He is to report On May 16th 2013 to the Johannesburg MTC, this leaves us with 5 months to prepare! Yes, you would think that was a long time to wait to leave on his mission, but honestly it took us that long for all the paperwork and details that went into getting him ready. There were background checks, FBI clearance, police letters, Visas, passports, immunizations and OH SO MUCH MORE!!! We watched many tender mercies and miracles unfold right before our eyes. The Lord placed so many amazing people in Wesley's path during this time. I recall being so overwhelmed by the many Items that were required of Wes, between clothing, shoes, luggage, travel money, bike, bedding, you name it he had to have it! There were many nights Jon and I would find ourselves on our knees, pleading with our Heavenly Father for help, Financially we were not able to keep up with the demands of this particular mission. We were again reminded to just have a little Faith and all would be taken care of. It all started with Wesley's passport, we needed $200 to get this started, We were already 3 months into the preparation and The Passport had not even been submitted, it should have been the very first thing we did in December! Well Wes was able to land a Job at Lexus Of Lindon, Thanks to our sweet Son in Law Wes Berge! (haha yes, our SON IN LAW IS WES TOO!) Wes was able to use the money from his first paycheck to purchase the Passport. We then submitted the FBI Clearance form which Again I should have submitted way back in December, it is know almost April and it says it will take up to 8 weeks for it to be completed. Once again we find ourselves Praying that all this paperwork will get done before May 1st. It all did! with plenty of time to spare, we sent his packet off to church headquarters BEFORE our deadline!
As I began to search the other Items required for this mission, once again that gloom set in, I just didn't know how we could possibly afford what was left in the time we had left, I remember sitting talking with Wes one afternoon, he had asked why I was crying, I told him it was going to be at least $500 to just get the clothing he needed and how we just didn't have the money, he pulled up a text he had just received moments earlier from my sweet sister Ashley and her Husband Scott, they were going to take Wes shopping and purchase ALL of his Mission clothing. As you might have guessed I was in tears, but this time tears of Joy! Jon was able to sell his trailer and Wesley's car to help cover some of our other costs associated with the mission, these too were always sold at just the right time when we needed funds, and of course for just the right amount! so Amazing how the Lord has blessed our Family! It was time to purchase shoes, he needed two pair of shoes, we were thinking like $100, oh how wrong we were, try $299 a pair! well once again we needed to come up with $600 to cover this cost! One evening around 10:30 I got a text from Wesley's old scout leader Billy, he told Wes that he would like to get him his shoes, he was told to go to Mr. Mac Monday morning and pick out any two pairs of shoes, and he would take care of it! I MEAN REALLY, you would think that I would have learned a very valuable lesson here, that no matter what we should NEVER DOUBT! we will ALWAYS be taken care of, the Lord truly did place so many AMAZING people in Wesley's path over this past 5 months,
Every time we were in need of anything, someone would cross our path that helped provide it for him. Words can not express my appreciation for everyone that has helped Wes along the way, whether it be YM leaders, Ma and Pa's, Bishops, Aunts, uncles, friends, family, the list could go on and on! I love each and every one of you dearly, you have helped our Son Succeed in this most amazing time of his life! This first post takes care of his 5 month prep time, keep posted for the adventure that awaits Wes in Beautiful South Africa!
No comments:
Post a Comment