Dear Elder you are hereby called serve as a missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. You have been called to labor in the Philippines, Bacolod mission. You should you report to the Provo MTC on February 13, 2013.
My mind started to race, the Philippines, and February 13th?! That is only six weeks away! There was so much to think about and things had to get going to get him ready to go to the other side of the world in just six short weeks! After he was done with all of the congratulations and hugs, I found him out in the car freaking out! He had no idea where the Philippines are and he was going to be gone in just six weeks! I was a bit freaked out too! I can’t tell you how many times I reread that white book with all the instructions in it! It was almost like reading the Book of Mormon, every time I would read it I would get something new how of it! I would realize something else that we needed to get done in just six weeks! Did I mention we only had six weeks!
I know that others may have months to get ready, and wait. I’m not sure but that I liked only having six weeks, because there wasn’t time to just wait and wait.
The thing that helped me the most was to make a list of the different things that needed to be done under each category. For instance, clothing, medical, luggage, MTC, etc.… That helped me to feel more organized, and not have to reread the book again! Although I did just to make sure!