Well, it’s done. Monday morning the kids said good-bye to Marie. It was bittersweet. They all love each other so much!
Before she left Marie was showing Gideon where England is on the map.
Joseph and I (and Henry) drove Marie to Tooele where we spent Monday night at my parents’ house. I have no idea why we didn’t ask my parents to take a photo of us with Marie. Why?!
Tuesday morning we drove Marie to the Salt Lake Airport and helped her check her luggage and get her boarding passes. We said our goodbyes and actually did really well not crying too much. And then she took a big breath and walked away to go through security.
We stayed and watched her for about 5 minutes and then left. Once we got in the truck Joseph and I cried. We know Marie is off to do something good and wonderful but it is still hard to say goodbye and let her go! About an hour later I got a surprise text on my phone from a number I did not know.
Some kind stranger, who turned out to be a Delta worker, took pictures of all the missionaries heading to England and texted the mothers. I may have squealed with delight when I saw the picture! Of course, it set the tears off again but I was so happy she would not be flying alone. That poor elder though! Haha, having to fly with six pretty sister missionaries. 😀 They’ll get their missionary name tags when they arrive at the Preston England MTC (Missionary Training Center).
We also got a picture of the airplane taxiing away from the gate.
We are so thankful for the goodness of strangers who made not only this mama’s heart happy but the other missionary moms as well! As I am typing up this post Marie is in the air flying over the Atlantic on her way to Manchester, England. There someone from the MTC will meet all missionaries and take them there. Hopefully we’ll get an email confirming she arrived safe and sound. I’ll be setting up a blog to post her missionary happenings. I’ll let you know when it’s up and going.
Here’s a short video answering some question people typically have about Mormon Missionaries.
https://youtu.be/-Un9qtWGDPA
My niece is coming home next Wed. June 1st from the same mission. I am excited for you and I Totally understand the joyful/aching momma heart. My 3rd son is in Argentina and I miss him. I had to chuckle at your comment that you were relieved to see that Marie was not travelling alone to England. My poor niece left from the Las Vegas airport in December 2014 and was supposed to meet up with elders and sisters in Dallas. However, about 30 minutes into her flight out of Vegas, the plane had to turn around for some mechanical problem. My sis and her husband were watching the flight on some app they had so they knew the flight had turned around. When they called the church travel dept for missionaries, they had no information. As it turned out that poor girl who had only previously flown once with her grandma was alone all the way to England. She arrived safely, but said she never wanted to go through that again. I am excited to hear all about your daughters experiences. Good Luck and we will keep her and your family in our missionary prayers.
Shelly in Ephraim Utah
Oh my goodness! That is not fun! Marie also has only flown once with her grandparents when she went to Spain but she wasn’t paying attention. 😀 She was supposed to originally fly out of Reno to Salt Lake but we asked if she could just fly out of Salt Lake partly because I knew she’d have more of a chance of flying with others right from the get-go.
What bittersweet moments! I’m excited to hear about her time there.
I am very excited for your daughter and I hope she has arrived here safely. Sadly she won’t be in the mission where I live but she is going to the mission where my daughter is at uni and where lots of my husbands family are living. I’m sure she will be a great missionary and I hope they get to meet her!
I hope they do too!
There is a sister in our ward from England whose best friend lives in the England Birmingham Mission and her cousin also moved into another area of the mission. She’s also telling them to keep a look out for her.
You are in for some exciting moments as you get your e-mails! We enjoyed letters from our children and have enjoyed e-mails from 3 grandchildren and 1 nephew. I will look forward to your daughter’s experiences too!
My first missionary comes home in three months and he will tag his brother who will leave just a couple of weeks later. It’s hard to send them off, but I’m glad I got to drop mine at the Provo MTC instead of just walk away at the airport! The Spirit at the MTC, even at the curb, is super strong and helps so much!
I really wanted to just comment about the text you got. Today’s technology is so nice for missionary moms! I resisted getting a smart phone for a long time, but finally got one about a week before my missionary left. So glad I did, because many thoughtful people have randomly texted me photos and notes throughout the mission that have made my heart glad.
So excited for Marie and your family. Her mission will change all of you!
Oh how I appreciate the members that send me picture texts of my missionary and have positive comments about his work. I got one just yesterday! It is so comforting.
My oldest is currently serving a mission. He has been out for 8 months and we also receive text messages from strangers. Those random text photos are great. The kind strangers will be blessed if my prayers of thanks have anything to do with it.
Hi,
It’s been quite a while since I looked at your website, however we had the missionary sisters at our home for dinner yesterday and after they left I randomly connected a few dots (large family, farming, grandmother in Tooele) and just wondered if there could be any connection and was rather surprised to discover yes there was. Sister Wadsworth is doing fine and has settled into the missionary work at full speed, although needless to say she is missing her family – we got to see a photo of you all. She has a great companion who will look after her – and of course she is starting off her mission in a great ward!
I will have to let her know I saw a little of her growing up on line when I see her on Sunday.
Thank you so much for leaving this comment! And for feeding Sister Wadsworth and Sister Christy. 😀 It’s so nice to know she is being taken care of clear across the world. Tell her hello from us!