CALLED TO SERVE

Well, we made it. Britton is "safely gathered in" at the the MTC.

If you ask Dave and I, we think that last night, (the setting apart) was the hardest thing. He woke up this morning and was excited and nervous but ready to go. Grandma and Grandpa came over to wish him luck this morning, we met Laurel at the end of her driveway and she followed us to the light and rolled down her window and said goodbye at the intersection of Fairfield and Gordon. I called the bank before we got to the Main and Gentile intersection, so to our delight there were 6 or so First National Bank employees standing on the corner waving and throwing snowballs at us. We honked and waved. (Now would your bank do that?)

Britton got his first bloody nose in the car right after that. He has never had one before. We drove to Orem and honked at UVSU in honor of his best friend, who attends there. We followed the GPS past Provo and it took us right to the Provo Cemetery. (We later figured that instead of 2005 Dave had entered 200 S., FYI if you want to go to the cemetery).

Our lunch was at Subway (one of Britton's favorites), we had another missionary family in there sending their son to Rome. We traveled to the MTC, parked in the lot across the street and walked with the bags to where he dropped his luggage off. There were so many neat people that worked at the MTC it made it a great experience.

He went in one door and checked in and got his name tag. The Elder behind him was going to Pocatello Idaho, so Britton felt pretty good. He had a celestial dot on his name tag that specified him as a new missionary. NOTE TO PERSPECTIVE MISSIONARY MOMS- before you get to the MTC, go through and slice open all his pockets on his suits, I learned too late. Luckily Dave sliced open the one he was wearing this morning so his name tag fit in it.

We took a few pictures and then walked down the hall and they led us into the chapel. We were on the very last row in the back. We missed all the Mormon Commercials that they show, but I was ok with that. They started the session right then. They had a song, prayer, the MTC Missionary President's wife spoke and then the Mission President. They showed the old CALLED TO SERVE Video (the actors in that are my age-it was an 80's show). Then they told us that goodbyes are like Band Aids- rip them off fast and it doesn't hurt as bad. There was a closing prayer and then we said goodbye. He was awesome. He was ready to get started. He went out one side, we went out the other. We did really well. We then got in our car and came home.

It is a little lonely and hard for me to see his car, unneeded stuff that he left still in the front room, his phone, his 9 towels hanging on his weight bench in his bedroom, (that was hard for another reason other than I missed him, he is lucky he is not home tonight) I am so proud that he is doing this. What a guy! I am excited for him to jump in both feet. We marked off the number one dot on the mission calender tonight and there is only 729 to go!