Misha my Dear

Warning: this is a long one for journaling purposes. sorry :)

One day while I was teaching Mission Prep in Las Vegas (I lived there after my mission) I was prompted to totally change everything I had planned. It was one of the moments that you wondered why you prepared a lesson because Heavenly Father had me teach a totally different lesson. I later found out why.

About 5 minutes into the lesson, a beautiful young girl named Misha walked into the class. She was young, I think she had just finished high school. She was gorgeous! Not because of her tight clothes showing off her size 0 body or her perfectly highligted hair extensions... she was just gorgeous because she had a look of intrigue the entire lesson. She looked like she really wanted to learn. I found out later that she had been baptized a while before but had been struggling with her testimony since that time. The lesson was on the Plan of Salvation. She came up to me after and thanked me because she said she finally got it. She said she had never understood it until that time. I explained to her that Heavenly Father wanted her to understand it because He had prompted me to change my lesson to teach that instead.

From that time forward, we had a bond. We saw each other at church each week after that and loved to talk to each other. A few weeks after we met I told her I was moving to Utah. She responded with, "I want to move to Utah. That way I can be like a real Mormon." Oh Misha, little did we know what that held in store.

Like the next week, I moved to Utah and found Misha right along side of me. She packed up her car and moved into my apartment... actually into my bedroom. We thought it was best for her to start over and meet new friends and get out on her own. Well, somehow yucky boys and bad temptations kept finding her. She was so tough to make good decisions, amongst some bad. At times I felt like I was raising a teenage daughter. We would sit down and read scriptures together, or make a spreadsheet for her finances, or talk about why the boys she was hanging out with were stupid. Sometimes it was hard, but I loved it. I could always tell that Heavenly Father loved her a lot and had good things in store for her.

Complications arose and Misha had to move back to Vegas. Then 2 weeks later she was back in Provo but I had new roommates by then and no room for Misha. It was time for her to be on her own. I started grad school and went to Africa and lost track of her.

A little over a year later, I tracked her down to come to my wedding. I knew I wanted her to see how beautiful temple weddings could be. I was so glad she came. But somehow, I again lost contact with her.

When Houston was born, I wanted to find her again to send her an announcement. I couldn't track her down. Phone and email did not work anymore. I didn't know how else to find her. A couple days later my sister Tiffany called and asked if I remembered Misha. "How did you know I was looking for her" I responded. "No, she is looking for YOU!" replied Tiff. She continued, "She found me on facebook. She's pregnant". My heart sunk and I couldn't help but feel guilty for losing track of her. I should have been there to help her. How could I have lost track of one of Heavenly Father's finest. Tiff could tell I was sad so she corrected, "Lan, she got married in the temple a year ago and now she is having a baby."
My eyes filled and I was crying in seconds. I went to log into my facebook account. I couldn't even remember my password as it had been probably 8+ months since I had logged in. I went to her page to find the most beautiful temple pictures of my dear Misha. I was so excited I emailed her right away.
Last week we finally re-connected. She walked into Applebee's as a whole new woman since I knew her. The hair extensions were gone along with the size 0 body. She was the cutest little pregnant Mormon mommy EVER! I sat and listened to her fairy tale of how she met her sweetheart. It blew my mind when she quoted a scripture during the conversation. She had come so far and been through SO much! It made me ache that I wasn't there to witness it, but I realized that maybe Heavenly Father needed her to go through those trials by herself. I was so proud of her.

Then on Saturday, I went to her baby shower. I met her new family. I drove to Morgan... MORGAN! I just could not believe it... my Las Vegas babe Misha was living in cow town Morgan Utah. It was absolutely beautiful. Her in-laws were perfect, fun, and loving. You could feel the Spirit in their home the entire time. The family pictures had Misha standing in the arms of her husband surrounded by the rest of the family. She got it... Her dream of becoming a "real Mormon" had come true. She has been sealed in the temple and is now bringing down one of Heavenly Father's special daughters. Misha is more gorgeous than ever... she shines with the spirit and looks so happy.

I'm SO proud of you Misha. I hope you don't mind me sharing this story. It is just that I want to brag about how great you are! I'm proud of your good choices and your decision to do whatever it took to get that wonderful loving family that you deserve. I'm so happy that you are back in my life. I love you so much!

Love, your 2nd mom/Big sister- Lani