The Big Day!!

Well, after several months of preparation and waiting, the day for Ben to enter the Missionary Training Center came. It was a hectic morning making sure that he had all of his things packed in his several suitcases. Finally, everything was packed and we loaded up to take him to the MTC in Provo, Utah. His time for arrival was 1:30 pm, so we had one last family lunch and enjoyed each others compay. It seemed like we were seeing all kinds of other missionaries that were also entering the MTC that day as well. Two or three in the Sizzler, where we had lunch. As time for him to say goodbye approached, we drove down to the Provo Temple (right across the street from the Training Center) and took some family photos. At about 1:25 pm, Ben told us that he was ready to go. We drove across the street and entered the MTC parking/drive through area. For those of you who have served LDS missions in the past, the drop off is a lot different now than it was when you went. No longer is there a room where you go and watch a movie and then say goodbye, it is literally pull up to the curb, unload your bags and say goodbye. There were groups of 4 missionaries per pull in spot and they welcomed Ben and shook his hand. I started unloading his bags, knowing that this was something that we should probably do quickly. The next 5 minutes were probably the hardest 5 minutes of my life! I never imagined that saying goodbye for 2 years would be so hard. Within minutes, Ben was whisked away and he was gone. The drive home was very emotional and quiet. We know that this is what he should be doing at this time of his life, but it didn't make it any easier.