So Very Far Away

Clear way back in June his mission call came. It seemed like an incredibly long time between then and when he was supposed to enter the MTC. He was anxious to get going but they had to allow plenty of time for him to get his visa and all the other stuff he had to get to be able to do. He had to take a bunch more medical test, even a letter from his bank. It was amazing. But now all that is in and sent off. Then it was just waiting around. So he continued attending institute and spent a lot of time with the missionaries here where we live. That was a good thing. Then, finally, the time was getting seriously close. He ended up speaking in church twice, giving a sort of farewell. Remember, we don't do farewells anymore, but the ward we used to live in wanted to have him talk. And then the branch we live in now also wanted to hear from him. I told him it was okay to give the same talk in both places.

Then, the Sunday before he left our stake president came to visit our branch so we didn't have to travel clear to the northern end of the stake to get him set apart this time. That was nice. So he was set apart right in our own building. That was a good time. And it was a good blessing. To have words spoken in a blessing seems like such a simple thing but When you stop to realize the Lord's promise and strength are behind it you begin to get a vision of just how well the Lord arms you when he sends you on an errand. And there were a lot of things in the blessing that were comforting to his parents, too. This kids is going out to spend the next two years on a group of tiny little islands way out literally in the middle of the biggest ocean on earth. His mission president called it a "high adventure" and it certainly will be. So we can't help but worry about him.

Then the next day it was off to the airport to begin the journey. We purposely put the flight leaving late in the day so we could all be there. This was the big send off. So first it was get checked in. . . .

And then get through security. They were actually pretty good to him. Had to take off his shoes. Unless I missed someone, it looked to me like there was only him and one other person on the airplane. That's all I saw board.

So after all the goodbyes, he was gone. It has felt really weird to have only the three youngest kids at home any more. Each time someone has left it has felt like someone was missing every time we'd get together for meals or anything. We're going to miss that boy. Personally I hope he spends most of his time on the main islands. Missionaries on the outer islands don't have access to the Internet (no emails) or even regular mail service. They get visited from the mission home at least once every six weeks and thats when they get and send mail. It occurred to us that if we want a Christmas package to get there any where near on time it needs to go in the mail right away. I haven't checked on the postage rates for airmail yet but I'll bet its pretty steep. And slow-boat takes so long.

I was at the stake center yesterday where they have a map of the world showing where all the missionaries from the stake are serving. There were all the names clustered around North and South America. And then, way off to the far right side of the map, clear out at the very edge, was Stachelbeere's name. He's going so very far away.