From the first time we decided to go on a mission, there has been many lessons of patience and waiting, putting it all in Father's hands. Finally, this afternoon our stake president will place his hands on our head and set us apart as missionaries. It has been a very long wait, but today, we will start to realize this dream.
I have been the one who has posted each day up till now, and so Bonnie needs to have her chance to express her feelings now:
We just came from a wonderful Sacrament Meeting and the blessing of our grandson Andrew Marlin Sharp. As I looked around at all those little ones, held some in my arms and some on my lap, the tears flowed and I wondered, "How does a grandmother leave her 20 grandchildren who are so dear to her?" It's hard enough to leave our wonderful children and their equally wonderful spouses, but the grandkids? And I remembered the recent words of Elder Holland..."The little munchkins will still be there when you get home."...or something to that effect. As we become a missionary family, this experience will hopefully cement in their hearts that spirit of missionary work, sacrifice and love of the Gospel. So I can go and yes, I'll shed more tears but they will be tears of joy!
Also, we sang "The Lord is my Light." The line "my weakness, in mercy, he covers with power," brought more tears as I reflected on my beginning Spanish language skills. These are very weak to be sure, but again, I'm counting on that covering power of my Savior to make up the difference as I grow and learn this new tongue. I believe in the gift of tongues. It will be manifest surely in coming months!
So, in a few hours we will go and get our setting apart. All will be there, at least all our family. Then we will be missionaries.
We enter tomorrow morning at 8:30. Then who knows what. But this blog will be done. This has been the PREPARATION blog, that which dealt in all the long hours, days, and even months of preparation. Tomorrow we will be missionaries. Our other blog which starts when we can figure things out how to post and such will be: elderandsisterpartridgeinthedr.blogspot.com
Sunday, September 2, 2012
Saturday, September 1, 2012
** DAY 2 -- With Limited Hours Left, We Better Be Almost Done, NO?
We spent the whole day in our world, in our room where we have been living for the last two years with my son. (No, he wasn't in the same room, but it was his house.) It felt like we created a three room home in one room, and had to work to clean it all out, organize, continue with our trips to the DI and the storage unit. We now have all our remaining "stuff" in one room. Now to organize it, see how small we can get each thing so as not to take up too much space, and see how to conserve on weight. We are limited by space and weight.
Of course not as we enter the MTC but as we fly away in a few weeks. We have have to be down to 50 pounds per luggage piece, Bonnie gets two and I get two. Two hundred pounds to take everything we will need for our mission. We are told that in the MTC we will receive material that weighs about 12 pounds that has to be taken. Thus now we have 88 pounds.
Besides that we get one carry on each, and I don't believe they weigh them, but there is a size restriction on them. Besides that, there may be an allowance for a "man purse" and a woman can carry a purse. I plan on carrying a large man purse containing about thirty pounds. It may be bigger than me. Might have to fill it full of chocolate, peanut butter, and things like that.
We have created a new blog that will start as we enter the MTC which will follow this "preparation" blog. In this new blog, we will report our mission, which starts Monday. I don't know the frequency we will record there, but we shall find out.
There is much planned these last two days before we go. Today and tomorrow will be filled with family things. We will be blessing our 20th grand child. We have ten boys and ten girls now, thanks to Sam and Tessa adopting the foster child they received almost two years ago. He is a joy and Bon and I love him dearly. He has become a part of us already.
My mind is still filled with this cluttered room I sit it, and the plans of all the things we have to do today, thus no time to dream of our upcoming 18 months. But that will come.
Most seniors get three to five months to prepare. We have done it in only two months, most days being totally filled with trips, purchases, cleaning, Deseret Industries, purchasing-returning-repurchasing-returning again and again. I am still worried about my two crazy feet and if the shoes we finally settled on. The challenge of making one of them (the feet, not the shoes, but that didn't work either.) smaller never did work. Oh well, another miracles is needed for that also.
Miracles have continued to come, and I hope we have recognized them all, or most of them, and offered gratitude for them. So often we ignore them, and don't see those tender mercies from Father.
Of course not as we enter the MTC but as we fly away in a few weeks. We have have to be down to 50 pounds per luggage piece, Bonnie gets two and I get two. Two hundred pounds to take everything we will need for our mission. We are told that in the MTC we will receive material that weighs about 12 pounds that has to be taken. Thus now we have 88 pounds.
Besides that we get one carry on each, and I don't believe they weigh them, but there is a size restriction on them. Besides that, there may be an allowance for a "man purse" and a woman can carry a purse. I plan on carrying a large man purse containing about thirty pounds. It may be bigger than me. Might have to fill it full of chocolate, peanut butter, and things like that.
We have created a new blog that will start as we enter the MTC which will follow this "preparation" blog. In this new blog, we will report our mission, which starts Monday. I don't know the frequency we will record there, but we shall find out.
There is much planned these last two days before we go. Today and tomorrow will be filled with family things. We will be blessing our 20th grand child. We have ten boys and ten girls now, thanks to Sam and Tessa adopting the foster child they received almost two years ago. He is a joy and Bon and I love him dearly. He has become a part of us already.
My mind is still filled with this cluttered room I sit it, and the plans of all the things we have to do today, thus no time to dream of our upcoming 18 months. But that will come.
Most seniors get three to five months to prepare. We have done it in only two months, most days being totally filled with trips, purchases, cleaning, Deseret Industries, purchasing-returning-repurchasing-returning again and again. I am still worried about my two crazy feet and if the shoes we finally settled on. The challenge of making one of them (the feet, not the shoes, but that didn't work either.) smaller never did work. Oh well, another miracles is needed for that also.
Miracles have continued to come, and I hope we have recognized them all, or most of them, and offered gratitude for them. So often we ignore them, and don't see those tender mercies from Father.
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