Jasmine was to report to the Missionary Training Center in Provo Utah on December 11, 2013. We had the option of having her fly down, or driving her down. Now, I have always wanted to see Temple Square at Christmas Time, so I was hoping it would work out that we could drive her down. But it was her mission so we let her decide what she wanted to do. When she learned that the Sunday evening before she was to report to the MTC was the Christmas Devotional, she said "I would love to see that!" So we started making plans for Rich and I to drive her down.
We left Friday morning, Dec. 6 to begin our journey to the Missionary Training Center and got as far as Idaho Falls. We were driving the big red diesel truck with it's good winter tires and four wheel drive. We figured it would be able to handle any bad weather that came our way, and we did indeed have some bad winter driving, but only on the trip down.
The beautiful Idaho Falls Temple.
Jas requested that we have dinner at Jakers here in IFs.
We continued into Salt Lake City the next day and this was our worst stretch of weather - very snowy and slushy on the freeway with lots of accidents. But Richie and the big red truck got us safely there. We stayed in a downtown hotel that was walking distance to Temple Square. The first thing we did was walk to the temple and do a session there. We really enjoyed the live session and it was a special session - they said it was the first one with all actors under age 40. It was amazing! We got a little bonus as one of the temple workers was able to show us the sealing rooms and we could see where we got married. And then he took us down another hallway and we got to see some other special things - like the rooms on the back side of the stained glass window. After this marvellous session, we enjoyed dinner in the temple cafeteria.
That evening we attended the musical play "Savior of the World" in the Conference Center Theatre. It was amazing!!! We highly recommend it. When we came out of the theatre, it was snowing heavily.
But it sure made the temple and the lights look lovely.
On Sunday morning we attended Music and the Spoken Word with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir in the Conference Center. It was spectacular and featured the King Singers and the incredible organist too - he played that piece we love that uses his feet so much.
It was fun to be there for a live broadcast and watch them powder up the guy who does the "spoken word" part and watch the cameras and the cues. After this we attended church in the Joseph Smith Memorial Building.
This picture is beside the Tabernacle, where they have the life sized Nativity set up. It was hard to see it very well because it was all covered with snow. We spent the afternoon exploring Temple Square and the Church Museum.
I had to include this picture because it has Flat Stanley. Katia was learning about this character in school and they asked families to take pictures of Flat Stanley in interesting places. So he came on our trip with us and was featured in many photos! Flat Stanley at Temple Square!
Inside the Tabernacle.
The Church Museum had lots of really interesting displays. Jas enjoyed the section on Mexico and even danced around in this skirt, with those dancing Mexicans on the screen to the right.
In the evening we were able to attend the Christmas Devotional in the Conference Center. This was the year they changed the name from First Presidency Christmas Devotional to simply Christmas Devotional, so anyone is able to speak at it.
Jas was trying to finish The Book of Mormon one last time before entering the MTC, so any spare moment she had, she was reading it.
Our seats were in the first row of the section we were in, directly in front of the pulpit, with one section in front of us.
There were wonderful speakers and the choir was beautiful as always. We loved singing "Silent Night" with them. And it's always such a special moment when the Prophet, President Monson, walks in. The crowd hushes and rises to their feet, and you can just feel that he is the prophet! So awesome!
After the Devotional we walked around Temple Square - with the thousands of others who had attended. With the fresh snow everywhere, it was truly beautiful - just the way I'd always imagined it would look!
Our final stop in Salt Lake City was the McCune Center - this is where we had our first wedding reception almost 25 years ago. Our horse drawn carriage circled Temple Square and brought us up to this mansion on the hill where our guests were waiting to greet us. Fun to see it again!
We had a few hours of time to kill so what better thing to do than to go Christmas shopping! We'd spent so much time focused on Jas and getting her ready, that I hadn't done any shopping yet for Christmas. So it was nice to have her help in picking out gifts and stocking stuffers for the rest of the family.
Our next stop we were kind of excited about, but didn't know what to expect. Through an email group for families with missionaries serving in Mexico City, I met Lisa. When she heard we were going to be bringing Jasmine to Provo, she graciously invited us to stay with them at their home in Highland. We decided that it would be nice to do that for one night, or to at least visit with them for awhile before we committed to bringing our luggage in and spending the night. I mean, who knows what they may have been like!!! But Lisa was the most wonderful person ever and quickly made us feel right at home. The whole family was great and fed us dinner and took us to their FHE group. We had breakfast the next morning and talked for hours. Jas was able to learn of lot about what to expect in her mission from their son who is already there. We're so glad we stayed with them - marvellous family!!!
After we left them on Tuesday morning, we headed to the Jordan River Temple to do a session. I wanted to go here because it's the first temple I went through and I wanted to see it again. We got up to the front doors but couldn't get in. I peered through the doors and could see a vacuum sitting there in the foyer. It was closed for two weeks for cleaning - but I hadn't noticed that when I looked online to see the hours. We weren't the only ones there though - quite a few cars were coming and going after they couldn't get in.
So we went a few miles to the next temple - the Oquirrh Mountain Temple. All temples are beautiful and often have a reoccurring motif. I noticed lots of polka dots in this temple (although maybe they were O's for Oquirrh). I liked the DOTS though because that stands for Depend on the Savior and that was totally what I needed to do as I prepared to say goodbye to my little girl for eighteen months.
Then we made our way to Provo and got ourselves a hotel room. We did a practice run and found our way to the entrance of the MTC. They wouldn't let us in and told us to come back tomorrow. lol We found the BYU Bookstore and had fun doing some more Christmas shopping. Jas picked a restaurant for our last dinner together - can't remember what it was but it was very tasty, with a French theme.
