Our departure date has been moved up to June 24th. We will be flying out of Salt Lake City to Seattle, then flying to Tokyo. Then we will fly into Manila. Going to be a long trip, so we upgraded to business class seating. We will be doing our Preach My Gospel training at the Philippines MTC instead of the one in Provo. The excitement and nervousness are getting stronger now that we know the date we are leaving and that it is SOON! But I also feel a calmness in me. I know what we are doing is good and right and that we will grow so much from this experience. I just pray that we can help and serve the missionaries and others while we are there in the Philippines. My emotions get so strong at times...thinking about leaving, thinking about serving, the unknown, etc. The quote from Marvin J Ashton keeps running through my head, "Weeping is a gift of the Spirit." I have been using that gift a lot lately! Sometimes it embarrasses me when I can't control my emotions, but the older I get the more easily the tears flow. I feel the Spirit more and it is hard to contain it, so it overflows onto my cheeks.
I love the Lord! I am so thankful for all He has done for me. Serving full-time for 23 months is going to be an amazing experience, and a way to "pay back" a very tiny portion of what He has given me.
I know that my Heavenly Father is excited and happy that we are going on this mission. I know it will bless me, Don and our other family members.