On the eve of the eve

Saturday, June 15, 2013

We went to dinner tonight with my siblings. This is a monthly tradition with us and I'm glad we were able to get in one Last Supper before we fly to Ireland. They, along with my husband, are my best friends. Even though we embrace different geopolitical positions and tend to clash a tad on religion, they know and love me and I feel the same about them. There are no animosities among us. This was not always so, but we have been blessed with the gift of age and forgiveness, coupled with the mutual belief that everyone has the right to believe as they choose. And then there's that common ancestry that cannot be denied. When we were young we lived together, played together, fought together, and then made up. Living with these fine, feisty people as a child as helped prepare me to be a better missionary among the fine and feisty Irish.

So Monday morning we fly out. Early: 8:30 a.m. Tomorrow we finish packing which is, as we all know, the most brutal part of any trip preparation. ("Did I bring my _______? Did I forget my ________?") Anyway, we'll get there.

I wish I had a picture I could share from the MTC, but I took them all on my iPhone so they're not shareable! But let me tell you what I learned from these "senior" missionaries: these are the people who have learned, in large measure, to become the children that Christ wants us to be. Life has humbled them and they are ready to go into the world and serve. I could go on but I always fear that I will become boring. So, until next time: Erin go braugh! (Ireland for ever!)