The Missionary Returneth

After two years in the Goiania, Brazil mission, our oldest son Kevin returned home today. This is one of those landmark moments as a parent that makes you swell with pride, and forget all of those times he left his room in a mess or came home after 2:00am. We are so proud of Kevin and what he accomplished, and although we knew how much we missed him, today it all came home. Literally. Kevin got off the plane with four other missionaries who had left with him on that same day back in May of 2006. He was greeted by his whole immediate family, including little brother Logan who was only a baby when he left, and his older sister's little Kassidy who he'd never seen before! He was visibly overwhelmed.



Our first impression, confirmed by Cathy's probing of his midsection, was that he looked gaunt. Kevin has always been a slim adolescent, but he was looking pretty skeletal today. We'll have to fatten him up. Otherwise he seemed like our old Kevin. He had a big task before him, paying attention to all of the admirers we brought with us, including his best friend Cameron George.



Cameron has been patiently waiting for Kevin since his own return from a mission to England a few weeks ago. This reunion of the "Stallions", as the boys put it, will apparently kick off a reign of terror amongst single females in the coming months. After finding his suitcases on the baggage carousel, we packed into the car and took him to lunch at Joy Luck cafe in Bountiful and had a nice Chinese lunch. He was pretty wiped out and didn't have his customary appetite, but considering his lack of sleep for several nights it was understandable.



After we got home, Kevin took a nap for a few hours and then we continued the fattening-up process by feeding him a meal of Cathy's famous lasagne crafted with at least five pounds of cheese and lots of love. The Stake President, Brent Cleverly, came over and released him, which was an emotional moment. Somehow, the reunion at the airport was simply a happy occasion, but the moment of release was quite emotional. President Cleverly asked Kevin to bear his testimony to us, which was another one of those proud moments as a parent. There's nothing as joyful as hearing the pronouncement of your childrens' faith. Then he formally released Kevin as a full-time missionary and asked him take off his badge. There was a moment of sadness as we all realized that this stage of his life was over, and he was moving on. There is a special spirit that abides with missionaries, and that is their right. When they are released, that endowment is no longer in force. But this next stage of his life will be exciting and full of adventures, we have no doubt.

Now only three more sons to go!