When she told us last summer that she wanted to serve a mission, my first thought was "Really? But you just graduated! And you're ready to leave!?" and then immediately I thought, "Duh!" I couldn't think of anyone more perfect for the call to serve. Loline's love of life, the gospel, and confidence in herself and her testimony had shaped her for 18 years to become an ideal servant of Jesus Christ!
Because my parents left for their own African adventure in July, a lot of responsibility to get Loline's papers in and ready to go was left on me. It was admittedly overwhelming at times (as I'm sure all moms feel when they send kids out on missions), but also so much fun! I loved being a part of it all and experiencing it all along with her. She received her mission call to the Zimbabwe Harare mission and after the shock stopped us in our tracks, the reassurance that that was exactly where she was supposed to be sunk in.
It's been 3 short months since she got her call and it's certainly been a whirlwind! After her semester ended, she moved back home where Steve and I are living and we became a sort of three musketeers! Between immunizations, millions of skirts, visas, police clearance, passport, doctors checkups, and so much more, the days flew by! In these last few months, we became inseparable, knowing every detail of each others lives. While we've always been close, we became the absolute best of friends.
I feel like a part of me left with her on that plane to South Africa and will be there in Zimbabwe until she gets back next fall! I miss her more than I can say but have never been more proud of her in my whole life! She was so ready to go and is going to do such incredible work in Africa - this is Africa's time and I'm so excited that she gets to be a part of it's growth in the gospel.
My sister heart is so proud of the beautiful young woman she has become and the wonderful missionary she already is! 13 days down, a million to go.
xoxo, Abby
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