A Perfect Afternoon
Today I am thankful I could be with so many of the people I love most!
Check out my mother (she's the only one raising her hands)...
She could not contain her excitement when Jackson announced he'd be serving in the
Sao Paulo Interlagos Brazil Mission, speaking Portuguese!
She was SO excited for 2 reasons:
1. She thought she'd won our little facebook contest by guessing he would go to Sao Paulo Brazil Mission (my brother Rob quickly pointed out she did not choose that mission, she'd actually chose Argentina) She then remembered that she chose the Brazil mission first but changed her mind, deleted it, and typed in Argentina.
2.She has family ties to the Sao Paulo Brazil area--her favorite Uncle Wayne and Aunt Evelyn Beck served many years in Sao Paulo Brazil as missionaries, mission presidents, the area secretary, and the Sao Paulo Temple Presidents. The Beck's are well loved in the Sao Paulo area! Their family served a combined almost 50 years as missionaries for the LDS church in Brazil. Uncle Wayne (who is of course my Great Uncle) married me and Kevin in the Salt Lake Temple. Also, Uncle Wayne and Aunt Evelyn are the parents to President David L. Beck, the General Young Men's President. Kind of funny that all these Beck's are from my side of the family! So there's a few fun facts!
It was a perfect afternoon. The weather was fantastic. All Jackson's grandparents were there and we were able to be at our sweet baby's resting place. I have no doubt his spirit would have been with us no matter where Jackson opened his mission call but being here was extra special.
I keep thinking about what an exciting time it is to be a missionary! In the coming months our missionary force will increase by thousands. Thanks to our nation's recent election campaign the world knows a lot more about us Mormons. Hopefully they know we are not a cult, we do not practice polygamy, and we don't have horns :) Hopefully they know that we are Christians, we love our Savior and we are a part of His church. I love that our boy gets to be a missionary for our Savior Jesus Christ full time for two years!
This was a day our family will always remember! I asked Emmy if she thought any of our other kids would want to open their mission calls here--she said absolutely, even if it's snowing :)
I am grateful Jackson wanted to come here to open his call. Our Baby Kevin is such a sweet addition to our family. He's brought heaven a little closer and I am so grateful for the connection our children have with him.
