One Week!

My little brother has been in the mission field for a whole week!

He flew out to Texas last Monday and is now serving in Lubbock. He's adjusting to mission life and luckily has a great trainer helping him out. We are all so excited for the people in Texas to hear what Elder Garner has to share. 

I looked back tonight at Taylor's road to Texas. It's been a long one, and inspiring to all who have been a part of the experience. 

Here are a few highlights.

Taylor's call came the week of July 24th. 

Utah aficionados know that the 24th of July is Pioneer Day, a state holiday. So, unbeknownst to my family, no mail went out from the mission office that day. When Taylor's call didn't come on Wednesday, as they usually do to Utah addresses, my dad caved and called the mission office. They confirmed that the mail would be slow due to the holiday and said to be patient, all was well. 

My dad then arranged with the post office to get a phone call when Taylor's mission call showed up. When the phone didn't ring on Thursday, they assumed the mission call would arrive in the mail on Friday. 

So...when my parents went to check the mail at 4pm Thursday afternoon, they were shocked to see a bright white envelope staring back at them. Whoops! They hadn't even thought to check earlier just in case! 

They called Taylor, who ditched out in the middle of a golf game to rush home.

The mission call! Fresh from the mailbox.

Such big news in such a small envelope! Taylor got a bit emotional.

The call came late in the day, yet dozens of people were able to come to my family's house at a moment's notice for the big announcement. Thanks to modern technology and Jake, my tech savvy brother in law, my sister and I and our families were there digitally. It was fun to be a part of the party.

Taylor placed a lot of emphasis on dramatically opening the envelope, but it was all show. He'd already read it! 

Did I mention that Tom guessed Taylor's mission exactly? Tom knew right where Taylor should be.

Below is Elder Garner, officially. This is the night he was ordained an Elder. He and my parents went out to eat afterward. We all thought it was adorable that on his last night at home, Taylor wanted to eat a childhood favorite: chicken nuggets and french fries. 

See his Texas flag pin? Shout out to the Lone Star State!

Taylor is amazing. We're so proud of him. We pray for and think about Elder Garner every day. It's so exciting to have a missionary in our family and we know he represents us well.