29 Days and counting!!

AJ will be going into the MTC in less than a month!! Yikes!! We are still waiting for her passport to arrive. After we get her passport we will have to mail it off to the travel center in Utah for them to start processing her Visa.
We have done some shopping in preparation for her trip. She has bought some skirts, shirts and a few pairs of durable shoes (crocs). Since it rains often in the Philippines she was told that she will need durable water-proof shoes, and crocs were highly recommended.  We are told that once she gets to the Philippines that she can purchase additional shoes there for about $5.00. Not sure how many Filipino Pesos that is yet. We still have to learn the rate of exchange, but we've been told it's 42 pesos to every one US dollar. Not bad!!

We will be taking AJ to the temple for the first time this Saturday. It will be a very special day for her and for her father and I as well. I feel so blessed to be able to share this time with her. I'm looking forward to Saturday and will write more about that later.

There have been lots of emotions in our home these past few weeks. My emotions  revolve around sending my child to a country that I'm completely unfamiliar with. It's not like I'm sending her off to college in another state. She's going across the Pacific to another culture, trying to speak another language and communicate with the people there, learning new customs, dealing with a completely different climate, and different living conditions.
She's never lived away from home, and I'll admit I'm a very overprotective mom. It will be extremely difficult for me to not be able to talk to her everyday, to kiss her good night at the end of the day, to take care of her if she's not feeling well or is sad. This will be a real exercise of faith to relinquish my control, but I know in my heart that it's the right thing to do for her and for me. I know the Lord needs her in the Philippines to serve the Filipino people in whatever way is needed.

I know AJ is experiencing her own anxiety about leaving. She wonders if she can live away from home for 18 months without Mom and Dad and her family? Will she be able to fulfill her call as a missionary and do what's needed of her? Will she be able to deal with the extreme heat/humidity? What if she gets homesick, how will she cope? Will she be able to learn the language? And, lots of other things too.

We've had some wonderful mother-daughter conversations lately, both of us sharing with one another our excitement about the months ahead as well as our concerns.  Twenty-nine days and counting....does anyone know how to slow time down, at least for the next month ?