Our neighbor girl is heading off on her mission Tuesday for her church. She is Mormon. K is a very sweet young woman and she came over to invite us to her farewell party on Sunday evening. We will, of course, attend.
Since we have lived next door to her family for 10 years now, we have seen all those four kids grow up alongside our three. Even though she has been away at BYU for the last school year, it is hard to think of her being gone for 18 months.
She even said her Mom is 'freaking' out a bit. I can imagine. I asked my girls after she left if they could go 18 months with only talking to me on the phone twice. She is allowed to call home on Mother's Day and Christmas.
No. Way. Was their answer.
Email and letters just wouldn't cut it was their comment.
K is going to have quite an experience and no doubt will come back with many stories to tell and memories that will shape her as she grows further into womanhood.
We wish her the best and I will be keeping her in my thoughts and prayers...as well as her mom and dad.
Letting go as they venture off to college is hard, letting them go in this fashion....don't think I could do it.
2 comments:
Is K leaving at 19? The Church hierarchy lowered the age for missionaries ( formerly 19 and 21 for guys and girls, respectively, and now 18 and 19 respectively), and TONS of young people are dashing off to leave much earlier than they had been planning on for most of their lives. So very, very many of my former students who just graduated from high school this year are leaving almost immediately -- even the girls, as some turn 19 as soon as Sept.
As for K, it's likely she'll only be allowed to e-mail or write home once a week, on Preparation Day (aka P-Day), the day the missionaries are allowed to do laundry and such. But, don't worry; her family will have been emotionally preparing for this relative isolation for her whole life.
Do you know where she's going? Or perhaps you don't wish to divulge her info. If so, that's okay.
Please know, though, that if her family is having a farewell party, they're actually going against policy. (evil smirk). You see, it was tradition for decades for families to hold such parties for the missionaries, but the higher ups felt that it was too worldly and that those from poorer families would feel abashed if they could not keep up with the richer families. The whole Church was told that this practice was strongly discouraged as of about 15 years ago. Mostly people just hold the parties on a day other than the farewell Sunday now, pretending to skirt the issue. (Such rebels we are!)
Yes, she is 19. Her mom has talked about the fact she didn't get to go on a mission and she wanted to have that option available for her daughters, so I would imagine that she is somewhat prepared. The isolation seems a bit harsh to me, but I'm sure it serves a purpose. She is going to California to a Spanish speaking mission. Not a "good" town from what I know of friends who live out there. The party is Sunday evening...and the whole ward was invited! And friends from out of state are coming...lol. So much for the policy!! Question for you...are gifts appropriate?? We've been close to this family for 10 years, and I'd love to give K something that would be useful. Any ideas? She did say she could put us on her email list.
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