Saying Goodbye

She's been gone for 14 days. It's taken me that long to look at the pictures I took on the day she walked to her airport gate. I can't really describe what her absence has done to my heart. Pride and sorrow all combined. It's a strange state to live in.

We stood at the end of the security lines and hugged her tight. Each one of us taking our turn.

I held her as tight as I possibly could and whispered in her ear how much I loved her. And then I looked into her eyes and told her she was brave and courageous and inspiring.

We walked her all the way to the security check point. All of us with tears. My heart pounding so strongly, I thought it would stop.

And then she was gone. With one final wave goodbye. Her final words, "I'll see you soon." The Lord carried all of us that day. Her to Utah and us back home. I'm pretty sure He's still carrying me.

 

And the dearest of friends were on the other end of the plane trip. There to catch her and take care of her. She and her friend Emily are both serving missions in California, just different ends of the state.

They drove her to the MTC (Mission Training Center), hugged her tight and handed her off.

And now she's been gone 14 days. We've gotten 2 emails from her so far. I reread them over and over, just to hear her voice in my head. She's immersed in learning Spanish and loving her companion and district. She bears her testimony of the truthfulness she knows. Just like a missionary.

I don't think about the journey ahead. I can't. I simply focus on today and send her name up to heaven in all the ways I know how. What she is doing with her life, serving the Lord with everything she's got, is so inspiring and monumental. Her courage reverberates through our family. She is our light.

If you want to read her letters home to us, we've created a blog: The Missionary Life of Hermana Foster. Feel free to follow along.