Hurricane Isaac

okay, so here is our take on blessings and why things happen the way they do...Hurricane Isaac is a developing storm that has done alot of damage throughout Haiti and The Dominican Republic.  13000 people were evacuated in the Dominican Republic.  Today the storm is making its way into the Louisiana coast.  The weather has been terrible with winds reaching up to 80 mph.  As you can imagine, we would all be terribly nervous if Maveric had been sent into these circumstances.  I knew when he was called to Puerto Rico that there was quite a lengthy hurricane season there. I knew that this is something that we would continue to worry about while he was gone.  I think our Heavenly Father also knows it is a concern and therefore he has found a way to keep these young men safe at home for a little while longer.  So, for now, we will pray for those that have been affected by this storm and we will also pray with gratitude that our son is in Provo, Utah!! 

A few pictures from the MTC

Ups and downs...

Well it has been a little over a week since I updated this.  He has had some ups and downs during the week. We have received lots of letters and we got another email on Thursday. Life in the MTC has been good. He was scheduled to leave there on the 30 th. he sent us all his travel information with flights and times and when he would be able to call home. So exciting....but, on Friday we received another email telling us that he no longer gets to go to the Dominican Republic MTC.  It is only suppossed to house 50 missionaries and there are 65 there right now.  So, He will finish his training in Provo and then go directly to Puerto Rico. He is very bummed about the changes. He was so excited to get started on the next part of his journey. He was looking forward to learning the language better and faster by being there. He was also very excited about calling home and talking to us. So we are all feeling a bit of sadness and disappointment. It is just the first of many trials I am sure. I know there is a reason for everything and it will be for the best. But I am just sad because he is sad:(

First week in the MTC

Yay!!  We got our first email today and it was awesome.  Maveric is loving the MTC and having such a great time.  He has a lot of friends there and he loves it.  He went to the Temple with his district today and absolutely loved that.  He said they are all becoming really good friends.

The language is definately the biggest challenge for him.  He told of an experience he had with a "fake investigator"  They were there for about 50 minutes and he spoke only in Spanish.  He went on to say "it was really cool to see how we could convey everything that we needed to convey, and still have the spirit there, when we couldn't even really communicate!!"   He said the experience comforted him and helped him to not be so nervous about going to the Dominican Republic in a couple weeks.  He knows that there will be alot less English spoken while he is there.  I am so amazed at how fast he is learning Spanish.  It is incredible to me.

So, as of right now, he is scheduled to leave our MTC on the 30th.  He found out that he does not need a Visa so there shouldn't be any delays.  It is crazy for me to think about him leaving the country.  I have definately found comfort in knowing he is in little old Provo, Utah.  I am excited for him to start the next part of his journey though. I can't wait to hear all about it.

He loves getting letters so please write to him often.  He has appreciated the support from home so much!!  Thank you everyone that is writing to him.  He was happy to get his package of treats yesterday.  Apparently they let everything through so I was happy about that.  We weren't sure if they would let him have the salsa but I guess it wasn't a problem. 

It was nice to get a positive report from him.  We are so happy that he is happy.  I'm sure he will have bad days but... so far so good :)

He is doing great!!

We received a long letter from Mav today and it was wonderful.  He is doing great and is loving it.  I want to share with you a small part of the letter.  I think you will all see that he is going to be just fine.  I know that it was a huge comfort to me when I read it. Here goes:

 "I'm not sure if I already shared this experience with you but I wanted to make sure that I did.  The first day I got here, it was kind of hard at first.  After I said goodbye to you guys I went and got all of my missionary stuff and then got thrown into all Spanish class, which by the way they only do all Spanish on like the first two days, and now they are actually teaching us Spanish.  But anyway it was really overwhelming and I was pretty discouraged.  But then we went to the new missionary welcome meeting and as we were walking in we were singing "we'll bring the world his truth" which is my favorite church song, and we got to the part where it says "and we will be the Lord's missionaries but we sang "and we are now the Lord's missionaries" and at that moment I just got an incredible feeling of peace and I knew that I am in the right place and doing the right thing for myself right now.  My testimony has already grown more than I ever thought it would and I am loving it!"

I was so happy to read this and I am so comforted knowing that he had this amazing experience.  I wanted to share it because I thought it was pretty cool.  As a mom, you just need to know that they are okay.  That they are happy and that they are doing what they want  to do.  This was an answer to my prayers and I am so thankful that he is having such a positive experience.  This is such an exciting time in his life and I am so happy for him!!

He continued on by thanking everyone for the letters they have written.  So, please continue to write to him because he loves hearing from everybody.  Thank you all for your support.
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First letter:)

We received our first letter from Elder Searle today.  He seems to be doing okay.  He is a litle overwhelmed with his class being taught in 80% Spanish.  I'm sure he will catch on quickly though.  His companion at the MTC is Elder Astle.  He said they get along pretty good so far.  He has seen a bunch of familiar faces because so many of his friends are also there right now.  I'm sure that is helping:)  He said p-day is on Thursday so hopefully he will have time to write a little more then.  I will keep you posted on his progress!!

Saying goodbye :(

Taking him to the MTC was the hardest thing I have ever done.  It was so hard to think that it will be 2 years until I can wrap my arms around him again.  I know he will be so blessed and he will have the greatest experiences.  But, it was so hard to let him go.  I know the Lord will watch over and protect him and I am so thankful for that.  My poor girls had such a hard time letting him go.  They love him so much!  Dave and I are very proud parents but there is definately a whole in our hearts today.  We are praying for strength to make it through....Thank you to everyone for your love and support!!!

Saying some goodbyes

On Sunday, August 5, we decided to invite the family to come make s'mores, sit around the fire and just spend some time with Mav before he heads to the MTC on Wednesday.  It was such a great night.  We all just hung out and had a fabulous time.  It was hard to watch Mav say goodbye to everybody.  Especially all the little kids.  They will all be so grownup when he gets back.  I am very thankful for such an amazing family.  I know they will be a great support to Maveric and to all of us while he is gone.

Opening his call

On March 21, 2012 Maveric's Mission Call came in the mail.  He was at school at the University of Utah and was not able to come  home until the following day.  It was so hard for me to stare at that large white envelope for over 24 hours.  Finally, on Thursday the 22 we gathered our family and friends together and he opened his call...Puerto rico, San Juan Mission!!!!  Yay, he was so excited.  All he was hoping for was to go somewhere warm.  He got what he was hoping for.  The weather is beautiful in Puerto Rico!!