Another One Leaves the Nest

In one week, Johnathan goes into the MTC (Missionary Training Center) in Provo Utah for 9 weeks of language and culture training before he heads out to Vina del Mar, Chile for about 22 months.

View Larger Map He'll be serving as a missionary for our church, which means he'll be looking for people who are interested in finding out more about our church, then teaching them. He'll also look for ways to serve the people of Chile in simple ways to set an example of what we believe-which is basically to try and do good whenever we can. I've been working on a big post with all sorts of memories and thoughts about this, my second son, but it was getting so ridiculously long that I've retooled and decided to just say what a great kid he is, what a good man he's growing into and how pleased I am that he's made this decision for himself. In an election year, the screens and airwaves and servers are exploding with all the latest ways that the world is a terrible place and all the possible ways to fix it. In the midst of all that, I'm immensely proud that he is choosing a path of quiet service-he will never make the news, or affect policy, or change the whole world, but he might change his own world and help a few folks to find faith and comfort in a time when comfort is often thin on the ground. This is a good moment to be a mom.