I am not a morning person, but I will be wide awake tomorrow morning!!

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so i fly out in the morning!! ah!! it is so crazy!! i am loving almost every minute of it here! I gained 10 pounds in 12 days.. weak.. i am so grateful for every opportunity that i had before the mission to share my testimony with everybody i love. I know that this church is true! ah. i cant write much! i am doing laundry and then we fly out at 7 am! crazy crazy. i will probably be calling home about 530-6 am.. not exactly sure. and i probably wont be saying much anyways! i love you all so much!

elder bodily

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Today's email:

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Hey all! the MTC is great!! i have ate like a king.. three full meals everyday! and i get seconds and triples sometimes.. cereal every meal is a possibility too! yay! i dont even really know where to begin! the package you sent was awesome..  except for the fact there was not a 12 pack of mtn dews or oreos.. its cool though. whatever.. fuzzy peaches, as elder forsyth from canada calls em, work too. but i need the mtn dew to wash them down along with the cookies! 

in my district there are 8 of us, all going to jacksonville! 4 elders and 4 sisters, but also, in the other district, so in my zone, there are 4 sisters and 5 elders, all going to jacksonville also! i am so excited!! a canadian and a british kid are in our zone, they are hilarious! I am so excited to spend the next two years with them all! i really dont have much to say!

 

oh yes, apparently i am not a suit guy.. In a week, both of my suits have a small hole on the seams. dont ask me how, everyone says that its just because i am a stud.. whatever they say must be true, right? but really.. both of my suits have a hole in them. it sucks.

 

Today, we went to the Provo Temple. All i can say is, AMAZING! It was very needed for our district. we have two elders that were having a hard time sunday day/night. we decided to do a fast for them, but towards the end of the night, they were already feeling better. going to the temple helped even more. Our district has gotten very close and we are able to share anything with them! again, i am so excited to spend the next two years with them!!

 

Tomorrow, we get one district of 10 missionaries. 4 elders and 6 sisters, the elders are going to Orlando Florida and the sisters are all going to Seattle. I cant wait to torment them all, i mean.. welcome them to the MTC!

 

The bookstore they have hear has practically everything i need. it is perfect. so i am going to get a bunch of stuff before i leave. I think the mail service is a little messed up.. i havent recieved any letters, except for the two packages that you, mom, have sent me! it is kinda bewildering!

i tried attaching photos but it isnt working.. sorry!

 

i love you all,

Elder Bodily

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Summation:  He's still excited and can't wait to hit the streets of Florida!

Surprise Email

I received a surprise email from Elder Bodily today!

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Hey! All is well! I am loving it here! That is so exciting for McCade!! that is so awesome!! The only things i can think of that i need are probably just need some more basketball shorts and tee shirts! we can have designs on them, but nothing inappropriate! and also, my roommates and i would all love to recieve a package with a 12 pack of Mtn Dew and a thing of Oreos! and maybe some of Dads cookies! other than that, i will think of stuff and email you again on tuesday! that is my actual p day!

 

I love you all!

Elder Bodily 

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He's still using all exclamation marks.  His enthusiasm jumps off the page!  Apparently he still thinks he's texting, though - the world where all the beginning letters of a sentence are automatically capitalized.

Now that I have his requests, I can't wait to send him a package tomorrow . . . minus the Mtn Dew, of course.

It came!  It finally came!

"Day One Completed!  Only 729 to go!  In my district there are 4 elders and 4 sisters!  All going to Jacksonville!  And there is another full district of 8 going, too!  I can already tell this is going to be amazing!  My estimated day to leave to Florida is April 30!"

"My comp. is Elder Solomon from Rexburg!  Though, he is from the rural part.  I am excited!"

"It kinda kicked in that this is all happening.  I am so grateful for everything you guys did to help me get here.  I know that this mission will strengthen our family's relationship."

"I love you all!
              Elder Bodily"


I think he's excited!  The number of !!! gave it away.  I left out some personal stuff, but I had to share this much.  What a great kid!  (Yes, another exclamation mark!)

Yesterday was tough.  The familiar gripping pain of any minute now someone I love will be taken from me for two years had hit me.  I've been told by well-meaning friends that it could be worse.  Yes.  I know that.  But this is MY son.  And MY two years.  I'm fairly certain that those two years will take much longer to pass than anyone else's.  Just ask any mother that was at the curb that day.  They'll say the same thing.

We stopped initially, as instructed, across the street for the final few family photos, and as you can see, that gripping pain I was referring to had moved from my gut up to my heart.  Kevin, however, was not too keen on letting it linger.  He wanted to get back in the car and drive across the street where his idea of a quick goodbye could occur!

 It used to be that new missionaries received a "dork dot" on their name tags when they arrived, signifying their newness to the MTC so others could offer help if they looked confused or lost.  Since families no longer get to go inside, we missed seeing Kevin get his.  Instead, we got a sticky note on our windshield as we pulled in to show that we had an Elder in the car, versus a Sister missionary.  I guess it will do.  

As we pulled up to the curb, at signpost #24, a missionary was already there to greet us, help get the luggage out of the car, and whisk Elder Bodily away from us.  It all happened quickly, and then we were back in the car and on our way out of the parking lot.  I glanced towards the back seat, and there was Trevor, tears streaming down his face.  In a soft voice he uttered the words I knew I would hear eventually, "I miss him already."  

So do I, Trevor.  So do I.

The Night Before Service Begins

Tonight the journey begins for our family as we send another son into the mission field for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.  Family and a few close friends will gather in our home as our Stake President gives him a blessing to set him apart as full time servant of the Lord.

I don't know if it's easier or more difficult knowing what's ahead for us.  Tomorrow will be different than the first time around.  With Justin, we went into the Missionary Training Center and sat through a series of videos, then hugged and said our good-byes.  Soon after that, Utah had a terrible flu outbreak that prompted the "dropping off" of the missionaries at the curb.  That's what we'll experience tomorrow with Kevin.  Our Stake President has warned us to take advantage of the parking lot across the street from the actual drop off site to take what time we need to say farewell because once we pull up to the "curb", there will be people there to whisk him away before any of us has a chance to get out of the car.

They call this the "band-aid" approach - just rip it off and get the pain over with.

In the handbook that accompanied his official call, there is a section that reads, "Your service begins the day you check into the MTC.  Remind your family that complete separation from loved ones is part of the sacrifice that families and missionaries contribute to the work."  

That 'complete separation' is the part that nearly does in a mother.  No parent could leave their young man or woman in the care of complete strangers for two years, with contact limited to weekly emails or letters and a phone call on Christmas and Mother's Day without the testimony that the work is necessary and a small price to pay in the grand scheme of things.  There is a song that was popular years ago among mission farewells titled, "In the Hollow of Thy Hand" which speaks of a parent's plea that the Savior keep the missionary safe.  Having sung that at my fair share of farewells, I'm certain I'll be humming it on the way home tomorrow.  Between sobs, of course.

The Bodily family - together for the last time for two years.

Kevin with Grandma Norma.

My Three Sons

Kevin and his only sister, Ivy

My beautiful kids!  So well behaved for the camera. . .

and then . . .

they act natural.

Kevin with his other family: McCade, Dayna and Todd Yates

Best friends:  Trevor Anderson, Ryan Corbett, Kevin Bodily, McCade Yates
(Dallin Blotter and Braxton Alldridge are already serving their missions)