Preparing for a mission is actually a lot of work!
During the last few months before she left, these are some things she did.
The first step Jasmine had to complete before going on her mission was turning 19 - she accomplished that feat very nicely!
Finding an appropriate missionary wardrobe - skirts had to be long enough to easily cover her knees when standing and sitting, and not so long that she would be tripping on the uneven sidewalks and stairs of Mexico City.
Thrift stores were actually some of the best places to find the skirts. Dresses on the left, skirts on the bottom and tops/cardigans at the top. You want to be able to mix and match as much as possible, and change the look of the outfit with a different belt or scarf.
Taking a picture was a good plan - helped me remember what she had and what I could send to her that would work with what she already had, without sending duplicates. Most of these clothes didn't come home with her - she left them in Mexico City for others. She did bring home some things from other sisters though.
In November Jaime left on her mission. This is a suitcase packing party at Jaime's house with friends Brooklyn (who was also leaving to serve the week after Jaime) and Kennidy.
The day before Jasmine's farewell at church, Dad decided to finish the rock on the fireplace while he could still have help from Jas. We also had help from Logan, Kevin and Greg. Mackenzie is the supervisor.
Got it finished and it looks beautiful! It was my job to get the decorations back in place before the dinner after church the next day.
The Gates Family (decorating got finished!)
Jas's farewell was a few weeks before she left - November 24th. It was nice to have it a few weeks early so we didn't need to think about it anymore during the final weeks of preparation.
Sisters are gonna miss their Jazzy!
We had a family dinner of Taco-in-a-Bag - seemed appropriate for someone heading to Mexico! Why do the men folk always fall asleep after eating?
We had a huge dump of snow just before leaving for the MTC. Bug is jumping off the deck into a snowbank with Jasmine. I suggested to Rich and Jas that they should shovel the sidewalks and they agreed and went out to tackle it. They were almost finished when I frantically called them back in. Jordyn had just gotten out of the shower and in the process of flipping her hair back to wrap it in a towel, she hit her head on the medicine cabinet and was bleeding profusely. She yelled for me and I took one look at all the blood and said "Apply pressure to it with your towel." I don't do well with blood which is why I called in Rich and Jas. They were taking care of things, but the bleeding just wasn't slowing down after quite a long time. With her diabetes we didn't want to take any chances so called the ambulance. Not one but two arrived - good thing the sidewalks had just been shoveled!
The ambulance dropped her at the Dahl Clinic and she got a few stitches. Apparently the rumor going on around town was that Richard had had a heart attack.
So Jordyn was a bit of a mess with wet tangled hair caked with blood. So while they watched a movie, Jas lovingly brushed out her hair and sponge washed all the blood out of it. Last service for Jordyn before leaving for 18 months!
Jas was very organized, as usual - took care of all her packing of suitcases and packing up her room. Dad's giving her a massage break from her work. We had to provide her with enough toiletries for 18 months - that took a lot of space, and weight, but at least she didn't have to worry about searching for anything in Mexico City and had her favourite brands from home that she was comfortable with.
All packed - everything fits and came in under the allotted weight! Big sigh of relief!!!
A few days before she left we all went out to a Mexican Restaurant to see what kind of food Jas would be eating for the next year and a half. Good stuff!
Jas was set apart as a missionary on Thursday, December 5th by President Dudley. From then on she had to have a companion with her, so a sister sleepover on her last night at home seemed like a great plan.
The next morning she said her good-byes to her beloved sisters and Richard and I started our trip to the Provo MTC with our Sister Jasmine Taylor.
This calendar posted on the mud room door shows some of the major events of the fall of 2013, before Jasmine left for the Mexico City Southeast Mission.
