Christmas Surprise

Shortly before I left the US to move to Thailand my little brother, Thomas, announced his engagement to Emily, a sweet, beautiful, talented woman that many of my family members had already had a chance to meet and grow fond of. Emily and Thomas have been friends for several years. Their friendship began before Thomas served as a missionary in Argentina. Emily wrote him letters while he was gone. He returned to the US and they continued their friendship. It was clear that Thomas was developing deep feelings for Emily but she decided that she too desired to serve the Lord as a missionary and Thomas supported her in that, knowing that she would return from the experience an even better woman...if that was possible, in his eyes. He didn't want to be a distraction to her, however, while she was focused on service to the people in the Midwest. Emily returned from her missionary experience earlier this year and the friendship that they had begun several years earlier picked up where they had left off and grew even deeper.

As you can imagine, I was so sad to think that I would not be able to attend my baby brother's wedding to be held on Dec. 22, 2009 in Salt Lake City at the temple of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. I would only have been in Thailand for 2 months and knew that the possibilities of being able to return to the US for the event would be slim to none. So, I said good-bye to my sweet little brother, gave him my telescope, my stereo system and my video camera as "wedding gifts" (actually they were just "spoiled baby brother" gifts) and I made the move overseas.

As time passed I heard that my supervisor preferred for people to take time off during the holidays since things in the office are typically slow and it was a great time to give people a much needed break so I approached her and asked if it was at all possible for me to also have some time off, despite being so new in the office. She not only said "yes" but encouraged me to take the time off. I sat down at the computer and began looking for a plane ticket to see if I would even be able to afford the trip. The prices I was seeing were more than I felt I could afford for a short visit. I sought help from a travel agency and the best they could do was to find a $2000 ticket....yikes! My hopes were melted in the reality that I would be unable to afford the luxury of being to Thomas' wedding and spending Christmas with family. With a prayer in my heart I got back on the computer and looked one last time to make sure it really would not be possible. To my surprise and absolute delight I found a ticket at what felt like a reasonable price and although I was unable to discuss this with my parents (as I am prone to do about just about every crazy thing I do in my life) I purchased the ticket and found it difficult to wipe the grin off my face!

It was several days before I was able to make contact with my parents and tell them the news. But I asked them to keep it a secret from my brother so I could surprise him. Keeping a secret in my family is no easy task! There are so many of us that someone is bound to slip up and accidentally leak the information. Knowing this I accepted the fact that Thomas would most likely learn of my intentions before I arrived. And to be sure that no one would accidentally post an "I'm so excited to see you" message on facebook, I also kept the information from my friends. I'm NOT a good secret keeper when it comes to my own news, especially when it comes to such exciting news as I had.

The night before I left I got a full hour of sleep after packing, showering and preparing for a 3:30 am departure! But I was sure I'd be able to sleep on the plane. During the 17 hours in flight sleep did NOT come! My mind was racing and my excitement allowed for no rest. I felt the headache that accompanies sleep deprivation and tried desperately to sleep but to no avail.

When I arrived to my aunt's house Friday evening after making a stop by my old office to say hello to dear friends, my niece, who also knew nothing of my arrival (had she known she would have almost certainly been unable to keep the secret) squealed and jumped on me. What a fun "welcome home!" that was! The Christmas spirit finally filled my soul as family and friends gathered around. And how thankful I was to be in much colder temperatures as are found in Thailand right now!

Last night I finally had the chance to see Thomas. He still knew nothing of my arrival although I was sure that the postings I had made to Facebook dropping slight hints of my upcoming arrival and the information my father sent out with details of the weeks events gave away the secret. Thomas was to arrive at my aunt's house shortly after many of us returned from a Christmas party in them home of my mother's sister. I waited with great anticipation and the excitement built as those of us at the house (my parents, sisters and nieces and nephews) discussed what his reaction might be. Thomas had been so disappointed that I would be unable to be to his wedding. Over the years as siblings we have developed a precious friendship. When he was young I would read to him, we would jump on the trampoline together and despite his declaration at one point that the reason he never obeyed me was because I "talk too much" we maintained our friendship. As the years passed and all the McConkie's married off one by one, it was Thomas and I that were left. There was solace in having each others company at family events where we would sneak off when the crowd became too loud or the discussions of each family's children became just a little boring. :-) As Thomas' relationship with Emily developed and the possibility of marriage became more and more obvious Thomas told me that it would be impossible for him to marry before I did since it just didn't seem right and HE wanted to be the last one! I thanked him for his thoughtfulness and encouraged him to follow his heart and marry the woman who had become his best friend although I knew that my relationship with him would change after his life changing event. I feel so lucky to have such an amazing little brother. He is the kindest, most thoughtful little brother a sister could ask for. Yes, it probably helps that he is my ONLY little brother. I love him so much and have to admit that it would be much harder to watch him move on with his life if I didn't love sweet Emily, his soon-to-be companion for life and eternity.

Finally, Thomas arrived to the house. The lights were low and placed myself on a Lazyboy recliner in the living room where he would enter to give out hugs to all in attendance. Those hugs were given and he walked by me to the fridge. We all giggled that he hadn't seen me. Several minutes went by and he became involved in other greetings and delivering updates to others in the room. "So, how was your day today?" I asked him. He began his reply as he looked in my direction and when he finally made the connection that it was me he was answering and that I wasn't "supposed" to be there his eyes widened and a very excited "HEY! What are you doing here?" belted from his mouth. As I lept up he swept me into his arm and off my feet (for those of you who haven't seen Thomas since his infancy...he is now somewhere around 6' 6"). We embraced and I found it difficult to hold back the tears. He really didn't know that I was coming and was so excited to see me. "I have to tell Emily!" he announced, and the phone call was made.

So, there it is. The surprise took place just as I had envisioned it! And now I can announce to all my friends that "I'm here!!!" I'll only be here a short time and won't have a chance to see you all but this trip is about family. I am so grateful for the tender mercies of a loving God who allowed for me to make this trip. A God who as provided me with so many blessings and wonderful opportunities in my life. This time of year I'm deeply grateful for my wonderful family who is so supportive and who make my life so sweet.

I wish you all a very Merry Christmas. May we remember and focus our activities on the Christ whose birth we celebrate this time of year. The half-man-half-divine who lived his life as an example to us all of what the true meaning of life is and then sacrificed his life for us...for our sins...and made it possible for us to be baptized in his name so that we may be cleansed of sin and enter into his presence and the presence of God after we have proven ourselves worthy through our actions and our thoughts. I am so grateful for His influence in my life. I acknowledge that all I have comes from Him and I am truly blessed.

All my love,
Elissa