Jordan's Missionary Farewell

From 2009-08-16 001

I know that I'm not supposed to use the "farewell" word. But missionary farewells have been part of the culture I grew up with for too long. So call it what you may, it was his missionary farewell this past Sunday. I was truly surprised by how many people were in attendance. He had invited a large group of friends from the community and school and most of them showed up. We also had Sherrie's Aunt and Uncle from Pocatello, my parents, sibilings and their families. Our best friends, the Farnsworth's, came down from Idaho Falls. It was great to have everybody together for this exciting ocassion.

Jordan did a fantastic job on his talk. He used the Rubiks Cube as an analogy for the Atonement. He started with a Rubiks cube in the solved states and stated that is how we come to earth - in a perfect state. Then through the fall we get mixed up - he had the Bishop scramble the Rubiks Cube. He then used steps of Atonement to show how each step brings us closer to At-One-Ment while use brought the Rubiks Cube back to it's initial perfect state. I was truly amazed at his poise and presentation. This is a kid who never wanted to talk in church and stood at the pulpit and spoke as if he has been doing it his whole life. I sat there as the proud father, teary-eyed through the whole talk. He actually spoke for so long that they scrapped the rest hymn.

After Sacrament Meeting we went back to the house and had hamburgers and salads. Sherrie had made enough salads to feed an army (which is about what we had). Jordan's friend, Stefen, brought over the Cotton Candy machine which was an absolute hit. I enjoyed visiting with Sherrie's Aunt Sonja and Uncle Sheryl. Because I was cooking burgers for most of the time, I didn't get as many pictures as I had hoped for, but I ended up with some good ones. It is hard to believe that it was just a little over a year ago that we did this for Jared. My how the time flies. I am excited and meloncholy at the same time for Jordan to fly to Brazil. I know this will be a great adventure for him. But I also know that he will come back a mature young adult and I will be another child closer to being an empty nester.