2026-07-17_email_hi-my-amazing-missionary-daughter

From: jason.heywood@gmail.com To: kaitlynn.heywood@missionary.org (cc kaitlynn.heywood@gmail.com) Date: 2026-07-17 Subject: Hi My Amazing Missionary Daughter!

I would like to share the story of Susanna Stone Lloyd, who at the age of 26 left England in 1856 and traveled to Utah alone. The only member of her family to join the Church, Susanna was a member of the Willie handcart company. Like so many other pioneers, she endured life-threatening hunger, illness, and fatigue.

Upon arriving in the Salt Lake Valley, Susanna borrowed a mirror to make herself more presentable. Despite her best efforts, she recounts: "I shall never forget how I looked. Some of my old friends did not know me." Having sold her own mirror to an Indian for a piece of buffalo meat, she had not spent much time looking at herself. Now she did not recognize her own image. She was a different person, both inside and out. Over the course of rocky ridges and extreme hardship came a deep conviction. Her faith had been tried, and her conversion was concrete. She had been refined in ways that the very best mirror could not reflect. Susanna had prayed for strength and found it—deep within her soul. Hermana Heywood!

Good morning! Well we dropped off Natalie at the MTC yesterday. That was hard. I was mostly fine until I was looking at pictures and happened to capture her final "looking back" before I had to get in the van and completely lost her within the MTC.

[image: IMG_9271.jpeg]

After this, I completely lost it.

Like the last selfie you took of yourself at the airport: [image: IMG_2287.jpeg] You have seen better days.

hahah jk, this one: [image: IMG_3088.jpeg]

Mom and I are so proud of you. You are doing something that is SO hard. You are doing it one day and one step at a time. I'm sure on your mission you have found easy days and fun days, and you have also experienced days that took courage and faith because everything in you wanted to stop and give up. You are building for yourself, and for your future children and husband, experiences from which to draw on to be a support and help to them. Dont give up. Some days its one step at a time. The important thing is to keep moving forward. You have been given an incredible gift. Even if it looks like a soggy paper bag of dog poo. Right now, you have the opportunity and blessing to work through some of the things that will get in the way of your future self. Don't waste it. Learn from it.

In a talk by Mary Ellen W Smoot "Developing Inner Strength" she talks about developing inner strength.

Sister Smoot says:

I would like to share the story of Susanna Stone Lloyd, who at the age of 26 left England in 1856 and traveled to Utah alone. The only member of her family to join the Church, Susanna was a member of the Willie handcart company. Like so many other pioneers, she endured life-threatening hunger, illness, and fatigue.

Upon arriving in the Salt Lake Valley, Susanna borrowed a mirror to make herself more presentable. Despite her best efforts, she recounts: "I shall never forget how I looked. Some of my old friends did not know me." Having sold her own mirror to an Indian for a piece of buffalo meat, she had not spent much time looking at herself. Now she did not recognize her own image. She was a different person, both inside and out. Over the course of rocky ridges and extreme hardship came a deep conviction. Her faith had been tried, and her conversion was concrete. She had been refined in ways that the very best mirror could not reflect. Susanna had prayed for strength and found it—deep within her soul.

Isn't it interesting that to develop this strength Heavenly Father often allows us to go through trials? Isn't it also interesting that while we are going through those trials, he will often send help? What you have chosen to do with your life, by handing it to the Lord, you will never regret. He is taking you and molding you. He is stressing you to get the yucky stuff out. He is purifying you. He can only do that if you let him, and if you turn to him while you are struggling. Sometimes, most times, this is incredibly hard. But if we are faithful we will be much like Susanna - we will be so changed that we may not even recognize ourselves. If you have pride, put it on the altar to sacrifice. Dont waste this tremendous opportunity to bless your current companion and your future family.

Just so you know you aren't the only one - arg. I had an argument with Mom last night. It was regarding Alexa. Details aren't important but I gave into my anger and frustration and got after mom. I feel I was correct, but mom only saw an angry dad and was not looking to improve herself. And the way I announced my observations was not done in any way that could be reinforced by the Spirit. So what landed was all on the adversary's side to do with as he will. I finished my conversation with Alexa and Mom. Then was slapped around by the Spirit with feelings of guilt for being a doofus. So I went down and apologized to Alexa for how I treated her and made her feel. My pride had so much righteous indignation that I couldn't apologize to mom. When we woke up this morning, it was the first thing I did. I shouldn't have let it go that long, and I shouldn't have said the words in the first place. All this to say - I'm working at it too. I still feel the principal that I was arguing about was correct, but even if it was, how I handled it and made others feel was not ok. Sometimes even when we feel right about something, the price is too high and the reward is simply not worth the price. If I believe I'm right, and would have just let that argument fester, I'm giving tools to the adversary to use. And I am sacrificing a part of my self respect on the altar of pride. The price is just too high.

At any rate, I hope things are going well for you. Mom and I pray for you daily and think of you all the time. We worry about you and are excited for you on your journey.

You are an amazing example to your siblings. You are an amazing example to your parents. Keep at it. Forget yourself and go to work. You have ancestors and angels all around you. Kaitlynn, I can't even begin to express how proud I am of you. I know you aren't perfect, but I don't care. I see how hard you work and how much you care. I see you. YOU ARE AMAZING. I know you can do anything you set your mind to, especially with humility and the Lords help. I love you so very much. I am so proud of you.

I love you, Dad

PS I attached some pictures of the MTC farewell. You and your sister have shown, and are showing incredible courage. My heart is so full. [8 attached MTC-farewell photos and 1 photo of Natalie looking back]

Filing notes

Jason's mid-week note to Kaitlynn, sent the day after Natalie's July 15 MTC drop-off. Two threads of directed counsel: (1) trials refine us, so put pride on the altar and do not waste the chance to bless her companion (framed around the Susanna Stone Lloyd handcart story from Mary Ellen W. Smoot's talk "Developing Inner Strength"); and (2) a candid confession that Jason lost his temper with Kristi over Alexa, apologized to Alexa that night but let pride delay his apology to Kristi until morning, with the lesson that being right is not worth the price of how you make others feel.

Attachments (13 total on the message: MTC-farewell photos, a "looking back" photo of Natalie, and a short video) are not stored in the vault; they live in Jason's photo library. Kaitlynn confirmed receipt on the July 20 morning-departure call ("thank you for your emails… answering both of your emails").