The last four years have been the roughest and the most blissful of my life. Through it all, my younger children have been a great comfort to me. Especially my baby boy, Elijah, has been with me through it all and has been an anchor. He’s been a pure blessing – not a bit of trouble and a young man of great faith who graduated Salutatorian of his high school. He got accepted to the University of Georgia at Athens like his slightly older brother and sister. Except, Elijah decided to defer college and serve a two-year mission for our church.
In July after his 18th birthday, he submitted his papers to Salt Lake City and after a week or so he received an email notifying him that he had been called to the Guatemala Antigua Mission of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He was set to arrive at the Guatemala City Mission Training Center on October 3rd.
There’s a lot that goes into preparing for a mission. Elijah needed dental work, a physical, shots, a passport, an FBI background check, a local criminal report to prove he hadn’t committed any crimes, and a list of items to purchase and take for his 2-year stay.
Elijah had been working and saving for his mission for over a year and had a good percentage of the money he would need. Missionaries and their families pay for the mission. The Church arranges for the flights to and from the mission field.
Elijah’s flight was set to leave October 2nd at 4:30pm ET and he’d arrive in Guatemala City on October 3rd around 5:50 am CDT.
So many people chipped in and helped. A friend took him to Joseph A Banks and bought him a suit. Another friend bought him a pair of breathable hiking shoes. People gave him money and there are some who are contributing every month to his mission fund. We are so grateful to these kind, generous friends and family members! I’m personally super grateful for a husband who has done so much to assist my son in this adventure. As Elijah’s step-father he didn’t have to do so much, but he has been truly wonderful.
The last day we had together, I helped Elijah pack everything into his suitcases. We’d been buying and collecting things for his trip over the previous months. The Church gave him a list of items including shirts, ties, slacks, toiletries, socks, sturdy shoes, etc.
I added a few things that a concerned mother would want for her child going to a 3rd world country – a Lifesaver Water bottle with extra filters and Parasite Prevention drops. My son who went to Honduras on his mission several years ago took the drops and didn’t get any parasites. So I definitely wanted to get some for Elijah. If you want some of the Parasite Prevention drops, contact Total Prevention directly. They aren’t listed on the site at this time, but if you contact them directly, they can get them for you.
That last day Elijah and I had together, I felt inspired to have a chat with him about how blessings are hidden inside hard things. Here’s the essence of what I said:
When you face hard things on your mission, look for the blessings in every challenge. They are there. Think of the video games you like to play. Video games reward you for facing challenges. They don’t just give you rewards without you doing something to obtain them. Every challenge in life has an equal and opposite blessing. As you face hard things, start looking around for the treasures. They are there… just as the extra powers, treasures, tokens, tools or life points are found in video games when you face a challenge.
He seemed to really relate to that.
As a mom, sending my son to a foreign country for two years is one of those hard challenges. I’m still processing my emotions. As usual, I process them with music. The video below is set to some music I composed the day Elijah left. The first part is before we went to the airport. The second part is after I got home that evening.
So far, I’ve handled him leaving by focusing on the treasures Elijah’s going to return with in two years. He is such a loving, kind young man, and I know that natural gift of his is going to grow and blossom exponentially. His natural tendency to be responsible and follow through will also expand. There’s no telling how many other wonderful gifts, life experiences and talents he will find along this journey. I’m excited for him.
I’m also excited to be able to video chat with him periodically. In the past, missionaries only got to call home on Mother’s Day and Christmas and email once a week. Now they can call or video chat multiple times each month and email each week. This has helped me immensely to know I can see him and talk with him while he’s gone.
After he boarded his plane, I spent the evening and morning periodically checking his flights in progress and saw that his flights arrived. He had no way to contact me in route … he wasn’t allowed to take a cell phone with him. Fortunately, I’m in a Facebook Group for the Guatemala Antigua Mission and someone in the group posted photos of the new missionaries arriving at the Guatemala City airport. There were two photos of Elijah in the group. Later that day Elijah sent me a sweet email saying he’d made it. He hadn’t gotten much sleep on the plane because the flights were rough, but he seemed upbeat and optimistic.
I’m so proud of this young man and his willingness to do something completely out of his comfort zone to serve the Lord and the people of Guatemala for two years.
The video below documents his mission call, mission preparation, leaving and arriving in Guatemala … set to the music I composed. The music is less about what Elijah might be experiencing and more the feelings of my own heart as a mother sending her baby boy to a foreign land.
Perhaps there are some missionary moms reading this who will understand.