Finally Wednesday, December 11th arrived. We were scheduled to drop her off at 1:00pm. We had some special time that morning in our hotel room. Jas received a Father's Blessing and we talked for a long time.
Finally it was time to go so we loaded up the truck.
We had a little lunch at the Olive Garden - Jas and I weren't very hungry! There was an Elder in the booth beside us, waiting for his 12:45 drop off time. His family said to us, "Don't be alarmed when he hugs the waitress - it's his sister!" We watched him leave, and soon it was our turn. When we went to pay the bill, none of our Canadian debit cards were working - a common occurrence for us on USA machines. So the manager came to our table and said that the meal was on the house since we were taking our missionary in that day. He wished her good luck and thanked us for chosing the Olive Garden for our last meal. We thought that was awfully nice of them, but we still payed for our meal, just needed to use the credit card.
Then we headed to the Missionary Training Center. We had a few minutes before 1:00pm so we parked at the Provo Temple. Jasmine was watching the clock and when she said "Go now!" we drove down the hill to the MTC. Now this was the part that I was dreading, but I was trying to be brave. As we drove in at the gate, they asked us if we had an Elder or a Sister. We replied "Sister" so they put a pink sticker on our vehicle. Then they told us we had 2 1/2 minutes to get her unloaded and sent off. I could feel the tears coming, but it was amazing as we drove in. There were Elders and Sisters all over the curb, and they were smiling and waving to us as we drove in. It was impossible to feel sad being surrounded by all that happiness. We pulled in to the spot they waved us to. Elders came up and opened our doors - I almost fell out because I was bending down to get the camera and didn't know that my door was being opened! Rich and some Elders had her luggage out in about 30 seconds. A sweet Host Sister came up to us and said she would be taking care of Jasmine.
All that was left to do were our final hugs and loves!
Finally it was time to go so we loaded up the truck.
Then we headed to the Missionary Training Center. We had a few minutes before 1:00pm so we parked at the Provo Temple. Jasmine was watching the clock and when she said "Go now!" we drove down the hill to the MTC. Now this was the part that I was dreading, but I was trying to be brave. As we drove in at the gate, they asked us if we had an Elder or a Sister. We replied "Sister" so they put a pink sticker on our vehicle. Then they told us we had 2 1/2 minutes to get her unloaded and sent off. I could feel the tears coming, but it was amazing as we drove in. There were Elders and Sisters all over the curb, and they were smiling and waving to us as we drove in. It was impossible to feel sad being surrounded by all that happiness. We pulled in to the spot they waved us to. Elders came up and opened our doors - I almost fell out because I was bending down to get the camera and didn't know that my door was being opened! Rich and some Elders had her luggage out in about 30 seconds. A sweet Host Sister came up to us and said she would be taking care of Jasmine.
All that was left to do were our final hugs and loves!
I really didn't want to let go. And of course I was crying . . . that's why I'm facing away from the camera!
Love this one!
I snapped this picture and Rich was filming it.
They turned and walked up the sidewalk.
They stopped and turned for a picture (it's better in the video!) and the Sister Host called out, "'Don't worry, I'll take good care of her."
The orange suitcases really stood out!
Our two-and-a-half minutes were almost up and they needed our spot. A gentleman in charge politely motioned for us to leave.
As we were driving out, I could see the orange luggage and zoomed in for a final picture. A car drove by right when I took it (see the pink sticker - they have a Sister!), but you can see her head. And that was our final live glimpse of Jasmine for 18 months. She was so happy and excited to leave. Although we'll miss her, we are so proud of her for having the desire to serve the Lord. She had worked as a house cleaner since April and was so tired of cleaning other people's homes. But she was able to save up enough to pay for her mission and was so eager to get on her way.
As we drove away from the MTC, we were sniffling a bit and were a little emotional, but not too bad. It was the good-bye's that I knew would be the hardest part for me, so I was rather relieved that that part was over. But now, we needed a distraction to keep our mind off her. Rich dropped me off at a Hobby Lobby (never been to one of those before!) and he went to wash his truck (you'll notice how clean it wasn't in the MTC curb photos!).
While we were planning this trip and getting tickets to various events, we were very excited to notice that Brigham Young University had a home basketball game on Dec. 11. We love basketball and had never seen a BYU game, so we got tickets. We were really glad to have something planned for that evening that we could look forward to. We went early since we had nothing better to do, and watched the whole pre-game warm-ups and stretches, and watched the stands fill up with people. Our seats were 30 rows back to start with.
I had met Amie, another missionary mom online, who's daughter was also serving in the same mission as Jasmine and went into the MTC that day too. We learned that we were both going to be at the same game so they found us at our seats, and offered us much better seats on Row 5, which we gladly accepted. It was so nice to sit and chat with her during the game. We discovered that our blond missionary daughters have a lot in common - and we were glad they're both athletes who know how to run! BYU was playing Prairie View or something like that, from Texas, and doubled their score, so it wasn't an exciting game to watch, but it was still fun to be there. So glad I got to meet Amie too, another awesome missionary mom!
The next day we started our trip home. We did drive past the MTC one last time to wave at Jasmine (but we later learned that she wasn't even there - she was on the temporary West Campus with all the Spanish speaking missionaries!). We got home on Friday and were happy to see our other girls and tell them all about the trip and show them the pictures and videos. After unloading, I checked my emails and wow - big surprise!!! There was our first email from our Hermana. Friday was her P-Day and she was sending us a letter before we'd even had a chance to wait for one. Pretty sweet!
I'm so glad Jas wanted us to drive her down - it was a wonderful spiritual feast of treasured memories we won't forget!
