Sister Missionary In the Selva

Here we go people. Just TWO DAYS until I'm in the MTC! And I STILL don't know where I'm going. No word on my visa, and no word from anyone else telling me I'm going to Provo; however, a little birdy told me that Provo has received my information as if they are going to accept me and they are just waiting last minute to see if my visa will come just in time for me to make it to Brasil instead. So it looks like I'm heading to Provo folks! Unless my visa shows up... Then I'll pass out with relief. I’m supposed to leave tomorrow (Tuesday) for Brasil if I get my visa, otherwise I will leave Wednesday morning for the Provo MTC. The anxiety is starting to affect my sleep, so I decided to write about my preparation adventures.

Not like my visa is the main issue anymore. I lost my passport! WHO DOES THAT? I thought maybe I could get away with it, that possibly I could find it before the world found out, but no. Mom and I literally turned the house inside-out and have found nothing. I was being so good about keeping track of everything, and then all of a sudden my passport is MIA. I am so embarrassed. If my visa comes before I find-slash-get-a-replacement-visa... That is the definition of a cruel irony, my friends.

The good news is there is a place in Seattle that supposedly replaces your lost and stolen passports in a day. IF you have an itinerary that proves that you are leaving the country in a week or less. As I explained earlier, I do not yet have my travel itinerary because I don't have my visa. So. I can't get my passport because I don't have my visa, and I can't use my visa because I lost my passport! Maybe I'm already in a cruel irony... Darn. It’s not like I have the time to spend the last day I have before I’m supposed to leave on replacing my passport anyway.

Are you hyperventilating yet? I sure was at this point. I could not understand how I possessed the supreme stupidity that allowed me to LOSE my PASSPORT, and somehow not realize it until the week before I had to leave. You know when you pray for an answer or guidance, and you keep getting a prompting that you’re not exactly sure how to follow through with? Let me tell you, I was praying desperately to know where else I could possibly look for that stinking blue book, and all I kept getting out of it was this profound thought:

“Mom should know where your passport is.”

Well. I don’t know about many of you, but if I were to walk up to my mom (who was graciously helping me search the entire house for the passport) and tell her “Guess what Mom, you should know where the passport is”, life would not be so happy. It seems like a really rude statement, no? After hours of searching, I decided to sit down and work on some of my required online mission prep. For the first time all day I felt like everything was going to be alright and that I was doing what I needed to be doing. After another hour or so, I went upstairs to check on a few things. Suddenly I hear Mom yelling:

"Sydnee! The passport isn't in the house!! You mailed it into the travel office when

you applied for your visa! They'll mail it to you when you get your visa. I finally

read this paper that I kept moving around all day, and it says all this right on

the top!"

Immediate embarrassed relief flooded throughout me. Seriously? How could I forget that? At least I didn’t have to scramble and replace my passport… Yeesh.

Fooled you, didn’t I? If I didn’t, you can surely get a chuckle out of my unnecessary panicked search party. I know that I’m still laughing, but maybe that is because I have gone insane.

I also think I'm in denial. I had the next 18 months of my life spread out all over my floor in a neat, organized manner just waiting for me to pack for almost a week before I loaded it into my suitcase, which is something I really needed to do since my mission has strict weight limits on my luggage. Because my transfers will all be by little planes, I am only allowed 1 checked bag under 43 lbs and 1 carry-on bag that is under 15 lbs for my entire mission. I’m sure that thinking, “Maybe if I just leave all my stuff out of my suitcase until the day before I leave, it will all magically fit with plenty of pounds to spare,” is an alarming sign that I am suffering from the lack of will to comprehend the inevitable, aka, denial. Brilliant! No worries, I got it all to fit… I’m pretty sure at least. I guess I should check that tomorrow.

Ok, I'll get off my "Podium of Whining" and start to try to sound like the mature future missionary I am. I think that we all understand that with a few hours left before my mission that I'm feeling a little bit frazzled, but that doesn't mean that my life isn't enjoyable. Far from it, actually! When things seem stressful and even a little hopeless, I hardly have time to finish a prayer for help before things begin to fall into place. I cannot even begin to tell you how blessed I feel as I have received words of encouragement, both written and spoken, that have been much needed and appreciated. I have had the opportunity to see family that I probably would not have seen otherwise. I have had the opportunity to see one of my best friends be sealed to her eternal companion, and I was able to support several more friends as they went through the temple, which are things that I would have not been able to do if I could not serve a mission at this time. My love for others has grown as I have studied how to be a successful missionary, what to teach and how to teach it.

Overall, to put things plainly, I have been happier over these past crazy months than I have ever been before in my life. Even saying goodbye to my closest friends has not been as difficult as I had imagined. As I let them each go, I was filled with the greatest sense of peace and comfort. I know that everything will be alright, even though things will change and I will miss quite a few things. Eighteen months of anyone’s life is a short time, yet it is plenty of time for anything to happen. This is not a sacrifice that I think anyone takes lightly. 1 ½ years of minimum communication with those that you care about most is not something that is easily signed up for, but I have been given the strength and the peace that I need to know that everyone I care for will be watched over. There’s a quote that I keep seeing, and I wish I could find who said it, but it says:

“A missionary leaves their family for two years so others can be with

theirs for eternity.”

-Someone...

That’s what I’m doing. I am leaving my family and friends, missing graduations, important dances, bridal showers, weddings, baby blessings and so much more, and it’s hard. It really is hard to dwell on these things, but somehow I am not saddened by it. Instead I am filled with a peace, and I know that while I cannot be there for everything, the important thing is that they happened. Eighteen months is not long, and soon I will be home filled with experiences that I never would have thought would happen to me. I know that I will not regret the time spent in Brasil, but instead I will treasure it. I am so excited to be able to serve the people of Manaus, and I hope that they will be willing to listen to a 20-year-old girl’s testimony. Everything that I will miss will be made worth it when I plant the seeds of eternity into the hearts of individuals, and that those seeds will someday guide them to an eternal family. Even if I do not see the end result of those that I teach, the knowledge that I was there doing all that I can will make my sacrifice worth it. I’m leaving my family for a short time so those that I find can have their families forever, and that is something that I will never regret.

Lots of Love,
Almost(eep!)Irmã Jones

Sister Missionary In the Selva

Pages

Monday, 7 October 2013

Too Many Jones's! Please note the "new" Name :)

Monday, 25 March 2013

Mission Addresses

Thoughts During the Countdown