We took Jake to the Missionary Training Center (MTC) on Wednesday. Sending a sibling away for two years is a really hard thing to do. Here are some pictures from Wednesday. Click to make bigger:
Saying goodbye to the Lone Ranger
Saying goodbye to Reagan.
His luggage
Goodbye to our grandparents. We said our goodbyes at their house because they live about a block away from the MTC. It was good not to just say goodbye in the car! That would really have been hard.
Goodbye to Uncle John
Last Family picture. (Minus 2 current Missionaries)
Goodbye to momma.
A nice Elder who helped him with his suitcases
Last picture. He is starting his two year journey!
I am so excited for you Elder Christofferson! You will have such an amazing experience! Have a good two years!
We dropped Jake off at 12:40. It was the exact minute that Elder Nate (in Brazil) stepped on to his first plane of three to come home to us in Utah. So, we dropped Jake off, cried, had lunch, and went to Office Depot to get supplies for some signs to welcome Nate home the next day.
We got to the Airport. Our grandparents and Uncle John came as well. My uncle took most of these upcoming pictures. We watched on an app that my dad had on his phone as Nate's plane flew closer and closer to us. The nervous stomach and shaky feeling set in then for my mom and I. We saw it land, and I admit I screamed a little bit then. Then, at exactly 12:40, Nate's familiar smiling face appeared!!!!!!!! ''I SEE HIM!!!" I screamed! He came down the elevator, and ran to my mom.... I don't think I've ever felt pure joy and happiness in my life until that moment. There are just no words to describe it. Here are the pictures. Sorry, the order might be a little mixed up. And brace yourself for A LOT of pictures. (By the way, did you notice that Nate and Jake missed each other by EXACTLY twenty four hours? That is so sad!) Please don't skip any pictures, it would make me sad. And some of the pictures have captions. Anywho, Click to make bigger
This is one of my favorites!
I've never seen my mom smile so much!
Nate with his MTC companion, Elder Jones
Yes, these are definitely tears of COMPLETE happiness!
Great picture!
Another great picture!
3/5 siblings
Hee hee!
His first time driving in two years!
Nate and Aunt Kim
Welcome Home!
*sigh* carpet!
Unpacking
A lady gave him an elephant statue. That has always been his favorite animals!
And by far the funniest part of the night, Nate dressed up in his Brazilian cowboy gettup, and spouted Portuguese while holding his shimaho (no idea how its spelled) cup. It was awesome!
After that, Nate pulled out his Hymn book and sang (sung?) some Christmas Hymns in Portuguese! It was so good to hear his beautiful voice again! Thursday was so amazing! It was so good to see ol' Naefi again! I missed him! I'm glad that you are back Nate! I love you!
And on December 20, I get to do this all over again when my sister gets home! Hooray! I love being happy! I hope your week was as good as mine, but I highly doubt it!
-Katherine Jan
Oh my gosh! You guys are so much more affectionate than us! When Jake got home, we were like "Hey Jake" and he was like "Hey Family" and we just gave hugs. WHY ARE YOU GUYS SUCH GOOD PEOPLE? :)
ReplyDelete