Well, Seth and Travis leave this week for their first official areas as missionaries! Travis leaves Monday morning, and flies to LAX. He will call us from Los Angeles (I can't wait!) and then fly from LAX to Tokyo. From there, seven of the missionaries will be met by elders from the Tokyo mission. Travis will continue on (via the bullet train) to Hiroshima. He will travel from Tokyo to Hiroshima alone. I am a bit worried...hoping he will get there. I hope he will know when to get off the train, I hope that someone will meet him at the train station in Hiroshima. How will he get from the Tokyo airport to the train station? I am convinced that I am not the only mother to have such worries, but without having done this before I am worried! I have heard that the mission president will notify us that he has arrived safely. He is supposed to finally arrive in Hiroshima late Tuesday night, by my count that is almost 2 days of travel. I'm sure that the time difference makes it a bit shorter. Seth leaves for his first area on Tuesday. Since he has been in the Dominican Republic for several weeks already, he will travel to his first area by car (or so we have heard). He is a bit nervous...he feels his Spanish is not great yet. We've tried to tell him to give it some time, he can't expect to be fluent in just nine weeks! Seth does not know if he will be in a city or in the country (which if poverty stricken). He hopes to have an American companion that will help him with his Spanish and can speak some English to! Funny how both boys are a bit nervous, as is their mom. I know that they will do fine. The Lord will watch over them.
The two missions are very different. Seth says his president is known for being very strict, sending Elders home quite often. They are not permitted to take a lot of pictures, and must abide by many mission rules. Travis' president stressed the importance of photographs. The Japanese people get to know each other with photos, and are a relaxed and friendly people. The Hiroshima mission is small, in fact Travis was the only elder in the MTC going there. It will be exciting to hear about their missions and how they differ.
Happy New Year!
I posted on another of your blog entries, but I will introduce myself again. I am Tim Wilson. My son, Seth is in your son, Seth's group in the DR. We have also heard that Bro And Sis Johnson (From the Phoenix/Mesa area) will drive them to their areas.
ReplyDeleteIronically, I served my mision in Japan. I served in Nagoya which is closer to Tokyo than Hiroshima but I've ridden the bullet train and my first area was several hours from the mission home and I travelled on a slow train alone. He'll be fine. Hiroshima is very westernized and will have English signs and directions posted. The same is true in Tokyo. The Japanese are a kinder people than US citizens, generally speaking. 99% will tell your son that they see the bombing of Hiroshima as a blessing since it stopped the war. They were, in my experience, not bitter. As for Japanese, it follows very strict rules, unlike English. It comes around.
Best Wishes!
Tim
Tim,thank you for contacting me again! That is interesting that we both have sons named Seth! How has your Seth adjusted? I was a bit worried about our Seth for a while. He seemed a bit "off kilter" and not as pleased with the CCM as he was with the MTC. Are the boys companions?
ReplyDeleteThank you for your comments regarding Japan. I was lucky enough to hear from Travis in LA, but nothing since. You are right, he will be fine. We'd like to keep in touch with you, the best way to reach me is via email: DRumbaugh@auburn.wednet.edu, my husband's is similar: WRumbaugh@auburn.wednet.edu