Thursday, September 3, 2009

The day finally arrived....September 2, 2009....Shauna's day to report to the MTC in Provo, Utah to begin her journey to the Paraguay, Asuncion Mission. We awoke at 5:00 AM, and believe it or not you could feel the excitement in our home! The tears from the day before were gone (at least for the moment) and we were all ready to go. At 6:00 AM Shauna puts the first sticker on the "Called to Serve" calendar. It will track her time and when she puts the last sticker on in eighteen months, she will be home.



Every missionary must have at least one picture from their departure day with that "deer in headlights" look. That's the only way to describe the picture below. You can see all the emotions in her face....looks of ...."I hope I know what I'm doing"...."I'm so excited"...."I don't really want to say goodbye".... "I wish the first day were over with"...."I wonder who my companion will be"...."Well, here I go--ready or not".


Can you believe she only took two suitcases for eighteen months? And...she had almost eighteen pounds to spare! Does she look like a missionary? Honestly, she is going to be one of the cutest Sister missionaries to hit the MTC. When she checked in at the Delta kiosk, it was easy to see that she was going to have company on her flight. It ended up that Shauna flew to SLC with nine Elders on their way to the MTC as well!



Before Shauna went through security we watched nine other families all sending off their missionaries. Shauna admitted that she felt sorry for the Elders--they are three years younger--probably haven't travelled like she has--haven't had years of living away from home--all things that for her made it slightly easier to leave. Then it was time for her to leave....hugs, kisses, tears, another hug and she was on her way. By the time she'd gone just a few steps towards the gate, she gave us one of these......


Can't you just hear her say "Peace...Out"?
Then with all the confidence of a new missionary, she turned, and with a wave she was gone.

3 comments:

  1. AHH Shauna I can't beleive it!!! YAYA!!!!

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  2. Wow, I can't believe she's gone. It was so fun to see her at the airport!! She is going to be such an awesome missionary!!

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  3. I have a tear in my ear just reading about it. Brings back sooooooo many memories. She looks so beautiful and ready to go. Love that girl! And poor elders that were trying to get girls off of their minds. She'll be a good test for them!

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