A friend of Andrea who has been through this a few times, including very recently explained the last few days well. She called it a "miserable joy".
Saturday night graced us with an unplanned family moment. We had been asking Christian what his last movie should be. Nothing seemed to be fitting until someone recommended The Iron Giant - a family favorite that happens to meet our standard for Sunday viewing. After the last scene, we took a few minutes to remark for the first time about all the correlations that can be drawn between Jesus and the Giant. It made for a fitting last movie before Christian's long sojourn in a cinematic desert.
On Sunday, President Wheatley set Christian apart, and it finally seemed like it was really happening.
And to keep things interesting, Christian woke up Monday with a fever and chills. His strength left him as he stood in the kitchen, and he had to be helped back to bed. He slept the day away and got a course of antibiotics from the doctor. As the day was drawing to a close, he voiced his suspicion that he had probably brought it on himself. Sunday night he had prayed that something would happen to swallow up the boredom of waiting for his departure on Tuesday. We agreed that the first lesson of his mission was to be much more specific in his prayers.
The only task this morning was to figure out a couple of unknowns about the CCM. The welcome packet he received after his call advised he should arrive with Guatemalan quetzals in his wallet because he would want to buy a few things at the CCM, and they could not accept US currency. Unfortunately, none of the currency exchange companies around here carried such exotic currency. I know because I asked them all on Monday. I called the CCM right after they opened today, and the kindest sister answered my question and let me know there were ways to use his debit card to get quetzals or whatever he needed at the CCM. She added that they would be ready for him when he arrived Wednesday morning and that he would be arriving with 23 other missionaries. What a comfort that was to know, and it did wonders to ease all of our minds. What a blessing that I still remember enough Spanish after all these years to have that conversation!
The only task this morning was to figure out a couple of unknowns about the CCM. The welcome packet he received after his call advised he should arrive with Guatemalan quetzals in his wallet because he would want to buy a few things at the CCM, and they could not accept US currency. Unfortunately, none of the currency exchange companies around here carried such exotic currency. I know because I asked them all on Monday. I called the CCM right after they opened today, and the kindest sister answered my question and let me know there were ways to use his debit card to get quetzals or whatever he needed at the CCM. She added that they would be ready for him when he arrived Wednesday morning and that he would be arriving with 23 other missionaries. What a comfort that was to know, and it did wonders to ease all of our minds. What a blessing that I still remember enough Spanish after all these years to have that conversation!
Then it was off to the airport. Saying goodbye was hard. I wore sunglasses in case the sun started to get in my eyes once inside the terminal. Emma was reluctant to let go when it was her turn for a hug. There were a few tears, but Christian was so excited -- and we were so excited for him -- that it was not as hard as we had expected.
As he passed through the first security checkpoint, we almost forgot to take a parting picture. Fortunately Andrea remembered, and I called to him in time. He gave us a wave and he walked a few steps and disappeared from sight. I knew I would have to wait a few hours before I would be able to look at this picture.
We did not feel like going straight home, so we stopped for some comfort food at Panera. (Mac and cheese works well in case you are ever in the same situation.) And even as we were eating and looking up his flight status on our smart devices to learn about a delay, Andrea got a text from an unknown number. With Christian filling our thoughts, the text contained this unexpected picture of him, flanked by two fellow brand new elders on their way to foreign Mission Training Centers -- one of them travelling all the way with Christian to Guatemala. The one going to South Africa (who knew they had an MTC?) had a sweet mother who had been permitted to accompany him all the way to the gate and was kind enough to ask Christian for his mom's phone number, knowing we would want to see this.
As I write this, Christian is only about 30 minutes from Los Angeles and after a layover of a few hours, he will leave the good old US of A for the first time. What a great adventure he has ahead of him!
You know, I was about to say that it is comforting knowing that I can trust our Heavenly Father with my son, but then it occurred to me that I had it backwards. He had entrusted me with His son, and now Christian is back in His hands for a while.
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