Fourth of July Package

So I am having so much fun with his packages.  I am sending this one for the 4th of July.

There are gummy bears, licorice, snaps, airheads, rolos, glowsticks, kisses, and some funky glasses.  I am sure that I appreciate the fun theme more than he will but still so fun to put together.

First Emails

Wow what a day!  We finally heard back from Josh through email.  He wrote 4 emails to us today.  So a couple of things.  He is FABULOUS as responding to my emails but he literally responds to my email line by line which is sometimes confusing when just reading his email.  Also he does not use capitals or punctuation (thanks autocorrect).  I thought about going through and fixing it up but I really don't want to do that.  So here are the letters from today.

HELLOOOO!!!!! this be Elder Rollins speaking. er typing... so MTC awesome stuff! learning a lot of things! today we get a new investigator and we are starting to teach her! little nervous but that comes in the job description! how was the ride home? fun? did you guys bawl the whole way? i didn't! they dragged me all over the place and i got my tag and a manilla envelope they showed me where my room was and then took me downstairs! where i sat for ten minutes then my companion Elder strickland showed up! he is from Texas which i guess is ok! i am the only one in my district from Utah so its a little weird. Elder Boy has a southern accent he even says Dad Gum. and for the life of me i cannot control my southern accent every time he starts talking to me ( i haven't asked if he dirtied up his purdy little dress yet though). apparently i am HILARIOUS according to the zone im in even though i am the youngest by nearly 10 months.. Oh well. How was church without me? mine was awesome! except we didn't get gym time.:'( ill live. well let me tell you the spirit here is constant. i feel bad for the rest of you! you honestly have to try to not feel it. well i haven't gotten to bed at 10:30 yet. so im a little tired because from 7am to 9:30pm we are constantly doing something. well i am running out of time so i will just say i love you all! Dad laugh at mom for me if she cries when she reads this!  oh and mom sorry but the computers here dont have the SD slot so ill have to find another way to get the pictures to you. hope you have a wonderful lovely spiritual day! oh and Boys be good for mom and dad dont be stupid, go wakeboarding, make somebody smile, know that i love you!! Adios muchachos! God loves you! 

This second letter is in reference to my panic letter of "You have got to stay and grow into a Man of God not just a child of God"  And I told him how his Aunts and Uncles told me to not worry if he is super serious for a while.  

goodness gracious! i aint dead! tell my aunts and uncles that my serious lasted until the second day and the teacher got on his soapbox about being ourselves. i promptly got everyone to laugh until their stomachs hurt. because i whacked my hand on the darn desk! much love! 

Elder Rollins

P.S. I am a man

The third email was in response to my email telling him about Jacob (his cousin) bearing his testimony and Aaron not liking having to find a job. 

Please do not fast. you always get sick. did Jacob cry? Good make him apply for more. Aaron, being the oldest is tough huh? not so fun is it? oh well i know you can do it! smile! Don't worry mom! im not going anywhere! except to play basketball!  my first night i couldn't sleep but ill live! Love you! Byeeeeee

The final email was just random Josh silliness in response to hearing about Dave sleeping in the car and the boys fishing at scout camp.  

tell me something funny i am sick of being the only funny one around here. everyone else is still in their serious faze.. boooring! hows the Fam? parties boring without me? everyone still crying? how was scout camp? info people info! so my language classes are super hard you know! i don't think ill ever learn it. those Elders/Sisters learning cantonese are so lucky.... well they weren't kidding when they said that the MTC would get old kind of fast. cause it has! but i love my zone and love my teachers and love the spirit here! scripture of the day 1 Nephi 2:15 in honor of scout camp. if only it said something about leaving to sleep in a tiny car. but that is as close as i can get. oh and no one is aloud to grow up while i am gone by the way. MTC isn't to good for fishing.....BAHAHAHAHAHA LOLOLOLOLOL cause empty sea!!! oh man i crack myself into pieces. anyway i love it here as said in previous emails. it is super fun! dont forget pictures!! love you!! PEACE

 Elder Rollins

First Letter

Well after a very stressful week we finally got a handwritten letter from Josh on Saturday.  He dated it Thursday, June 26.  Here is the letter.

Mom & Dad

Hello!  Dis be your son in case you couldn't see that!  Just updating you!  I'm all good! Everything is going wonderful and I couldn't be happier! The Spirit here is sooooo strong and I love it.

Dad you are so welcome for giving all of your stuff back soooo willingly.  I want to know what you guys said after I left.  Do you have any questions? Mission life is sooo tiring but I could not be happier!  There is no feeling in the the world like putting the nametag on everyday.  I love it! Oh I saw (saw? seen? seeded? whatevs) Bishop Bennion today at lunch!

Oh duh, my companions name is Elder Strickland from Texas.  The Elders in our district are Elder Boy and Elder McConell.  Elder Boy is from the South, Alambama... he says Dad Gum and everything... I decdied the hardest thing so far is not copying his accent!  Elder McConnell is from Missouri. He's pretty cool! and pretty weird.  I am the youngest by 10 months.  

Elder Strickland is cool and funny! I got to give him a blessing because the altitude was messing up his head!  Sooooo cool!  

Oh boy, I need pictures from everybody! and uhh  I dunno it's always busy here.  I haven't gone to bed on time yet... whoops well anywho love you lot!

Love Forever,
Elder Rollins

MTC dropoff

So at 1:15 on Wednesday, June 25th, we dropped Josh off at the MTC.  We went up to the church before hand to take some pictures.  We were all laughing and thinking this was pretty easy. 

We then drove to eat lunch/breakfast.  Josh got super quiet during the meal.  We all got a little more subdued. 

 We then went up to the church and said our goodbyes and gave Josh a big hug.

 I was doing fine until  I tried to stop hugging Josh and he wouldn't let go.  I told him how proud I was of him and how I knew he would do a great job.  I told him I loved him and would miss him and I thanked him for being such a good son. He cried.  I cried.  We all cried.

 I hugged him again and we all climbed back in the car.

 We drove across the street and entered the MTC grounds.  We drove around the building to the back and pulled up at number 25.  There was an Elder there and also a Sister.  We pulled up and Dave, Joe and I jumped out.  Josh got his luggage and then I hugged him again.  He told me "I need to get in there and get my nametag Mom."  I said "OK, Go."  We took this last picture and climbed in the car.  Alex and Aaron yelled that they loved him from the car and off we went.  I didn't even turn around.

 Then we cried.

That was a long ride home.  It is a strange feeling to experience.  Part of me felt as if I had abandoned him.  I also felt bad for Dave and the boys as the wept and shared their feelings.  I also felt such a sorrow at realizing that this marked an "End to my Beginnings" as a mom.  The young children all gathered at home phase is over and although I am going to love all the phases still to come, I will miss this first stage.

Setting Apart

President Hammon and Bishop Stone came to set Josh apart on Tuesday the 24th.  President Hammon had us all say why we thought Josh would be a good missionary.  He then set Josh apart and it was so comforting and exciting to hear what he was going to be doing. Apparently he needs to plan on difficult companions.

Rencher Cousins

Cousins are the best!  Here are the Rencher cousins minus James and Sam.

"Farewell with Friends"

So many of Joshua's fun, fabulous and supportive friends came to his talk.  Let's face it though, they probably came more for the food! 

"Farewell with Family"

Here are some family pictures from the day of Joshua's talk in sacrament meeting! We certainly appreciated all of the wonderful support that everyone showed to Josh!  The biggest surprise was the sudden appearance of Mitch, Haley and their darling kids!  We had already said goodbye over skype so this was a stunning surprise!