A Very BIG Day....

July 28...was a very big day. Elder Justin Lee Moore entered the Missionary Training Center to begin his two year service in the Nicaragua Managua North Mission. Wow! That pretty much sums it up.

I had a blessing on Tuesday. I needed one. Mixed in with this was that after I dropped him off I would be moving to our new home in La Verkin, Utah. I wished I could have spent more time focusing on him. There were so many distractions, packing up, cleaning, etc. I am so grateful for the friends who came to help me. I honestly couldn't have done it without them. I did leave a few loose ends, and I feel bad about that. But I just needed to move forward.

Justin said he wasn't scared or nervous, but simply excited as he would finally get to do what he had been preparing for for the last 19 years. Having two full-time missionaries creates some bewildering feelings. I am okay though because some of my very best friends have also had two missionaries out at once. There is one thing you can count on in this life: Whatever situations come your way, someone else has already been there.

Back when Brandon left on his mission, the family entered the mtc, watched a movie together, sang and prayed. Then the missionary went out one door, while the family went out another door. But my favorite part about the old way was that upon entering the mtc, I was able to put Brandon's missionary tag on him. Now, you just drop your missionary at the curb, give a quick hug, and drive away. No pinning on of the missionary tag. For some reason, this part bothered me, and I mentioned it to Brandon.



On July 19, I had my birthday. I received a gift from Elder Brandon Moore. Inside the padded envelope, was that very same missionary tag I had pinned on him almost twenty months before. It said, "Elder Moore" and underneath had the name of the church in Spanish. It was exactly the same as the tag Elder Justin Moore would be receiving. Brandon said I could put it on Justin, take some pictures, but then he asked me to send it back to him, because it was his most special tag. What a thoughtful and meaningful thing for him to think of. That made the day even better.



After packing til 1 am, picking up a few forgotten things the next morning, making sure I was on all Justin's bank accounts, etc. we were off. We ate lunch at Goodwood and then drove to the Provo Temple. We took some last minute pictures, gave some lengthy hugs, said our I Love Yous....and then hopped back in the car to follow the protocol the church set up to drop off the missionaries.

We entered the Missionary Training Center driveway and were waved on to a "number on a stick". All along the drive there were missionaries waving and smiling on the curb with tags on that said, "Host." I decided maybe Disneyland isn't the happiest place on earth after all. We stopped at our post, five elders greeted us, we gave the last hug, took a picture, and then sent Elder Moore off with another elder and his luggage following closely behind. Only three questions were asked of him: Do you have any car keys? Do you have a cell phone? Do you have your immunization record?

As we drove away, I was pretty numb. Two of my boys are gone. It is now just me and Brooklyn. Two years seems like forever from the beginning, but at the end seems only like a blink of an eye. I can't wait for Dec. 10 of this year to get one of my sons back...and July 28 of 2012 to get the another one. But for now I take comfort that their testimonies are being strengthened and that they are in the service of our Lord. May God bless all of us.