Missionary Hair & Fond Farewells

Well, another week of preparation! We're 36 days and counting. Things are starting to get really down to it. This past week we took another big step towards "missionary-hood", changing Mom's hair! I'm a hairdresser and Mom has been thinking, thinking, thinking about what to do for her hair. She's dyed it for as long as I could remember, but it's not likely that she'll have the products, time or energy to be dyeing it herself overseas. I talked to her about going blonde, which would make it a "softer", easier grow-out to her natural gray. (Which is actually VERY pretty. Italians, eh? They just do everything right.) She was so resistant at first, she's been brunette most of her life. She knew it would be a big change. But, completely worth it to be able to have the focus needed to go and serve the Lord. One less thing to worry about! So, we did it. It took a good chunk of the day, and Mom was so very patient. There's a part of the lightening process with hair where it takes on it's undertones of orange, pink, and yellow. We hit that point with Mom, and I think she just about gave up hope that I would ever be able to fix it. But, all things considered, I think it turned out rather well. She seems happy with it, anyway. As I said, one less thing to worry about. We also had a farewell moment this week. Trenton, my parents' oldest grandchild, swore into the Navy and left for Basic Training. Mom and I went down to Salt Lake to watch him swear in and wish him well. Mom cried and cried. It's difficult to say goodbyes to family, especially when you're not sure when you'll see them next. Trenton will likely be stationed outside of Utah when Mom and Dad come home. We are so proud of him and his decision to serve our country. It's such an honor to be a part of a family that is so willing to serve others. Next on the list is getting the house packed up and the rest of their needed items bought. Dad is looking into a tablet to have for his scriptures, e-mails, and language training information. It's been fun to research those. So much to do still, and it seems to be coming ever faster! Mom and Dad have more language training this week in Provo. They are working on introductions, bearing testimony, and prayers in Russian. They are getting more and more confident in their abilities. It's wonderful that they get to work with such wonderful people there. They just got a new trainer this week, and it's great to see what a new person brings to the table. This new trainer is helping them learn their language in different ways, which just increases their skills. We had another miracle happen this week when Dad got called to Salt Lake for jury duty. He wasn't looking forward to it, I mean, who would? But he got on the frontrunner and went down. When he got there, he realized jury duty had been canceled, and they were going to pay him for the day since he had already made the trip. So, being in salt lake with nothing to do, he wandered over to the Church Office Building and asked to speak to someone about his mission. They got him connected to Elder Gunther, who works with all the senior couple missionaries. He was extremely helpful and had tons of information for Dad, including the contact information for the senior couple currently serving in their mission! It was great, because they were able to get in touch with them right away. It's so nice to have someone on the other side, be able to ask questions and find out what it's really like. Some of the interesting things we learned, they will not have access to peanut butter, brown sugar, can openers, cinnamon, taco seasoning, measuring cups or spoons. It's amazing how many things we take for granted here, just assuming they will be available to us. Most people there only buy 1 weeks worth of food at a time, no storage, no extras. The church is so new in this area, they only have about 15-20 members in most branches. One of the largest branches out there has about 75 members- but still, not nearly as big as some wards we have here. It will be interesting to see the work they will be able to do, and the changes they will have to make to live in that kind of lifestyle. As the monkey said when he got his tail caught in the fan... It won't be long now!