Elder Parker Lance Evans

So, I'm backtracking a little to post these photos of the day Parker left for his two-year mission to Cuernavaca Mexico for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Saying goodbye to my son for two years is one of the hardest things I've ever done. But I know that he is doing the right thing. He is a wonderful young man, full of enthusiasm and love. He has already had so many good experiences in Mexico and I know he will have many more.

Prior to leaving for Mexico, he spent two months in the Missionary Training Center in Provo, Utah. There, he learned Spanish and was also trained in being a good missionary.

Here are some photos we took the morning we dropped him off in Provo. Some are at our house right before we drove to the MTC, and the rest are either at the Provo Temple, in our car, or at the MTC.

He had a wonderful experience at the MTC and each week when we receive his emails from Mexico, I am so excited to hear about his life as missionary. And of course, I'm counting down the days until Christmas when we will be able to talk to him on the phone. 

:)

Viva Mexico! {Elder Evans....the Sequel}

For those of you who are faithful followers of my blog (c'mon raise your hands...I know there are one or two...), you may remember when my oldest son Nate served a mission in Edmonton, Canada.


Well, last week, my second son Parker received his call to serve in the Mexico Cuernavaca Mission! He leaves May 23 and will serve for two years.


The build-up to receiving a mission call is unlike anything else. It involves doctor and dentist appointments, wisdom tooth extraction, and in Parker's case meniscus surgery following an incident involving running and slipping on wet grass. Add to that interviews with his ecclesiastical leaders and a bunch of paperwork...and there you have a mission application.


Once a prospective missionary submits his or her papers, the wait begins for the call to arrive. In our area, mission calls arrive in the mail on Wednesdays, so it was pins and needles time for our family as I set up a vigil by the living room window waiting for the mailman to arrive. In recent months, our mail has been arriving much later than it used to. Last Tuesday, it wasn't delivered until 5 p.m.! There was no way any of us could wait that long on Wednesday!


Parker is currently a student at BYU, about an hour from our home, so I was instructed to text him AS SOON as the mail came. Luckily, it arrived earlier than it had on Tuesday-- around 2:30 p.m. on Wednesday. The envelope we were so eagerly awaiting was there! I texted Parker immediately. He said he would drive up as soon as his next class was over.


We set a time for family to gather at 6 p.m. for the opening of the call. It was so nervewracking, and so exciting all at once. We were lucky to have our Arizona relatives be there with us via Skype, as well. Parker was a bundle of nerves, and I thought he just might explode as we waited for everyone to arrive so he could open the most important envelope of his life to this point.


Here are some shots I captured from that evening!!! Smiles all around.

Talk about an anxious man!! Yes, he was sooooo nervous!! (I must have been nervous too...a little camera shake made this one kind of blurry...but I had to include it!)

Opening the envelope!

Here it comes!!!

Dad's looking a little anxious as Parker begins..."Dear Elder Evans......

"Mexico Cuervnavaca!! Yes!!"

Map of the mission

Consulting the atlas for more information.

The Elders Evans study the atlas while Dad talks to the AZ relatives on Skype

Does he look like a happy boy or what?

Ready to be a missionary mom again!!! (And man, I look short in this picture! How did my boys grow up so much? Parker's definitely grown a foot or two. :)

:)