| TO ALL PARENTS: | |||
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“I’ll lend you, for a little while, a child of mine,” He said, “For you to love while he lives, and mourn when he is dead. “It may be six or seven years, or twenty-two, or three, “But will you, ’til I call him back, take care of him for me? “He’ll bring his charms to gladden you, and shall his stay be brief, “You’ll have his lovely memories as solace for your grief, “I cannot promise he will stay, as all from earth return, “But there are lessons taught down there I want this child to learn. “I’ve looked the wide world over in my search for teachers true, “And from the throngs that crowd life’s lanes, I have selected you. “Now will you give him all your love — not think the labor vain, “Nor hate me when I come to call to take him back again.” I fancied that I heard them say, “Dear Lord, thy will be done. “For all the joy this child shall bring, the risk of grief we’ll run. “We’ll shower him with tenderness and love him while we may, “And for the happiness we’ve known, forever grateful stay. “And should the angels call for him much sooner than we planned, “We’ll brave the bitter grief that comes, and try to understand.” | |||
“I still wear it often. His giving me that T-shirt was one of the many kind gestures that came from his heart. He was certainly an abundantly fruit-bearing child of Christ.
“I was a young Christian when I met Geoff. His boldness about his faith convicted me. He had a picture of Christ in his cabin! More than that outward sign; he lived his faith and ministered to me & others by the way he lived & loved.
“It must comfort you to know that Geoff heard ‘Well done, thou good & faithful servant’ when he came face-to-face with Jesus.
“I think of you several times a day and know that your family’s strong faith is able to bring you some peace. The Lord is taking care of Geoffrey. His faith was very refreshing to everyone who met him.
“I have contacted some of his friends … and it seems a chain reaction is going to let everyone know. There is not a person that spent that summer with us that will not feel a sense of loss.
“Every day I thank the Lord for the opportunity to know and be close with Geoffrey during his life time. For that, I feel I am blessed.
“Be strong, and trust the Lord as Geoff did for his entire life.…
“We can also feel the tragic loss for his fiance Deidre.
“We spent a little time with him last October when we were attending a business convention in Salt Lake City staying at the Marriott Hotel.
“I have just turned to the letter which he wrote to Sister Innis and me on the last night in the mission home. It was typical of the great spirit which he always had.
| At this time of great excitement and yet also soberness I can’t help but think of all the great times I’ve had being able to serve my Heavenly Father out here in Australia.… I haven’t been the means of directly baptizing very many people, in fact the “number” of baptisms I’ve had has been very few, but I can honestly say I served the best I knew how … |
Please know of our love for your son and that he was always a very good missionary who we never had to worry about. He was always on the job, always trusted and always friends with his fellow missionaries.”
“As I entered the mission field, I wanted to serve as best I could; however, I lacked having a good example to follow. I had the opportunity to serve alongside Elder Despain on many occasions and we even invited one of my first investigators to be baptized. He was someone with great conviction and when he taught he did so with authority and with the spirit. I learned much from him in the three months I was in his zone and as I continued my mission I often tried to follow his example of leadership. All the missionaries who knew him had respect for him. He displayed what a true messenger of the Lord should be.
“I returned from my mission and continued my education here at the University of Utah. I had the chance to see Geoffrey on many occasions here on campus. After every encounter I always walked away smiling and remembering the way he led during his mission. I saw him less than a month ago, and as we departed I thought to myself: ‘there goes an honest friend.’
K. W., a blind man who lived accross the street and whose young grandsons sometimes needed entertainment: “As you most likely know, I held Jeff in extremely high esteem. Unfortunately I did not tell him so. He was definitely one of a chosen few.… Many thanks for both [Geoffrey and Jonathan] of their kindnesses towards Robert and Ray, despite their childish indiscretions.”
“We mortals can’t accommodate such a tragedy. (My heart goes out to his friend he was helping.)
“When my sister passed away, I received a card from her husband called ‘Death is nothing at all.’ It brought him great comfort.
“Enclosed are other clippings which I still read when I’m engulfed in grief — which I can’t compare with your pain and sorrow.
“There was a dream I had around the middle of April that has stayed with me. In it, one of your children had done something wrong. It was a young child, maybe seven or eight years old. (I realize all your children are older than that.) I don’t recall what he had done wrong, only that I was fascinated with watching your reaction to it. You both sat across from the lad and leaned forward to speak to him. I don’t recall any of the words you said, only that I was so impressed with the spirit in which you spoke. All was done with love and kindness. The child was reprimanded, yet not destroyed emotionally. The scene ended with you both hugging the child and expressing your love once again.
“I awoke with a renewed desire to be more Christlike in my dealings with our children. There is a feeling, a spiritual feeling, that enters my heart every time I think of the dream.
“Thank you for always being a good example to me. I realize now that I have observed the Despains for years, gleaning ideas for my own family now. I’m so grateful for the gospel and the way you know how to live it in a daily way.