Well here we go... it's official! Jake was called to serve in the Washington Everett Mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints! He got his call on the 13th and we went to the temple on the 16th. It's been a whirlwind week, but we're all very excited.
The day that he got his call, we knew he would probably be getting it. The Bishop had e-mailed us and let us know that it was on it's way and "the word on the street" is that calls come on Wednesdays. So, Wednesday morning we called the post office. Sure enough, it was there. We drove down there and they had held it for us. I swear that thing was burning a hole in our pockets until we could meet at Robert's office to open it.
The rest of the day was really fun. Jake and I got in the car and drove to Provo... thinking we were going to go the the "Missionary Emporium". (I guess they don't have those anymore.) We went to The Missionary Mall and our sales guy had gone to Ireland on his mission. Jake told him that was where he wanted to go. The guy told Jake that he didn't get to teach even one discussion on his mission. That really changed Jake's mind about Europe. He started thinking that Washington wasn't that bad after all. (Not that he ever thought it was bad... the first thing he said to me was, "I want to go wherever the Lord needs me to serve." ... he's such a stud!)
The next thing we did was drive to the MTC. Since the whole H1N1 thing, missionaries familes aren't allowed in the MTC to drop them off. They just kind of "tuck and roll" at the curb while you slow down. We had a chance to go into the reception area and we talked about where you eat and where the dorms are. I told him which building I was in and where the lessons are taught and stuff like that. We saw some missionaries walking by and we had a chance to talk about districts and how that works. It was a great time at the MTC!
I'm not sure how I'm feeling right now. It's kind of a mixture of excitement, sadness, happiness, worry and proudness... all at the same time. I find myself crying at little things while laughing and smiling at others. My heart is so full that words really aren't working very well for me.
We talked for a long time about testimonies and teaching the gospel. I told him how I felt like an Amway saleman on some sick Ground Hog Day while I was on my mission at times. We talked about mission rules and obedience with exactness. I told him that I felt so lost and alone at times on my mission... times when I had my companion right there with me, but still felt alone. Although my heart aches to think of him going through those experiences, I know that he will be a better man because of them.
My mind kept going to the floor in front of the refrigerator in the "pink house" in Layton. I would have a picture of a Book of Mormon person on the fridge. I would try to talk about that person as much as I could for a month. I'm not even sure if the kids remember that, but I thought about sitting on the floor and talking to Jake about the Stripling Warriors. As a mother, I feel those women are kindred spirits, sending out your son with only the knowledge of what they have been taught by you. Have I done enough? Was I the type of mother that I should have been? Can my son truly say that he was "taught by his mother"?
What I can say with all of my heart is that my children know they were loved. I know with a surety that Jake can say that he was loved... always. Since he was old enough to walk, he would take me by the hand in the morning and, without saying a word, he would walk me into his room and to the rocking chair. And we would rock... When he came home from school, he would find me and then go out and play. He did that every day until he graduated from high school.
I'm so grateful for that time. It just seems such a small moment in time, and I suppose in the great realm of things, it is.
For now, we're preparing for him to greet the people of Washington state. There are shots to get and things to buy, but there is a new spirit in our home... and the promise I have that wherever he goes, we will always be looking at the same moon.