Goodbye, little brother

This picture of my siblings and me was taken over a year ago, right before I got married. And it's probably the last professional photograph of all of us together for the next 4 or 5 years.

My brother Johnathon, the second oldest child, just entered the Missionary Training Center yesterday to prepare for a 2-year mission for our church. He will be chilling out on the East Coast for the next two years teaching people about Jesus and the gospel. He is only 19 years old. Most young men in the church choose to serve a mission (starting at age 18), and an increasing number of young women (starting at age 19) too. I think it is a powerful testimony of our love of the gospel that we're willing to dedicate 2 years of the "prime time" of our lives to serving the Lord. But that's another post :)

My other brother Ryan will likely leave on his own 2-year mission before Johnathon gets back from his, and so it will be at least 4 years before we're all together again, if not longer. And we wouldn't have it any other way.

Bubba, I'm so proud of you and your decision to serve a mission. I could totally sit outside the MTC all day and see if I can catch a glimpse of you, since I literally live right next to the MTC... but I think that's against the rules. You'll be heading east in just two weeks anyways. I'll see ya in two years! Go knock 'em dead in West Virginia!