Goodbyes

Christian started Home MTC on Monday, August 25th, 2024. During the week, he had classes from about 8 am to 6 pm every day. There were a few short breaks throughout the day, but the majority of it was spent on Zoom. The mornings were spent in language training classes and the afternoons were spent in gospel study/teaching classes.

Although he worked hard and didn't complain much, he didn't really enjoy Home MTC. The language training was very basic, which was a little boring for him. I know he has a lot to learn in Portuguese, but everyone else in his district was starting from scratch, so there was a big gap because Christian has been learning and practicing for the last few years. During one of his breaks, he overheard one of his MTC teachers say, "I thought this district was all non-Portuguese speakers. Elder Hill speaks very well." Christian was pretty happy about that, and I think it boosted his confidence. He has been a very fast language learner from the moment our family started working on Portuguese, and last year when we went to Brazil, he received a Father's Blessing giving him the gift of tongues. That has been on full-display over the course of the year, and I am grateful that the language hasn't been much of a problem for him. He was very sweet and met with his companion, Elder Polmateer, on his p-day to help him with his Portuguese because he was really struggling. 

The gospel study portion of the day was good because it forced him to study and learn how to teach principles, but again, he was often a bit bored with the Zoom calls. He really just wanted to be face to face with his class and teachers. He had to make a little video of him bearing his testimony to share with his group. I found it on his computer after he left, and I love it so much!

He spent almost the entire week holed up in the guest bedroom on the computer, but during the evenings he would come out and tell us all about his day. It was fun for us to have a missionary in the house. He wore his church clothes and badge all the time and stayed off of media, which I am sure was trickier being at home with all of us. 

The one big benefit of Home MTC was that he got to know his district a little bit before leaving home. There are 11 people in his district (3 Sisters and 8 Elders), and all of them are headed to Juiz de Fora. Hopefully getting to know them beforehand will make for an easier adjustment in Brazil.

There was a BYU vs Southern Illinois football game on Saturday night, which happened to be his P-Day, so Jonathon took him, cousin McKay, and Andrew to the game. Christian wore his nice clothes and badge like a good missionary. He said no one really batted an eye about his appearance because missionaries are so common around here. They had a great time, and BYU actually won, so it was a good night all around.

On Tuesday, they ended classes early so that they would all have time to finish packing. Christian and I spent a few hours finishing all the odds and ends and making sure he had everything he would need. We originally tried to squeeze everything into one large and one medium suitcase, but we soon realized that it wasn't going to work. He has a carry-on size that we could have sent too, but he was really hesitant to take 3 cases because he had heard that hauling them around on transfers on public transportation was no fun. I came up with a plan though, and Andrew was nice and let Christian take his large suitcase. With two of the bigger size, we were able to get everything in. I bought a travel scale for him so that he could make sure both cases were under 50 lbs, and we ended up being perfect. One case was 48 and the other was 49. I was pretty impressed with our packing. 

Christian teased me about everything that I bought and sent with him, but I hope he finds the things useful. I am part of the LDS Mom's of Missionaries in Brazil group on Facebook, and I have been following various threads about things that their missionaries have needed. It is very expensive to ship things to Brazil, so you can't really rely on being able to do that. One funny example is that they don't have stick deodorant in Brazil (only spray-on), so many missionaries have their parents send them some. I sent him 8 sticks of Axe deodorant, so that will at least last him for a while. The other big problem is that Christian has enormous feet (size 14.5), and wears a 2XL in clothing. Brazilians are typically small people, and we had a hard time finding clothing that fit him when we were there last Summer. I knew we had better make sure to send extra of things in case he couldn't find it there. 4 pairs of shoes and extra pants and shirts really filled up the luggage quickly. I felt super organized with everything though and even made a spreadsheet to help me. Hopefully, that will make it easier to send out another boy in a few years.

 

After we were all packed up, we took the family out for a good-bye meal and let Christian choose where we went. He picked OutBack Steak House. We enjoyed a delicious dinner and enjoyed our last evening together. 

That night, we read scriptures together in Portuguese, said family prayer, and then went around and said what we loved and were going to miss about Christian. It was a tender family moment. Christian then gave Jonathon a blessing. It was his first ever priesthood blessing. Someone suggested it would be good practice to give it to his dad first before being thrown into it out in the mission field. He was super nervous, but did a good job. He told Jonathon that the transitions in the coming months were going to be challenging, but to know that everything is part of God's plan. He also encouraged him to put family first and make sure we were all taken care of ahead of all the work and other things he has going. I'm grateful he was able to do that.

My sister-in-law, Kym, then texted me that I needed to check the mail. Inside I found a package from her with a Brazil necklace that had a heart where Juiz de Fora is. It made me cry because I love it so much. A piece of my heart will definitely be in Brazil for the next two years, and I'm so grateful that she was so thoughtful. It really means a lot to me.

The next morning, we got up early so that we could get pictures before everyone left, and then headed to the airport at 6:30am. Christian was so anxious to get going, and he wanted nothing to do with anything sentimental. We got his luggage all checked in and then headed to the security lines. He was ready to go, but I insisted on a hug. You wouldn't think that would be an issue, but Christian has never been a touchy-feely soul. Haha! Then we watched him walk away as he turned the corner. It was a very weird, surreal moment. His no nonsense, unemotional attitude made it so that we weren't very emotional either. No tears were shed, and Jonathon and I just turned around and went back to the car and drove home... all very strange.

I was beginning to wonder if there was something wrong with us because of our lack of emotions, but the sadness definitely hit later that day (and several times throughout the next week). After school, Andrew came home and just curled up on the bed and laid there. He was missing his brother. I laid down next to him, and we both cried a bit. Hyrum was also sad that night and had a hard time going to bed. It hit Jonathon a few days later when he had to go feed the fish at the lab. That was a job that he and Christian always did together, and it was hard to not have him there. 

I'm sure it will continue to be hard as we are staring down two long years, but we did have a great moment the morning after we sent him off when we received a picture of Christian at the Brazil MTC from a random phone number. It turns out it was from our friend, Connie Fortunato, who is part of a Brazil MTC teacher's page, and the picture was posted there. This is the text Jonathon sent with the picture. "According to Jouber, the photo was posted to an MTC teacher group and has a long conversation attached about how everybody knows us, and he already lived in Brazil, is a third generation missionary in the country etc. Haha." I love all the random connections that allowed us to see that Christian made it safely. Later, the Brasil CTM posted some arrival pictures of the missionaries. So fun to see him there. 

Christian and Elder Paes

Sending your child off for 2 long years requires quite a lot of faith and trust. I've definitely had feelings of doubt and anxiety and sadness over the long road ahead, but deep down, I know that we wouldn't want him anywhere else right now. We are so proud of his faithful decision to serve. It's just hard, and I know it will be hard until we get to see him again. Many many missionaries, moms, and families have been through this and have come out even better on the other side, and we will too. Love you, Christian, my boy!