Since I kind of neglected my blog during and after my pregnancy with Isaac, there are a lot of gaps in our lives, many big and little events, that never quite got documented here. I need to do some back tracking to catch up. It is an honor to share with you one of the best things that is new and exciting in our family.
Our oldest daughter, Lindsey, is now in the Missionary Training Center in Provo, Utah, rigorously studying Cantonese, and will be spending a year and a half as a full-time missionary for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the China Hong Kong Mission. She will spend her time teaching people about the Savior, and helping to lead them to find peace, joy, and comfort that can only be found through the restored gospel of Jesus Christ. She will be helping people in time of need, bringing good cheer to those who are sad and lost, who need to be lifted up. We are so proud of Lindsey for planning on this goal for several years, and finally making it. She entered the MTC on September 26, is loving her mission so far. She has a sweetheart of a companion/roommate, Sister Palmer, both who seem to get along really well with each other.
Kelly and I flew with our daughter to Salt Lake City, spent one last night there with her, and dropped her off at the curb on 9th East in Provo where the highly secured MTC is situated, close to the beautiful mountains and right across the street from the Provo Temple, and said our good-byes for the next eighteen months. I can hardly believe how easy it was for me, probably because she had looked forward to this momentous day for so long, and I was just happy for her. I started to get a bit emotional as I was hugging her then she said, "Mom, don't," and smiled at me, because she didn't want to start crying too. Most likely she really didn't want to ruin her make-up with all those handsome elders nearby who were willingly there to assist with her luggage, at the drop-off point for all the new missionaries. It was rather nice to see the row of clean-cut 19-year-old young men in white shirts and ties, lined up along the sidewalk, appear to be somewhat eager when our rental vehicle, a big minivan, that had just pulled up, with a sister missionary to escort inside instead of an elder. The two who helped her were full of smiles and assured us that they'd take good care of her, get her to where she needed to go, and they repeated a few times to Lindsey that the food is great. It was an exciting two or three minutes and somehow I managed to keep it together.
One of the hardest things to see was when Lindsey had to say good-bye to her little baby brother, Isaac. He came with us on the trip too, of course. He was six months old when she saw him last and will be two years old when she returns home. I promised to take plenty of pictures for her and remind him who Lindsey is. She was such a huge help to me in the four or five months she was home from college prior to her mission with him and the other kids and the house cleaning and shopping. Isaac loves his big sister and always settled down nicely when she would do her little bounce with him. That was also an excellent opportunity for her to learn how to care for a baby, since she hadn't ever had much of a chance to.
This past week, I got a phone call from the MTC health clinic, and they asked me to call back and mentioned something about confirming our insurance coverage. When I called, they told me that they gave Lindsey a phone pass to call me to give me an update on her health, which got me a bit alarmed. They said she'd be calling sometime that day. A moment later, the phone rang, and it was Lindsey. She told me that she has MONO! How can she get the alleged kissing disease as a missionary? Apparently, she said the MTC is a germ fest, and since they are in classrooms day in and day out, surrounded by hundreds of missionaries, it's easy to get sick. There isn't a lot you can do to treat mono, except sleep, which is something that missionaries can't do much of. So they prescribed her to go to be 30 minutes earlier than their schedule and sleep in 30 minutes later in the mornings. Let's hope that will help. Poor Lindsey! We'll be praying for her recovery and hope that she can manage to learn her language and keep up with the demands. She will be in the MTC until December 10.
One of the hardest things to see was when Lindsey had to say good-bye to her little baby brother, Isaac. He came with us on the trip too, of course. He was six months old when she saw him last and will be two years old when she returns home. I promised to take plenty of pictures for her and remind him who Lindsey is. She was such a huge help to me in the four or five months she was home from college prior to her mission with him and the other kids and the house cleaning and shopping. Isaac loves his big sister and always settled down nicely when she would do her little bounce with him. That was also an excellent opportunity for her to learn how to care for a baby, since she hadn't ever had much of a chance to.
This past week, I got a phone call from the MTC health clinic, and they asked me to call back and mentioned something about confirming our insurance coverage. When I called, they told me that they gave Lindsey a phone pass to call me to give me an update on her health, which got me a bit alarmed. They said she'd be calling sometime that day. A moment later, the phone rang, and it was Lindsey. She told me that she has MONO! How can she get the alleged kissing disease as a missionary? Apparently, she said the MTC is a germ fest, and since they are in classrooms day in and day out, surrounded by hundreds of missionaries, it's easy to get sick. There isn't a lot you can do to treat mono, except sleep, which is something that missionaries can't do much of. So they prescribed her to go to be 30 minutes earlier than their schedule and sleep in 30 minutes later in the mornings. Let's hope that will help. Poor Lindsey! We'll be praying for her recovery and hope that she can manage to learn her language and keep up with the demands. She will be in the MTC until December 10.
Comments
No way, it must be going around in Provo, Nick just got over that awful disease. Hope she get's better quick, crazy to think it's spreading in the MTC.