We have 4 children ~ 3 boys and 1 girl.
Our daughter, Ella Rae, is the oldest, just barely a year older than Redford, who is Irish twins with Romney, and Royal came a few years later.
As I joke in my presentations, “We had 4 kids in 5 years…a Utah tradition.”
My beautiful baby girl, and now grown up daughter, Ella Rae Hewlett (20), has recently been set apart as a full-time missionary for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. She will join her younger brothers in the mission field, Redford (19) in Santa Fe, Argentina, and Romney (18) in Antigua, Guatemala.
She will serve for 18 months in the Lima Limatambo Peru Mission. Her brothers serve for 2 years. Her new title will be Hermana Hewlett, as her brothers are both Elder Hewlett (and you can only fathom how our tricky last name is pronounced by strangers in Spanish…hilarious…usually “Emlich” or “Heblet”).
We will not see them in person for the duration of their service, as visiting your kids is not allowed.
They are totally dedicated and focused on service, from dawn to dusk, living with a companion (selected by a presiding leader) who is a complete stranger they have to learn to get along with. At the same time, they are learning Spanish, educating themselves in the teachings and gospel, and in search of helping others. No dating, no drinking or smoking, no TV or pop music, no social media scrolling or video games, they can’t even take their own cell phones! It is a monstrous shift to their lives.
And yet, we wouldn’t want them doing anything else.
In our culture and faith, this is the height of what you hope your children might choose to do as a tithe of their time, meaning 10% of the lives they’ve had so far is dedicated to service to God at a time when most are focusing on themselves. It is a major sacrifice.
Yes, this is a business blog, and yet, you know I share nearly all things personal within teaching and speaking. That is the best way to teach leadership principles.
We are all leaders of ourselves, our own path, destiny, and our daily decisions matter.
That is the whole premise behind The Promise. Do what you say you’re going to do, and if that means after breaking a few promises and fixing bad behavior, then you can make and keep bigger promises and succeed in magnificent ways!
Ella’s plan as a teen was the opposite of serving a mission. She wasn’t a bad person, she simply surrounded herself with friends and media that filled her mind with other ideas. She was also subject to challenging situations that tried her faith in God, made her doubt what her parents were teaching, and often strayed from the ideals set before her. Just like any teen, really.
After graduating high school, many of her friends chose to go on missions, and she chose to move to Italy as a nanny / au pair. And then she went to New Zealand. Next to Sun Valley, ID, and finally, Juneau, AK. She has already mostly been gone for 2 years, as if having served a mission anyway. I share this because it was on this journey of self-discovery, enlightenment, and traveling the world, leaving the nest, spreading her wings, that she found what she was looking for.
Her brothers both left on their missions the last 2 Augusts, and now she leaves this week in October. Youngest brother, Royal (15), is left home to fend for himself with his parents.
This talk by Ella, now Hermana Hewlett, is called a “Farewell” message, given by every missionary who departs, shared with their community congregation. Ella was raised in this same home and neighborhood where she delivers this message, to those who have watched her struggle, mature, now thrive in life, and become this glowing human of light. It is an astounding turnaround to all who know her, even as she’s always been a bundle of joy, she now shines the light of redemption and happiness, and people feel it instantly in her presence.
In her talk she goes into great detail of her story in finding and changing due to Jesus Christ, in a most powerful conversion story, as she traveled the world from the age of 18-20 years old in search of truth.
Yes, I’m her Dad, so I’m biased and proud to the point my buttons are popping off of my shirt over her. And over her brothers. That’s one of the reasons I have this blog – to share the incredible life happenings.
Yet, I received so many private messages from members of our church, and those who are not of our faith, who heard her talk and it inspired them, some said it changed their lives, that I felt it important, appropriate, and essential to share here.
We said goodbye to our sweet little girl, now full-time missionary and woman, on Wednesday, October 21, 2026, and my heart about crumbled with sadness, while also beating with profound gratitude that she is headed out to make a difference in this world.
She has already helped many souls to give their lives to Christ and find true joy as she has.
This is her incredible and uplifting testimony and story. We are not allowed to film the talk, but here is the audio, it is 19 minutes long. Ella’s message is the ultimate example of The Promise.
An Invitation: If you see a missionary, of any religion, walking the streets or knocking on your door, please consider being kind, welcoming, or just telling them no thanks – but do you want to use my restroom or have a drink of water? These are the children of parents out there praying their kids are protected and loved in the service of others.
Thank you for listening, may God bless you, always, and remember to Keep The Promise.
