questions as well (if you feel comfortable, you could even include where you served — not necessary though)!  We’re happy to take responses from everyone, regardless of how much you enjoyed your mission (or didn’t!) or whether or not you are still an active Mormon.

Thanks in advance for helping her out.  🙂