There was so much to accomplish this week that I often woke up in the middle of the night, unable to go back to sleep, my mind racing. A number of things happened where Chrise and I felt the Lord's hand helping us. I'll share a couple with you.
From my previous mission to Mexico, I new that getting a visa was difficult. I believe that is, in part, why they gave us four months to prepare for our mission--it takes that long to get the visa together. So when I got a call from Church Headquarters on Tuesday, telling us we had to go the Mexican consulate to apply for our visas, I was surprised (shocked would be a better word) and worried. I had supposed that since we had sent our papers to headquarters more than four months earlier that it was all handled. We went to the consulate on Thursday. There were lines everywhere, tickets to give you a place in a line, and a recorded woman's voice over the PA system, saying if didn't have an appointment you might not get the document you needed by the time the consulate closed, which was at 12 noon. I was lost. A man came out from behind a counter to where I stood and said in Spanish, "Are you here for a visa?" When I nodded, he handed me a ticket and sent me and my wife to an adjoining room. There we found a woman named Maria. She was in charge of the visa section of the consulate, and she was a mormona. She led us through the process, handling it all herself. When I picked up our visas that afternoon, I spent nearly an hour talking to her and thanking her for her help. I was so relieved and grateful to have what I knew to be a major stumbling block behind us. We were going to Mexico!
Sunday will be a day that I will likely remember the rest of my life, mostly because of the tearful farewells to my children and grandchildren. I was hugged at least a dozen times by each of my five grandchildren. I could see on their young faces, ages 4, 6, 9, 9, and 11, the realization that we really weren't going to be around for what looked to them to be a very long time. It was just as tough with my children--there weren't quite as many hugs, but they were a lot longer. The other reason Sunday is so indelibly in my memory is because the Stake President set us apart as missionaries that afternoon. It was the first Sunday of the month, which in our Church is known as fast Sunday. I was fasting with a very specific purpose: I wanted so much to be able to hear the people I would be serving in Mexico. To clarify, I have a hearing disability. I told no one what I was fasting and praying about, not even my wife. After the Stake President sat me apart as a missionary, he gave me a blessing. In that blessing, he said that the Lord was aware of my health concerns and my prayers. He promised me I would not have a problem with these concerns in Mexico and that if I was humble, the Lord would answer my prayers.
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