On Sunday March 25th, the night before we entered the MTC, Eileen and I were ordained as missionaries by our stake president in a ceremony know within our church as a "setting apart." Most of our children and grandchildren were present. Becky (our second daughter) and her family came down the week previous when we spoke in church but had to return home to Idaho later that afternoon.
Later that evening we had dinner together as a family for the last time. It was an emotional experience seeing those you love and saying goodbye for 18 months. While we will keep in touch by Skype, I (Russell) wonder how much the younger grandchildren will remember of us. I hope that the example we set of serving God and our fellowmen will somehow have a positive effect in the lives of our posterity.
I (Eileen) had a hard time saying goodbye to the children and grandchildren. They have been a huge part of my life for many years. I will miss seeing them for the next 18 months. I will also miss seeing my parents and sisters that I am very close to. Russell and I both feel strongly that this mission is the thing that God wants us to do at this time in our life and we have been blessed with so much. We truly want to give back to others. I have received much joy in doing 19 Operation Smile missions over the last several years. This mission will be different in that I will be gone for 18 months rather than two weeks, I will get to experience it with my best friend Russell by my side, and I know that the call to serve has come from a higher source than just my own desire to serve. We appreciate the love and support our family members have given us in this endeavor.
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| BISHOP WADLEY, PRESIDENT STRONG, RUSSELL, EILEEN AND PRESIDENT SMOOT |
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| EILEEN WITH PARENTS ONE LAST TIME BEFORE LEAVING FOR INDONESIA |
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