Liam Mildenstein was surrounded by family to open his mission call and discover where he would spend the next two years of his life.
Then tragedy struck.
His family posted the following details on their GoFundMe page:
Liam was 19 years old and eagerly anticipating opening his mission call, hoping with all his heart it would be in Japan.
He drove with his immediate family from Miami, Florida to Provo, Utah for vacation, and was there when his call came.
Gathered in front of all of his extended family and friends, Liam read his call out loud, and when he read “Tokyo, Japan” his big heart just gave out.
He fell backward to the floor, and despite the best efforts of medical personnel, he never regained a pulse. Liam passed away about an hour after opening his call.
We are devastated. All of this is completely surreal, and being far from home creates so many difficult circumstances that we are reaching out for any help or assistance possible.
We want to ensure that Liam can be laid to rest peacefully in the middle of all of this chaos.
Reaching Out for Help
Liam’s aunt posted the following plea on Facebook soon after the horrible accident:
My 19-year-old nephew unexpectedly passed away, right after opening his mission call. There are no words for this heartache. Please consider donating.
Those who wish to donate to the family can do so on this GoFundMe page.
The picture below was taken with the Mildenstein’s oldest son, Kaelten, as a missionary. He served in Russia.
There are no words to describe how devastating this tragedy is. We pray that the family will find relief, comfort, and assurances from the Holy Spirit as they move forward in the days and weeks ahead.
What have we to console us in relation to the dead? We have reason to have the greatest hope and consolation for our dead of any people on the earth. – Joseph Smith
God bless this dear family. If you are in a position to help out, please be sure to donate to their GoFundMe.
Rob
Friday 4th of August 2023
Must have been called to a Greater Mission. No doubt to where he'll be waiting for all of you.
Peter Mills
Thursday 3rd of August 2023
Liam's demise and the manner of it raises many philosophical questions. However that may be and whatever the answers proffered the shock and dismay are hardly able to be imagined. Loss of such a nature has to be survived and we hope that Parents and Family involved are able to take some small comfort knowing that others of whatever religious, or secular, persuasion are feeling for them.
Another Missionary Mom
Thursday 3rd of August 2023
Oh I'm so sorry! This hurts my heart. But I guess he's serving earlier and farther than expected. Prayers of comfort for his family. <3 At least he got to read his dream mission.
erikpeterhansen
Thursday 3rd of August 2023
I know that my father loved Japan and he was there during the cleanup of World War II. He couldn't serve a mission because of his military service. He talked about the Japanese people constantly. A few weeks after he died I had a dream in which he came to me and told me about his current mission to Japan, how he was learning the language and that it was more difficult than he thought it would be! This young man will certainly start his mission shortly!
Myocard tooyoung
Thursday 3rd of August 2023
Fully jabbed?