Leaving for his Mission

Well, it was an interesting week before Tyler left.  His uncle Nathan was able to come down from Utah to be Tyler's escort through the Phoenix Temple.  Tyler went through the temple on Saturday, July 13, 2015 and had a wonderful experience.  Then, on Sunday, he gave his farewell talk in sacrament meeting.  Attention was low due summer travelers, but that was ok since he wasn't as nervous to get up in front of everyone.

Then, Monday, his final 4 shirts arrived from Pomeroys.  We had initially bought 8 short-sleeved shirts, but when we got home with our stuff, we only found 4. So, we had to call the store back and left them know.  Unfortunately, they were all out of that size (skinny and tall), so they had to reorder from a Boise store that had them in stock.  They arrived and I was able to mark them with his initials when I got home from work that day.  Then, I helped him repack his suitcases and get all his stuff ready.  Next, he was set apart by Pres. Martin as a full time missionary for the church.  After that, we got dinner, Panda Express, Tyler's favorite and then went to the Phoenix Temple for one last pic together (just the boys, since I was behind the camera.)

We went to the store to grab a few last minute items, pencil sharpener, cheap watch, etc and then back home to try to get some sleep.  I know I had a real hard time sleeping that night.  I probably only got 4 hours.  

Tuesday morning, we all got up at 5am and loaded Tyler and his stuff up and drove to the airport.  

We said our goodbye's and off he went.

I tracked his plane's movements via the airline's website and watched his plane cross the country, connecting in SLC and ATL before heading for Columbia.  

He arrived late last night in Bogota and I received an email from him this morning.

6/17/2015

Hey Mom, 

So I am in Colombia now and I arrived safely. The flight was not too bad although it was a little long and we did go to bed a little late last night but I still got enough sleep. I am enjoying it here and am starting to learn how to speak Spanish although it is hard for me to pronounce because I took French and the pronunciations of the two languages differ. Still I am learning and I am enjoying both the weather and the experience. I am told that I will not be able to write home until June 25th so that is when everyone can expect my next email. I am glad to be out here and I hope everything is going great at home. Have a great weak and I love you all.

Elder Throop