What a wonderful experience the last two days have been. Yesterday we met as a family for Darren's setting appart as a missionary in the Slovenia / Croatia Mission. As a father, it was humbling to join in and place my hands upon Darren's head as our Stake President set Darren appart and promised some wonderful blessings to Darren. We are confident he will be a wonderful missionary as he has been a wonderful son and brother. We were able to share this spiritual experience as a family. It was particularly touching to see Camryn's love for her brother as she shed tears during the prayer, knowing that she would not have her big brother with her for the next two years.
We shared a last meal in Provo at California Pizza Kitchen.
We arrived 10 minutes early for our 1 pm scheduled drop off time and all agreed that the Lord wouldn't get him until that time exactly. The temple grounds were full of missionaries already in the MTC and newly arriving missionaries and families waiting for their appointed times and saying their final goodbyes. I think it was comforting to Darren to see all of the other young missionaries with their familes, ready to transition from their typical teenage lives to dedicated servie. While a lot of tears were shed, we know that Darren will grow through his service and our family will be blessed. With the Lord blessing us with such a wonderful son, it is ony appropriate that we return him to the Lord on loan for this period of time.
As we pulled curbside, Elder Novakovich was met by three smiling missionaries who welcomed him and helped him unload his bags. We were able to give our final hugs, give our Elder some letters that had been prepared and say goodbye. One of the smiling missionaries noticed that Tyson was in the back seat crying and asked if he wanted to give Darren a hug. Tyson hadn't shown any emotion this whole week, but as we unloaded the car, he cryed and cryed. He loves his big brother and will miss him.
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