I left my "baby" at the MTC!!

How did we get from here............

to here-- overnight???

As the last minute preparations begin, you realize that this is really going to happen.  Josh is going to be gone for two years!

(and yes, all of this stuff fit in his luggage!)

I don't even know how to describe the emotions that you feel when you take your son to the MTC.  You know with a certainty that that is where he is suppose to be at this time in his life.  You are happy and you are proud.  You are excited.

But.....you wonder: "Will he be OK? Will he be homesick? Will he get along with his companions? Will he learn the language? Will he get sick? Will the routine at the MTC be hard? When he gets into the mission field, will there be hard days?  Will he be scared at times? Will he be hungry at times? Will he find people to teach the gospel to?"  

And, in your heart, you know the answer to all these questions, is yes!  But, you also know that you are turning him over to the Lord for two years and you have faith that he will be OK.

 

The song, "In the Hollow of Thy Hand" pretty much sums up how the parents of a missionary feel.

"Dear Lord, who blesses us with love, Please send this day thy spirit from above. As this thy son accepts a call from thee, Help him we pray, to learn humility.  Direct his footsteps every day, and keep him ever walking in thy ways.  Inspire him as he spreads the gospel plan, Lord hold him in the hollow of thy hand.

Dear Lord, who hears and answers prayers, Please keep thy servant always in thy care.  as he prepares to teach his fellow men, Oh keep him safe and bring him home again.  Protect him from all worldly ways.  And always send thy spirit when he prays.  Give him the courage of a righteous man, Just hold him in the hollow of thy hand.

In the hollow of thy hand, as he grows from boy to man, help his understanding deepen and increase. In the hollow of thy hand as he grows from boy to man, let him know the special blessing of thy peace.  As he faces life's demands may he take a valiant stand, Give him shelter in the hollow of thy hand."

And you shed some tears when you have to say good-bye but you look forward to the day, in two years, when he returns with that "missionary glow" and that smile on his face and the Savior's image in his countenance, because he has just spent two years studying the gospel, gaining a stronger testimony and taking this knowledge and this testimony to those who don't already have it. And you know that this has been "the best two years of his life" and that he and the whole family have been blessed because of the mission he served.