This is one of my favorite moments from my wedding. Whew. Tearing up a little over here as I am trying to write this. I got married on Friday June 1st. On Wednesday June 6th, while I was on my honeymoon, my brother left to go serve a church mission in Ukraine for two years. This moment is the last time I saw my brother before he left. It was so special that my brother could attend my wedding before he left. I know it looks like I am so happy in this picture, which I am of course, but I am also trying not cry as I realized during all the commotion and excitement that this will be the last moment I see Jared for 24 months. As if wedding days weren't emotional enough! I am so glad that the photographer captured this tender moment, even if it does make me cry a little. (Thank you Stephanie!)
My brother is doing fantastic in Ukraine. In his emails, he never complains and is always positive, even when things are tough. He is touching so many lives and I know he is making a big difference. If you are curious what an LDS missionary does, this little snippet from his letter will hopefully dispel some mystery. Just one of the many examples of small miracles in our lives.
"We had a chance this week to meet for the first time with a new referral from Aleksay. (Every other referral he's given us either has gotten baptized or is still working towards it :)) The referral is a man who lives a little ways outside of Yalta. He is a great guy. We talked about the restoration and gave him a Book of Mormon to start reading. We also talked about prayer and receiving a personal testimony. He committed to reading and praying. The major foreseeable problem with him is that since he's without work right now, it will be difficult for him to travel to church meetings. We had a really cool experience though. We called a day or two later to find out when we could meet next. He said that he would be busy for the next couple of days because he found work! It turns out that after meeting with us, he prayed and asked to be able to find work and he did! He really wants to meet again now. It was so cool that after we talked about prayer, he had a personal experience with it right away. I'm sure that will be a big boost as he works toward baptism. We're planning on meeting with him again tomorrow."
I am so proud of my brother. I miss him and love him so much.
Ukraine is so far away! Only 15 more months.
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