This Happened Today

A really good friend of ours was on a business trip to Toronto. His corporate offices are just five minutes away from Esteban's apartment so he took him little gift from us and breakfast.

I'm so jealous Rob got to see him today. I miss Esteban so much!!  I just want to hug him and touch his face and know that he is real. Having said that I am so happy about where he is and what he is doing. I would want him anywhere else.

A Day in the Life of a Missionary

The Canada Toronto Mission had a project called "A Day in the Life of a Missionary". A member of the church in the area where Este is serving followed him and his companions for an entire day chronicling their activities and posting them on Facebook. It was perfect for this Missionary Mom's heart. I will post the photos he took and his commentary.

Here is his introduction to the project:

Recently, a Broadway musical called "The Book of Mormon" has done and continues to do great success. It is a Socio-Religious satirical comedy from the same creators of the acclaimed and controversial animation South Park.
The play, which took seven years to be idealized, won several awards over the past three years and, for many critics, is considered the best musical of this century.
The central theme is the proselytism of Mormon missionaries in a foreign country. Peculiaritiesies of the religion and cultural differences were addressed in a very creative and comical way.
Since the purpose of the play is to entertain, not to inform, the vision of the missionary routine is unrealistic. As a returned missionary of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, today, 11/10/14, I will participate in a project following the routine of the missionaries who serve in Mississauga Ward, Brampton Ontario stake, in Canada, and I will share, by Social media, Real-time activities and the routine of the Missionaries. Feel welcome to share the information.

‪#‎ADayWithTheMissionaries‬ ‪#‎TheBookOfMormon‬ ‪#‎LDS‬ ‪#‎MissionaryRountine‬‪#‎TheBookOfMormonBroadway‬ ‪#‎Mormon‬ ‪#‎ShareGoodness‬‪#‎MississaugaWard‬ ‪#‎BramptonOntarioStake‬ ‪#‎AskTheMissionaries‬‪#‎ImMormon‬ ‪#‎Elders‬ ‪#‎LdsMissionaries‬‪#‎TheChurchOfJesusChristOfLatterDaySaints‬ ‪#‎JesusChrist‬ ‪#‎mormons‬

The day starts early! 6:30 wake up, do exercises, eat breakfast, change clothes and look for inspiration for study.

The purpose of the personal study from 8am to 9am is to strengthen the testimony and to be prepared to help those who they are going to teach.

The main message the missionaries share is the Restoration of the Gospel! That the Church of Christ is again on Earth with a living prophet and twelve apostles.

 More than 88 thousand missionaries serve voluntarily in more than 100 nations and in all languages!

The Book of Mormon is given for free to all! It is a record of the communication between God and the inhabitants of ancient America and it is the keystone of our religion. A new witness of the divinity of Jesus Christ.

9:13 Praying before leaving. Saturday is ESL classes in the chapel.

9:25am Missionaries gathering at church to district meeting and ESL classes.

9:30am District meeting starts

In the district meeting experiences and ideas are shared, goals are discussed and actions plans are set. Every thing in a selfless atmosphere.

10:15am little snack after the district meeting! Donuts!

10:30am opening of the ESL class

Missionaries are called to serve. To share knowledge through free English as Second Language is a way to serve the others.

1:00pm The best part of the mission is to teach those who seek for the truth. It is wonderful to feel the Spirit testifying the truth and seeing an investigator accepting a baptismal date.

2:30pm Today's second lesson was 100% in Mandarin. It was about the 10 commandments. The investigator committed to live them and also accepted a baptismal date.

5:30pm After some lessons, here are the missionaries doing contacts and offering help to people near the Chinese Market.

7:30pm little break for the dinner provided by faithful and generous members of the Ward.

9:10pm After a long day of work, the missionaries finish their daily activities after planning for the next day in Spirit of prayer.

I finish my participation in the project exhausted, but with a very positive balance. The Lord's work is not easy, but the approval sensation in the end of the day is worth it. The best was to be able to experience the feelings of when I was a missionary. I know by personal experience that the Lord is in front of this marvelous work. It was fun!

You've Got Mail!

We received an email from Elder Womack today. I was so surprised and so happy!!

He is doing great!! I was happy that it was a long, detailed email. Who knew one little electronic note could bring so much joy to a mothers heart!!

Unprepared

This day finally arrived. I have thought about this day for months and even years. Just over eighteen years to be exact.  The day my boy grows up and leaves home. I knew it would be hard. I tried to prepare myself. I thought about what it would be like to get in the car without him. To walk into the house without him. To set the table without a plate for him. To have family prayer and scripture study without him. I tried to think of all the possible scenarios. In the end, I was unprepared.

We took one last family photo this morning. It may be over 5 years before we are all together in one place again. I want to remember how nice it is to be together.

 Mike and Melanie came over to say goodbye as well. Melanie had other reasons for stopping by but, I'll talk about those later.

 Vanessa was having a hard time saying goodbye to him.

I insisted on one last photo with my three boys together!

Going to the airport was about what I expected. I was actually happy for him. I had finally forced my self to say the words, "I want him to go."

We all followed him to the ticket counter to check his bags. We made sure he had everything he needed.

We followed him to get in the security line. It was there that we had our last hugs and said our final goodbyes. I teared up at that moment. We all stood there awkwardly as we watched him make his way through the security line. After he passed through the metal detector he looked back found me through the crowd, he waved, and smiled. My heart melted. I think he thought we left but we remained and  watched as he put back on his belt and watch. I had a clear view of him across the airport. He put away his security tray, put his bag over his shoulder, and walked around the corner.

I was completely unprepared. I was not prepared for that moment. I didn't know that in an instant he would be gone. He was just standing there a moment before. Then he was gone. I stood there in shock looking at that empty place in the airport. He has just been there. Then he was gone. In an instant. I would not see his face again for 2 years. I thought about taking a picture of the empty space in the airport. I don't need a photo to remind me of it. That place is clearly imprinted in my mind.

When we got in the car, AJ moved to Este's seat. Ethan said, "Our family dynamic just changed" We came home and each headed to a different corner. I laid on the couch and cried.  The house seemed so empty and quiet. Este was not even that noisy, but the house was quiet. It was different.

It was really hard. People deal with hard things. As hard as it really is I keep thinking about my friend whose only daughter just died from a brain tumor.  She was only 9 years old. I know my friend would love to get a weekly email from her daughter explaining how she is doing on her "mission". I have several friends who lost their children suddenly and tragically. They had no preparation. They didn't know it would be the last time they would see their child alive. They had no countdown. They didn't know it was be their last morning together, take a last family photo right before, or to know they needed to cherish every moment. They had no chance to say goodbye 100 times in 100 ways. I also have friends whose sons are not willing or worthy to go on a mission. They ache to see their son leave. When I start feeling that life is hard for me, I think of the people who know real pain.

Life will settle back into a routine. AJ is in drivers ed. Savanah is always practicing the piano or reading her latest book. Vanessa has softball practice all summer. Ethan and AJ go to football conditioning every morning. Aaron has work. I now have to catch up on everything that I pushed aside while getting Este ready for the mission. We need to pack up Este's room so Ethan can move in. All the kids are switching rooms. It is the equivalent of moving half the house.

Sometimes in life we can prepare ourselves for what lies ahead. Sometimes nothing in this world can prepare us for a moment when life changes drastically. The best thing to do is to remember what is really important - live life at it's fullest, enjoy every minute, and learn to keep moving forward. You never know when it may all change in an instant.