Cougar Pride: July 2015

Kurt Henderson and his Family Spotlight

Pre-mission family photo

We are 7,600 miles away, serving a mission in Brisbane Australia, but we still feel the spirit of the Y...especially during football season. It required a call to serve as missionaries for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter day Saints to keep us away from fresh, autumn Saturdays, cheering on our favorite college football team. We love it down under, living in the beautiful land of Australia, but we do miss a few things: We miss the sight of the blue and white storming the field as the Cougars begin a game. We miss the sounds of the Cougar roar when the Cougs get a first down. We miss the sound of the Cougar marching band playing our favorite songs, even a few they still play from our days on campus in the 80’s. We miss the smells of cinnamon almonds that greet us at our portal. We miss the roar of the crowd when the blue and white punch the ball into the end zone for a touchdown and then rising up with thousands of loyal fans singing with gusto the Cougar Fight Song. We miss the voice of Greg Wrubell as he kept us entertained with the coach’s post game show as we drove after the games on our way home to St. George, Utah.

Most of all we miss seeing our son, Kurt Henderson #13 WR play in his final three seasons as a Cougar. It is tough on a father who has been there for his boy as his coach and his biggest fan since football started for him at age 10. A father who caught hundreds of practice balls, has felt every painful missed catch or overthrown ball, and been emotional watching a son’s team win or lose a big game....then caught hundreds more practice balls after the game to get ready for the next Friday night.

BUT, we are a missionary family and there wasn’t a prouder moment for us than witnessing our sons and daughters depart for missions; Kurt fulfilling valiantly his mission in Helsinki Finland, putting all his sport aspirations aside for two years, not even sure if he would want to do what it takes to walk-on and play for his dream team after he returned. We are so proud of him as he has given so much of himself for football, not just to play this great game for a wonderful institution, but for the incredible experiences learning about life and developing bonds of friendship with his band of brothers.

Now it is our turn to serve and it has been an amazing opportunity to give three years of our life to our Savior who gave for us His entire life. It has been a time for us to cherish every moment of sharing the Gospel with the wonderful people in Queensland Australia with the love and support of family back home. We love the hundreds of Elders and Sisters we serve, leaving everything on the field, which is white and ready to harvest, for two years or eighteen months. They leave their families, important jobs, meaningful educational pursuits, some professional Rugby teams, and some college football and other sporting teams. It is humbling to serve them and work to bless their lives. But we believe, as said by a Prophet: “You will come to know that what appears today to be a sacrifice, will prove instead to be the greatest investment that you will ever make”. (Gordan B. Hinckley)

There is no greater work and no greater call . . . . and one of the few reasons we would leave our family, and miss seeing our son and the excitement and energy of BYU football!

*we are grateful for BYUTV who does a great job rebroadcasting the games online for us to watch on a p-day in our blue & white, Rise & Shout Cougar shirts.

KURT HENDERSON: FUN BYU FAMILY FACTS

· Both parents, two brothers, two sisters, two brother-in-laws, one sister-in-law received Bachelor degrees from BYU
· Father played football at Ricks College in the “good old days”
· Mother competed on the BYU Gymnastic Team
· Grandfather, Rollie Bestor, received his doctorate degree from the Y, was swimming & diving coach for BYU and taught President Ernest Wilkinson how to swim.
· Grandmother, Phyllis Bestor, received Masters Degree and taught at BYU
· Grandfather & Grandmother have been attending BYU football games since arriving in Utah 49 years ago.
· Brother-in-law, Dave Jensen, played baseball for the Cougars
· Parents have served on the National Advisory Council for the BYU Marriott School
· Parents have served on the BYU Athletic Advisory Council