The hour of your mission is come!

It was a thrilling experience to report to the MTC this morning. I had flashbacks to a similar event 43 years ago, when my family "delivered" me, a young and nervous 19-year-old, to the LTM to begin my first mission. And then more recently, to the experience of dropping off our son when he went to Chile in 2009.

This time, "Sister Kenison" and I just drove ourselves down, parked our car, and checked ourselves in. No painful farewells or tearful hugs! We'll stay at home in the evenings for the next week and a half while we attend the daytime classes and evening devotionals.

I have to say that it was quite a thrill to put on my missionary ID tag. It's a proud thing to be an official representative of the Church, and of the Savior; and wearing His name prominently is a privilege that I enjoyed greatly when I was young. I just need a little time adjusting to the Spanish words instead of Portuguese....

After the years of gradually-growing anticipation, followed by five months of intense preparation, it's so amazing to finally be at this point! Several months ago, after receiving the call, I installed a "countdown" app on my phone and have watched the number go from triple digits, down to double, and then single... pretty dramatic to see it today, showing no days remaining!

As the Lord said to another missionary, Thomas Marsh, early in this dispensation:

"Lift up your heart and rejoice, for the hour of your mission is come." (D&C 31:5)

We are rejoicing!

And by the way, I reset the timer on my phone app to show how many days until we actually leave for Argentina. I suspect those days will go by fast too!