Ten years ago today I left for Spain, we arrived at dawn on the 18th. The sunrise in Madrid was beautiful from the air.
We left the MTC (missionary training center) in Provo, Utah early on the morning of the 17th by bus. When we arrived at the Salt Lake airport, my family was waiting for me.
From my journal: "Paul (my then almost 2, now almost 12 year old brother) took my finger and wanted to leave. I took him, Camille, Luke and Jenifer on a walk to get a drink. Then Grandma Smith came, then Grandma Richards." At the time Grandma and Grandpa Richards were serving as missionaries at the church employment center where they helped people find employment, so Grandpa sent a letter to me with Grandma and said he would cover their shift so she could come see me off. (Some other time I'll have to share part of that letter with you, it still means a lot to me.) "Jake came. (Jake is my cousin). He seemed excited to be there. He's excited and getting ready to go on his mission." (He was later called to serve in Venezuela, it was neat to write to each other from our respective missions.) "Mom said she wouldn't rather be anywhere more than sending me to Spain."
Last year when I asked my mom how she felt about sending my sister on a mission to Lithuania, she said it was like sending me to Spain, my sister was so excited to go that she couldn't be anything but excited too. I'm sure it wasn't easy for my mom to tell me good-bye for two years, but I also knew she was excited and proud of the choice I made, as was my dad.
While we were in the MTC, my companion, Elder Swensen told me that his brother had told him to take a good look at his dad at the airport, because he was worried about his dad's heart. When I saw his dad at the airport, I thought Elder Swensen's brother was crazy, his dad looked healthy to me. We were both right. Elder Swensen's dad did pass away while we were serving our missions, but is was in a car accident, and not from heart failure. The last time Elder Swensen saw his dad in this life, Elder Swensen was getting on an airplane with me to fly to Spain. When I found out about his dad dying I wrote, "Elder Swensen told us his dad was killed in an accident. Elder Swensen knows he will see his dad again and that he (Elder Swensen) is where his dad wants him (on a mission)."
As missionaries we taught that families can be together forever. Elder Swensen knew that, and so do I.
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