Elder Buyers is officially on his mission. I went back home last week to spend some time with him and my family before we took him to the Missionary Training Center {MTC} last Wednesday.
Packing the majority of what you'll need for the next two years into two suitcases {and keeping them under 50 lbs} is no easy task! He must have packed and repacked his bags four times in the three days that I was there before we left to take him to the MTC. Of course we can mail him stuff that he forgot or realizes that he needs, but it wont be cheap to ship things to Uganda!
Tuesday night {July 9th} he was set apart as a missionary of the Church of Jesus Christ of Later Day Saints. It was a very emotional and spiritual time for the whole family {as you can tell by the red eyes in all the pictures}. I wasn't the only person to drive nine hours to be there. His old young-mens leader {who now lives just a few blocks from me} spent all day driving just to be there for his setting apart. Once everything was over he got back in his car and drove the 9 hours home because he had a meeting the next day. It warms my heart to see what a special friendship those two have {bottom left picture}.
Wednesday was the big day. He gave everyone hugs, said good-bye to his puppy, wrote a note to his family, took one last silly picture with his big sister and we were off.
There isn't a lot of time for big good-byes when you drop them off so the only people that went were my parents, my dad's dad {who we were dropping off at the Salt Lake airport after} and myself. It's a 4 hour drive from my parents house to the MTC in Provo. Once we got into Provo we stopped for lunch at In & Out Burger {Eric's pick}. We were one of about 8 families having their last meal with their missionaries before dropping them off at the MTC. Naturally Mom and I decided that we should walk around and find out where everyone else would be going. We didn't get to talk to everyone, but of the people that we did talk to there was 3 going to Mexico, 1 to Atlanta and 1 to Louisville.
After we ate {and went on one last hunt for a calling card so that he could call home before his flight out of the US next Tuesday} we made our way to the MTC. I wasn't sure what to expect, but it's like a mini college campus. When we made it through the gates there was missionaries lined up on the side walk waiting to meet us. We pulled over and while Elder Edwards introduced himself and Eric's host for the day, two other Elders got his suitcases out of the back of the truck. They made sure that he left his keys with my parents {so they weren't locked out} and then Elder Edwards said, "Alright then, if you're ready I'll take him." He gave each of us a hug and they walked away.
I have a video {view here} of the whole thing... from pulling up to the gate to when he walked away it was a total of 2 minutes and 13 seconds! If that sounds fast that's because it was, but in all honesty I think it was better that way. We all got a little teary eyed but we didn't have time to fully break down which made it easier for all of us.
It's been a few days over a week since we dropped him off and so far we've gotten a few letters in the mail and we've each received an email. He is only able to get on the computer for about 45 minutes one day a week. You better believe that I'll be jumping out of my seat every time my phone goes off with a new email notification every Monday. So far it sounds like things have been going good for him. He's super busy and learning a lot. He's had a few rough days, which is to be expected, but he's doing good.
If you would like to send Elder Buyers a letter please feel free to contact me at kellylamborn0630{at}gmail{dot}com and I will be happy to get you his mailing address.
He will ship out for Uganda next Tuesday which will be the first time that he's ever been on a plane so please keep him in your prayers.
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