"John Mission Airplane"

That is what the boys' say when we ask where John is. I just don't think they understand how long a mission is exactly! Over Memorial Day weekend my youngest brother John gave his "farewell" talk in church. We had a lot of family come up. He did such a good job! He spoke and then right after I played the piano for a musical number done by my dad and a few of his friends. It was a little hard to see through the tears. He just bore such a powerful testimony. I know he will do great!

Last Tuesday we gathered together as a family and had one last family night with all of us. It was hard but very neat. We all bore our testimonies and helped John know how excited we are for him.

Jeff pulled out his hymn book from his mission and was serenading us while John finished packing. You can always count on him to help lighten the mood. Then we headed over to the stake center and John was set apart. He received a wonderful blessing from the stake president.

The next morning we rolled out of bed and met him at the airport at 5:30 AM. He is flying to the Lima Peru MTC and then will head to Bolivia. He looked so much like a missionary!

We took one last family picture (in front of the bathroom? we didn't plan very well) and then he was off. He is going to do so good! I got my first email today and am very excited for him. He said there aren't many English speakers down there, so he is having a "baptism by fire" Spanish course. He sounds like he is doing well though. It will be fun to hear all of his neat experiences!