Lowering the age of missionary service - a year later

Dear Journal

Almost one year to the date of the missionary age being lowered for young men to serve a mission, my twin sons recieved their calls to serve in the Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic East and West Missions leaving in January 2014!! What an impact that inspired instruction has had on our family.

 

You see, with the lowering of the missionary age, and being born in the 2nd half of they year (meaning they are still at school) - the boys turned 18 but were still at school so the last little bit of 2013 has proved to be  and is going to continue to be fast and furious and already proving to be very interesting....

Last day of school

Their last day at school for children is a milestone that many mothers comment on and it feels like a completion of a rite of passage. An although they are grown up on the outside - to their mother they still look like these little ones... So after 13 years of school - the question of what to do after school has been answered and I am grateful for that... the distraction of girls, making money, cars, and all those things have not quite hit and so for many mothers, the instruction around the age being lowered has been a divine intervention....

 

Graduation

The next milestone for the boys was graduating from High School. I had the privilege of attending a High School that was modelled on the American Schooling system, so graduation ceremonies were extravagant and a highlight of the school calendar. However, in NZ, graduation is called Senior Prizegiving and not nearly as exciting for anyone other than the handful that win the awards - so not the Turketos :-) We carried on our tradition of making and giving lolly leis and although they never said a word - I think they loved every one they got - which made their mum happy. So graduation -  done and dusted...

Graduating from Seminary was one event that was almost overshadowed by finishing school but it was something that was celebrated with other church members which was special. The Stake President had students stand up as he called their groups, not in wards, or agegroups, of excellence and achievements, but those who had been called on mission, those who had their papers in and waiting, those who were working on their missionary papers and those who wanted to go. It was so awesome to see both young men and a few young women stand as they fit. 

The next milestones (all critically important to a missionary) to be completed by January 13th 2014 is completing their exams, temple preparation, taking out their endowments, the farewell sacrament meeting talks, the setting apart, and then my least favourite of all - the airport scene. So you can see lowering the age was awesome at the time, and a year on, but when we are right in the mix of it - it was still inspired don't get me wrong -in reality it is pull-on, press forward, steaming ahead.

  

Mxo