Officially a Missionary!

The morning of the 10th, Jordan didn’t get out of his room until after 11 am. I don’t think he could face our tears and didn’t really want to say goodbye to his room yet. Finally he came down the stairs very quiet and withdrawn. His dad gave him a blessing which brought a great spirit of love to our family and our home. He put on his shoes, zipped up his suitcases, looked around the house for the last time (after running up to his room at least 5 or 6 more times), and we walked out. That was really hard to see.

My wonderful neighbor, Kerri, brought over keys to her Ford Excursion so that we could fit his luggage AND our family and my parents. In our Expedition, we have a very small trunk and we wouldn’t have had room for my parents who are extremely close to Jordan. We got in and found a box of tissues with a sweet note for me…I hadn’t even thought to grab some in advance and boy did I need them. A CD titled “Army of Helaman” was playing as we turned on the car. So thoughtful!

Jordan had requested that we eat at Wingers for his last meal home. He used to go there every week for years with his football teammates before every game. It was a good place for him and has lots of good memories. It was fun to be able to get our mind’s off saying goodbye and to laugh together.

Then we headed off to the MTC. That was probably the hardest part of the whole day!! Brendan drove and Jordan sat in the front. I sat behind him and watched as he took in all of the places that were his life between Lehi and Provo. By the time we got to BYU campus, the tears were going full force. I reached from behind and put my hand on his shoulder. He squeezed my hand and held it till we got to the MTC.

We had the last time slot to check in and were about 5 min. late so there really weren’t lines of cars behind us. We were greeted by a cute Elder White who upon hearing Jordan graduated from Lehi High asked him if he knew a few of his friends. Jordan had played football with ALL of them and they struck up a conversation immediately.

He gave his dad a hug first and then he came over to me. I told him I need to be last and he said, “I’ll hug you now and hug you last too.” He did. Again, seeing him hug his brother and sister was difficult for me to watch.

He hugged his sweet girlfriend goodbye and I silently prayed that it wouldn’t be the last time he got to do that. After my hug again, he and Elder White situated his suitcases and off they went.

He turned around for this last time with a nervous, but excited smile and that was it. He had a long walk to the buildings, but once he started walking he never looked back.

That’s it. He was gone. After all these years of talking about it and preparing for it, it’s over. He’s gone and on his mission!

“In the Hollow of His Hands” was playing as we got in the car to go home. It brought such a spirit of comfort and peace in the car. The timing of that was a real blessing. We got home and didn’t know what to do with ourselves. We all sat on the couch and looked pathetic. It didn’t feel right to watch tv or play a game or go out anywhere. Nicole pulled out his phone after about 30 minutes and played a video that Jordan had taken of himself and his roommates singing (yelling) Christmas Carols after watching “Elf.” It was SO GOOD to hear his loud and crazy voice being his goofy self. It immediately cheered us up. We were all comforted so much and over the next few days literally felt the love and prayers of all our friends and family. We so appreciated the phone calls, texts, emails, and gifts given to us.

We are still waiting for Jordan’s first email and pray that he is doing ok, that he loves his companion and district, and has adjusted to the early mornings and busy schedule. My baby is all grown up. I thank my Heavenly Father for giving him to me for the past 19 years. I have treasured every single minute of it and have been so blessed to have been chosen to be the mother to this extraordinary child of God. We wouldn’t want him anywhere else. We love him and miss him but are so proud of him. We look forward to seeing him grow in His service and have the adventure of a lifetime in Guatemala. What a blessing to be able to serve the people of such a choice land. I turn him over to His care now.