The Send Off

Tuesday, May 24th, saw us waking up EXTRA early (we're talking 4 AM, peeps) to give Ethan the send off he deserved as he flew out to Utah to enter the MTC!  I don't think any of us were exactly thrilled that Ethan's flight left at 6 in the morning, but I was pretty ecstatic that despite the early hour, there weren't any mutinying children refusing to come with us to the airport to see him off.  Winning!  Hahaha.  I have to say, it was a pretty surreal vibe watching him check-in and then head off to the departure gate on his own, but it helped knowing that he'd have family on the other side to pick him up when he landed.

(Ignore the total creeper vibes of trying to sneak pictures of Ethan from afar.)

While the rest of us headed back home to catch a few more zzzz's (minus Isaac, Alex, and myself), Ethan made his way to Salt Lake City, where his grandma and grandpa and cousin Hannah picked him up and then took the scenic route back home before stopping at a Freddy's to eat lunch.  Where apparently, there were like 25 middle schoolers at the same time just vibing (as Ethan put it) with no teachers or parents.  He and Hannah thought that was odd enough before the juxtaposition of 10 cops showing up on their lunch break made the mood even odder.  Hahaha.  

(A look out in Draper.)

(Not pictured:  the 25 middle schoolers and 10 cops.)

For his "last supper" before entering the MTC, Scott's parents put on a Taco Tuesday feast for all of the family in town -- which just happened to include my mom and brother Jacob who had flown out that week to do the temple work for my grandparents!  And since Freddie and Emily -- and now Kristin and her crew -- are local, it was twice as much fun for Ethan to have representatives from both sides of the family for one last gathering before getting his MTC on.

(L-->R: my mom, Jacob, Ethan, Freddie, and Emily)

(L-->R: Scott's dad, Ethan, my mom, and Scott's mom)

(About to head across the street and enter the MTC.)

(Ethan with his Aunt Kristin, Uncle Blake, cousin Hannah, and grandparents.)

To close, I'll leave you with Ethan's parting thoughts from the email he sent out as his first week at the MTC was winding down:

"...I entered the physical MTC Wednesday afternoon and the campus is absolutely beautiful! We took a few pictures on the temple grounds before saying goodbye. It was awesome getting to meet our district in person! I love them all so much! We've loved having classes together, growing closer to Christ, and feeling the Spirit. Today was our first in-person P-day, so we went to the temple this morning together as a district at 8:30 and then after lunch we went and played some sand-volleyball together. Anyways, hopefully this wasn't too long. Just want to leave with my testimony. I love teaching and helping people come to learn the gospel that I absolutely love! I love learning in all of the classes that I'm in and am so grateful that I get to grow in my testimony of Jesus Christ. I'm so grateful for Him, and all He's done for me. I'm glad I get to grow closer to Him on my mission and help others do the same."

One of the teaching buildings at the MTC.

A mural of the sons of Mosiah:  

(*Sons of Mosiah - This is a group of people found in the Book of Mormon (Another Testament of Jesus Christ (basically it works together with the Bible)). The Sons of Mosiah were initially really rebellious against religion and the commandments of God but who had a great conversion story. They then became missionaries for Jesus Christ and helped convert many people {this was around 100 BC})

Ethan and his companion.

Ethan's district in front of the Provo temple.

The Provo Temple

(*Temple - This is a place where members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints go to perform sacred ordinances (religious rituals where we make promises with God). You can learn more on temples.churchofjesuschrist.org)

* Ethan has included helpful definitions and explanations in all of his emails home, so that anyone who isn't a member of our church will understand what he's referring to in his messages.