The MTC!

For the past month, these two suitcases have been part of the decor of my living room.  At first they were empty, but as the days passed, they gradually began to be filled with things such as: white dress shirts, dark dress slacks,  black socks, 3 pair of comfortable walking shoes and many ties.  The list said 5-6 ties, he insisted on taking this many:   (silly boy)

There were also a lot of little miscellaneous things thrown in on a daily basis.  Things like sunscreen, mosquito repellent, a sewing kit, a shoe shine kit, a first-aid kit, flashlight (with lots of batteries) moleskin. . . you get the picture.  The list of things needed was long and varied.  

We wrapped up our final shopping this past Tuesday.  Wednesday at 1:00 pm, we said good-bye to Kimball for two years, as we dropped him off at the MTC (Missionary Training Center) in Provo, UT. 

 Having already sent off an older son to serve a mission in Brasil 7 years ago, I thought it would be easier this time around.  Not so.  Even though he is only about 8 miles away from home right now, my "mother's heart" still misses him.  He will be at the MTC 9 weeks, learning the Tagalog language.  On August 24, he will fly to the Philippines where he will be for another 22 months serving and teaching the  Filipino people in the Angeles Mission about our Savior Jesus Christ.  

How I love this boy!  He has prepared well!  This will be such an amazing experience for him!  He will learn so many things that will impact the rest of his life!

I thought I was doing pretty well Wednesday afternoon & evening.  I was so happy for Kimball that he was finally where he has wanted to be for so long.  That night I grabbed my pajamas and went to put them on.  This note was folded up inside:

Well, you can imagine what that did to me.  I still can't read it without tearing up.  

About a month ago, I dug out my missionary countdown clock that Brad gave me when he went on his mission.  I figured out how to get it re-set and was pretty proud of myself for doing so.  I showed it to Kimball, he just rolled his eyes.  I could tell he was thinking:  "gosh mom, I'm not even gone yet, and you're already counting the days..."  So I had to hide the clock.    But it's out again...

I started a blog for Kimball a couple months back.  You can access it by clicking HERE.  I will post his weekly e-mails & letters on that.  This is your invitation to click on the "follow" button, or subscribe to the RSS feed.  I probably won't forward his e-mails  to a mass list, unless it is requested.