Jonah and Micah have been so lucky to have an incredible group of friends who are their same age, who share common interests, and who are also members of our same ward at church. Initially, it was Jonah and Micah, Erik O., and Nathan D. Then Tyler H. moved back at the end of their junior high school years (he moved away when they were in the younger elementary grades), and last year, Boaz O. moved here, completing the 6-pack. All 6 boys ran XC together, participated in the high school music program together, and they were leaders in our Young Men's program together. They went on dates together, had Bro's nights together, and all 6 boys even decided they were going to go on an epic post-graduation trip across the west together (more info coming in a later post). More incredibly, though: they all committed to serve LDS missions together, too. They can serve after they turn 18, and Boaz's and Tyler's birthdays were both in May. You can submit the papers before your actual birthdate, though, and they all decided to put their papers in at the same time. Leading up to submitting their papers, we had to do a TON of paperwork, have multiple doctor and dentist appointments, and have interviews with religious leaders. April was basically filled with these appointments and completing items on the paperwork checklist.
The biggest transformation happened in April when all the boys decided to get a haircut. With the exception of Micah, the other 5 boys had grown their hair fairly long: especially Jonah and Tyler. Tyler was the first to get his hair cut, which inspired the others to get their hair cut to missionary standards, too. It was a sad moment for me to see Jonah's curly locks go, as it's been a part of his appearance for several years now, but I was proud of him for his decision and the reason behind it. We even donated the hair to a local lady who makes wigs for cancer patients, which was fulfilling, too. It had grown over 10 inches long!
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| BEFORE |
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| BEFORE |
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| AFTER |
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| AFTER |
The first Sunday after all the boys had cut their hair made quite an impact at church. Several people bore their testimonies about these young men, and how inspired they were by them. It was amazing how simple haircuts made the young men seem so much older already. It took my breath away when I first saw them all together with their new haircuts! In that moment, I realized the years of their youth were behind them, and it brought tears to my eyes.
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BEFORE (this photo was taken at the end of January,
and it was the last one I could find of the group with their long
hairdo's--unfortunately Nathan wasn't in the photo) |
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AFTER (this photo was taken in May on the day they all
received their mission calls) |
At the end of April. the Stake President submitted all 6 of their mission papers to the church on the same day; because even though they all finished the requirements on different days within 2 weeks of each other, he knew of their desire to get their calls back at the same time, so he held onto a few of them until they were all done before he submitted them all together. The boys knew there was a chance that some of the calls might come at different times, but they were wishing and hoping they would arrive together.
On the morning of Tuesday, May 10, five of the boys received the email saying their mission call was ready to open. They got the email within 5 minutes of each other. They were at school, and instantly started texting each other. The only one who didn't get his call was Nathan--and they were trying to figure out if they should wait another week (calls only arrive once a week) so Nathan could join them, or if they should just open the calls without him. Thankfully, an hour later, Nathan's call also arrived. The boys didn't open their calls at school, because they wanted to open them all together. All the parents were now alerted to the situation and were texting each other, and it was decided we would have a gathering that evening at the church for the boys to open their calls together in front of an audience, and a zoom link was created for family and friends who lived out of town. We all brought some goodies, set up chairs, and waited with anticipation for the moment that would change all our lives. There was a great deal of family, friends, classmates, and community members who joined the grand opening of the mission calls that evening, which was exciting. We planned to start at 7:00, but Nathan's parents were late, so we waited until they arrived before the event began.
Tyler and his dad set up the zoom camera for the broadcast, which was awesome. Stacie also had a family zoom that she had going on her phone. I used my phone to make a Facebook Live post. You could literally feel the excitement in the air, and it was evident how excited the boys were!
After Nathan's parents arrived, the Bishop consulted with the boys on how they wanted to proceed. They decided to all open the calls at the same time on their phones, read the intro all aloud in unison together, and then take turns reading the locations and languages of their calls individually.
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| L-R: Jonah, Micah, Erik, Tyler, Nathan, Boaz |
Once they finally began opening their calls around 7:10, there was a lag in the internet, and they had to wait for 2 of the boy's phones to actually download the document. That was a little nerve-wracking, and they feared now they finally had this event all set up, that they might not be able to all access the online document to announce it together...it was a stressful few minutes, trying not to look at their phones that HAD downloaded the mission calls (and spoil the surprise) while they waited for the others to try and access theirs.
Thankfully, it finally worked out that they all had access to their mission calls, and they began to read aloud together. It was an incredible moment that I will never forget--seeing these close-knit boys reading their calls simultaneously: "Dear Elder....".
"...You are hereby called to serve in.." They announced their calls from right to left.
Boaz: Philippines, Urdaneta mission, speaking Tagalog, reporting to the Philippines MTC on Sept. 9.
Nathan: Philippines, Quezon City mission, speaking Tagalog, beginning Sept. 19 (home MTC & Provo MTC).
Tyler: Brazil, Recife mission, speaking Portuguese, beginning Aug. 8 (home MTC & Provo MTC).
Erik: Philippines, Tacloban City mission, speaking Cebuano, beginning Sept. 19 (home MTC & Provo MTC).
Three out of four already read were going to the Philippines which was amazing! And all 4 of them were going international. My boys were the last to read theirs, and by now I was on pins and needles!
Jonah was called to the Canada, Toronto, English-speaking mission, beginning July 18 (home MTC & Provo MTC). Everyone else had started in August or September, and when I heard July, I gasped--wondering how we were going to get everything done in time!
The last to go was Micah, and at this point, I worried that he would be called to a nearby statewide mission, when everyone else got to go international. I closed my eyes and waited with anticipation for the last call to be read...
Micah was called to the Chile, Santiago mission, speaking Spanish, beginning July 18 (home MTC then Mexico City MTC). In that moment I was relieved that Micah also got an international call. All 6 got international calls!! Then I was shocked that Jonah and Micah were going so far apart from each other. Two different hemispheres!! Then I was SO grateful that they would begin their missions on the same date. Identical twins starting on identical dates! Then I felt instantly stressed about trying to get everything done before then: with their impending high school graduation, their boys' trip to the coast, all the shopping and Dr. appointments and additional paperwork requirements.
I was simply overcome with emotion, overwhelmed with so many feelings at once! It was a lot to process. But beyond all, I felt love, pride, and joy for these young men who had the incredible opportunity to do this together, and I'm so blessed that Jonah and Micah were a part of it! It's hard to put it all in words: it was truly was a moment I will always remember and forever cherish!
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| Stacie, Erik, and Mark Oliverson |
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| Craig, Boaz, & Wendy Oswald |
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| David, Nathan, & Leslie Deschaine |
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| Tiana, Tyler, & Ryan Hilton |
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| Kala, Micah, Jonah, & Josh Tolman |
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Some of the young girls from our ward
made this cute announcement on the dry erase
board, complete with stick-figure pictures
of the missionaries in their new locations! |
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| The moms--we were all a blubbering mess by the end of it! |
