The last days with Tom at home, Liz, "lady" Lynn, Tom and Mom.
Wednesday 10th, up early by 0600, shower, read the scriptures as a family one more time, had breakfast and on to the airport. There we met grandpa & grandma Hoggan Silvana and the boys Tapa and Crae, and again more hugs, and lots of pictures, then on to check in and get tickets and seat assignments.
…he met three more missionaries going to the same Mission and the same MTC, Tom was relaxed a little to know he would not be flying alone, his smiles were bigger and the butterflies decreased, we all followed them up to the customs line to check in…then they disappeared in the crowd and up the escalator to their gate in route to Buenos Aires Argentina with a lay over in Dallas TX.
Wow what a month! This past week has been just busy and exciting for us here at home. Thomas was notified of his acceptance to report to his mission!! We had a month to get everything ready and double check all the lists, suitcases, medical exams, and vaccinations, passport and visa, back ground checks etc.
What a special boy! He showed us all determination and perseverance, faith and commitment. We as a family are better off because of his example, we learned about our weaknesses, the natural man and how we must humble ourselves and rely in our Heavenly Father to be able to make it through this life, our tests and challenges. Here is a little recap of our last four days with Tom at home.
Sunday May 7th last Sunday with the singles ward, he also came to our ward by the Bishop’s invitation to come and share his testimony with us; what a sweet experience, we felt the spirit strongly as he shared his testimony, his countenance was radiant and glowing with joy and excitement, and we felt it. Most of the family was here to share those special moments with him.
Monday 8th, last day to pack and re-pack and clean his room, wow! we can see the carpet now, everything in boxes and put away. Then that evening he was set apart as a full time missionary by President Joe Sagers and Kevin (dad), the spirit bore witness to us all of the power of the priesthood, the spirit was strong in that room and we felt it through the beautiful blessings and promises and gifts given….no eyes were dry, including President’s Sagers. It was the sweetest experience to see and feel. Then our last FHE as a family, Liz and Zack, Lynn and Adam came, the girls prepared a special lesson on the power and art of listening, then we played games, had dessert which was prepared by Adam, hmm delicious, then more hugs loves and pictures galore and the dreaded goodbyes and will see you in two years, “go get them boy” type of encouragement.
Tuesday 9th, last minute shopping and finish all the little details cell phone packed away, collecting all addresses from friends and family, checking airline itinerary, and last instructions.
What a special boy! He showed us all determination and perseverance, faith and commitment. We as a family are better off because of his example, we learned about our weaknesses, the natural man and how we must humble ourselves and rely in our Heavenly Father to be able to make it through this life, our tests and challenges. Here is a little recap of our last four days with Tom at home.
Sunday May 7th last Sunday with the singles ward, he also came to our ward by the Bishop’s invitation to come and share his testimony with us; what a sweet experience, we felt the spirit strongly as he shared his testimony, his countenance was radiant and glowing with joy and excitement, and we felt it. Most of the family was here to share those special moments with him.
Monday 8th, last day to pack and re-pack and clean his room, wow! we can see the carpet now, everything in boxes and put away. Then that evening he was set apart as a full time missionary by President Joe Sagers and Kevin (dad), the spirit bore witness to us all of the power of the priesthood, the spirit was strong in that room and we felt it through the beautiful blessings and promises and gifts given….no eyes were dry, including President’s Sagers. It was the sweetest experience to see and feel. Then our last FHE as a family, Liz and Zack, Lynn and Adam came, the girls prepared a special lesson on the power and art of listening, then we played games, had dessert which was prepared by Adam, hmm delicious, then more hugs loves and pictures galore and the dreaded goodbyes and will see you in two years, “go get them boy” type of encouragement.
Tuesday 9th, last minute shopping and finish all the little details cell phone packed away, collecting all addresses from friends and family, checking airline itinerary, and last instructions.
We left Burley at about 3:30 p.m. and headed to SLC. Once there we met with family, grandpa and grandma Hoggan, Daren and Silvana, Liae and Roseanne and the boys Tapa and Crae, share some delicious dessert by Roseanne, and many hugs and pictures, and goodbye songs by Liae.
Wednesday 10th, up early by 0600, shower, read the scriptures as a family one more time, had breakfast and on to the airport. There we met grandpa & grandma Hoggan Silvana and the boys Tapa and Crae, and again more hugs, and lots of pictures, then on to check in and get tickets and seat assignments. 
…he met three more missionaries going to the same Mission and the same MTC, Tom was relaxed a little to know he would not be flying alone, his smiles were bigger and the butterflies decreased, we all followed them up to the customs line to check in…then they disappeared in the crowd and up the escalator to their gate in route to Buenos Aires Argentina with a lay over in Dallas TX.Thursday 11th at 0730 he was supposed to have arrived in Argentina... We did not hear anything at all the whole day.
Friday 12th, morning surprise!! Thomas e-mail a quick “we have arrived after a six hour delay in TX due to tornados”, a nice convert to the church who was at the airport took all the four missionaries and fed them for supper while at the airport, a nice Samaritan, I am sure he could tell the poor boys were hungry, tired and excited all at once! It is nice to know he has safely arrived to his destination.
So now Kevin and I are excited to be the recipients of double and triple the blessings for having a missionary out in the field for two years! We are very proud of all of our children for their sweet spirits and examples, we truly have been blessed and we are very grateful for our extended families, for their love and support that has been extended to us, indeed Heavenly Father knows what we need and what is best for us, and gave us great families to share and learn through our journeys here on earth. We have grown, and stretched, and have learn to humble ourselves and to rely and recognize Heavenly Father as our Light and Iron Rod to hold on to get back to him again one day.
For now that is what we have to share, and hope to share more experiences through out this journey.
Friday 12th, morning surprise!! Thomas e-mail a quick “we have arrived after a six hour delay in TX due to tornados”, a nice convert to the church who was at the airport took all the four missionaries and fed them for supper while at the airport, a nice Samaritan, I am sure he could tell the poor boys were hungry, tired and excited all at once! It is nice to know he has safely arrived to his destination.
So now Kevin and I are excited to be the recipients of double and triple the blessings for having a missionary out in the field for two years! We are very proud of all of our children for their sweet spirits and examples, we truly have been blessed and we are very grateful for our extended families, for their love and support that has been extended to us, indeed Heavenly Father knows what we need and what is best for us, and gave us great families to share and learn through our journeys here on earth. We have grown, and stretched, and have learn to humble ourselves and to rely and recognize Heavenly Father as our Light and Iron Rod to hold on to get back to him again one day.
For now that is what we have to share, and hope to share more experiences through out this journey.
Thanks for posting all of this! We are so proud and happy for Tom, and love him and you guys! We are sorry we missed it all!
ReplyDeleteWow! We miss Tom so much already, got some tears looking at these pics...We are so proud of him!
ReplyDeleteCan you believe that two months have passed already since he left? Time is flying by and from his emails it sounds like he has changed so much. By the way, per your request, I posted new pictures! We are getting so excited to see you and move closer! Love you all!
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