The Philippines, where exactly are they? Thank goodness for Google maps! I think that is what everyone does right after they read their call. Look at a map and see where it is they are going to be serving.
The next thing was to realize, oh by the way, he needed to get a passport! Don’t those usually take longer than six weeks to get back? Then came the visa application. In order to make sure he could report to the MTC on February 13 he had to have his passport and the visa app back to Salt Lake in just 10 days! What! Is that even possible? My son didn’t want to postpone his mission any longer so we had to find a way to get it done! We went to our local government office to get his passport and told them that we needed it back in less than ten days. They couldn’t do it at that office but there was an office only about 60 miles away where we could get it back in only 3 days but it was going to cost around $200! We knew that we had to do that. We should of listen to our bishop and got the passport when he suggested back when he first interviewed my son for the mission papers! Oh well, no time for that now. This is something I think I would suggest to do. Just go ahead and get the passport that way you won’t have to pay so much. If they don’t need it for their mission it is still good for ten years.
We made the 60 mile drive twice in one week. Once to turn in the application and picture for the passport and then to pick it up three days later, yes it can be done if you have the money. The only reason why we had the money was because we were blessed with people who wanted to help in any way they could and gave my son money for his mission. This is when I learned that, yes it takes a lot of money for missions, but our Heavenly Father will always provide a way for His work to be done!