I sometimes have to remind myself that this is, afterall, my journal and that I need to record more of the events of my life. Today was a cool day because I got to see one of the young men that I’ve worked with in the ward the past several years give his mission farewell talk before he enters the MTC on Wednesday. I’ve worked with Young Men in three stakes, but this is the first time that I’ve still been around long enough to see one of them go from a youth to a missionary. He's going to Chile and will be a fantastic missionary. Our ward just got a new missionary straight from the MTC last week and when the Bishop asked him to bear his testimony, you could see how green he is “My mission is, like, way cool. It’s awesome,” etc. In contrast, he bore a very strong testimony of the gospel, his love of the scriptures and how he sees his call as a sacred responsibility.


Our sacrament meeting ended up going way long, so he couldn’t even give his talk, just a brief testimony. So, I asked if he would come into the Priest Quorum and give his talk to them. He did and it was a great experience for the other 16 & 17 year old boys to see someone who had just been sitting beside them a year or two ago now leaving on his mission. I think it was a reality check and reminded them in a very real way how soon their missions will come. Our Bishop gives all the young men a crisp $2 bill that are willing to accept the challenge to 1) become an Eagle Scout, 2) graduate from Seminary, and 3) go on a mission. When they leave on their mission, he has them sign the $2 bill and exchanges it for a crisp $100 bill.

It also made me think about our three boys. Eli will be 19 in just 12 years, doesn’t seem like that far off, really. I asked them where they want to go. Nathan has said he’s going to NYC just like Uncle Todd, but today said he wanted to go to Tokyo like me. I told him he’d have to eat rice three times a day. I think he’s reconsidering. Eli, who has all along said he wants to go to Japan, said he wants to go to Montana so he can go to Grandma’s house whenever he wants. I told him that Grandma and Grandpa feed the missionaries a lot. It seems like when they remember they signed up they grill steaks or something, but when they forget, they feed the missionaries KFC.