The Baton is Passed
- Sean Foley
- May 3
- 5 min read
In an Olympic relay race, the passing of the baton is a highly orchestrated maneuver. (Click here to see it Singapore style) Regardless of even extraordinary effort by individual runners, the team can only be successful if the handoff goes smoothly. That is just as true in supporting missionaries as it is in running, and Vivian and I have had a goal throughout our mission to do our absolute best in setting up our successors for their own success. After many months of gradual ramp-up, the last couple weeks has finally been “showtime” to try and deliver.
During those last weeks, we tried to maintain a good balance of “focus on the present” with “reflection on the past”. We probably veered too far one way or the other at different times, but we do feel really good about those wonderful final days. Here are some highlights from the conclusion of our glorious full-time missionary service. Then stay tuned for an upcoming post on what happened to these exhausted runners AFTER the baton is passed.
Hint:
Our handoff, like our mission generally, has had many parts.
Singapore: Despite being really ready to return to suburban life after 18 months in one of the world’s big cities, we have come to love Singapore and its many charms. There is also a real satisfaction in mastering (especially at our age) hard things like navigating without a vehicle, living in a tiny apartment, cooking with strange ingredients, and many others we have documented in this blog. Part of our handoff was helping to document what we could to assist the Jensens get started on their own journey, while still recognizing they would have to learn it their way just as we did.
YSA: Saying goodbye to our YSA has been very hard. We love them so much and have seen them grow and develop over these 18 months. Our temple trip last month was a cherished treat, and so have been the many goodbyes we have been sharing since then.
Below are some pictures of just some of those times: from Institute, FHE, personal visits, ward activities, and the last "linger longer." (Editor's note: Linger longers are a time-honored YSA tradition of staying after church to eat and mingle. Often the food is a fascinating mix of pot luck offerings!)
One remarkable thing is that after 18 months we can name almost every single one of them and are finally not getting their names confused!
One particular activity that was fun was a ward dance/game activity on our last Saturday night. A group of us had practiced a few times over the past weeks to perform a dance, which you can view at your own risk!
Saturday night we performed it for the group, then got others involved in line dancing and games. We have also taken LOTS of goodbye pictures. Here is a gallery of only a few of them!
Mission and Area Leaders:
As we have noted, our mission to the missionaries has also been a mission to their leaders and a chance to work alongside local leaders. We have also made dear friends with many of our “fellow laborers” among mission, area, and stake leaders. In addition to tender goodbyes to them, we had two sweet tender mercies:
• For the second time on our mission the Missionary Department’s Special Clearance Committee approved a request we helped compile on behalf of a missionary.
• Elder Jackson, the wonderful general authority head of Missionary Medical, received the assignment to go to the Far West Missouri Stake to comfort those grieving the passing of their dear stake president, to reorganize their stake presidency, and to create the new Grand River Missouri Stake.
Missionaries: Of course we have had many, many goodbyes with the missionaries themselves, both formal and informal. Vivian kept meeting with missionaries right up until Sunday afternoon, handing off that particular baton following session 1,112.
Monday morning the Jensens arrived. I am not quite sure what someone did to anger church travel, but their flight arrived at 4:45 a.m. I was able to help them get to their hotel to clean up, get some rest, and leave their luggage. We then spent the next two days in a whirlwind of computer setup, office orientation, document review, people introductions, apartment walkthroughs, mall visits, and eating out at a few favorite places like Newton hawker center, Din Tai Fung, and Shake Shack. They did amazingly well with the jet lag and really dove right in!
Tuesday we were able to attend our twelfth and final transfer meeting. It was finally our turn to sit in the transfer chairs!
Wednesday morning April 30th Vivian and I did some of the last of the lasts: awoke in our apartment, sat on our balcony for our study, threw the linens in the wash, and put on our missionary badges. We connected via FaceTime with our wonderful Stake President (for whom it was 7pm Tuesday night). We had a really beautiful and tender interview with him in which he asked us to share special experiences and learnings we had experienced. He also gave us wise counsel and welcomed us home.
Then it was all over and the badges came off. The Jensens came to the apartment about 8:45 to start moving in. We hugged, grabbed our luggage, got on a bus, and headed to the airport to start the long journey back. Somewhere in those last days the baton had been offered and received. The marathon to support amazing missionaries, mission leaders, and YSA is going strong.
I share with you, dear blog reader, the same closing message I shared with our Singapore missionaries:
Above all, and if you remember nothing else of the Foleys, always remember that we have and always will strive to be disciples of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. We know He lives, that this is His authorized church, that the Book of Mormon is His witness, and that Russell M. Nelson is His prophet. We really love Christ and we really love you!
Finally some random photos from our last couple weeks:
Such an informative and heartwarming capture! My only regret is to know that the Jensens will be sweating mightily to catch up with your storied legacy. And extra sweating in that humidity is not exactly advisable. Bon Voyage!