The First Letter!!!!!

I told Jordan that he had to write as soon as possible so that we could know how he was doing.  I'm not sure if that was such a good idea, because it got me crying all over again.

January 18, 2012


Dear Family,


I can't believe that I am in the MTC.  The drop off was too quick for me.  I love my companion.  His name is Elder Hudson. He is from Draper.  The classes were all in Spanish and I got to help teach 3 people today.  It was great!  I probably won't get this letter to you until Saturday, but I love you guys and hope the best.  I still reach into my pocket to call you when I start to think about home :(
Haha, Dave was late.  He walked in right behind me.  He is doing good and we had lunch together.  I do agree with Dave that I want to get out into the field.  Write me back as soon as possible because that is what I will live on and keep me going.  Love you guys.  Want to see your faces.


Love,
Elder Parkinson

God Be With You Till We Meet Again

What an emotional day!  Jordan wanted to have his last family meal at Smash Burger in Provo.  I'm not sure if this was for him or mom (it's mom favorite place).  After eating, we walked the grounds of the Provo Temple and took some pictures.  Then, the awful part came.  We were directed into the drop-off zone at the MTC.  We took spot 13 and before you knew it, Jordan's luggage was out of the car and he was walking away with his host missionary.  The whole process was less than 5 minutes.  The only good part of the whole thing was seeing Jordan's smiling face and knowing that he is so happy to be serving a mission.  Mom cried a lot, but we all know this will be an amazing 2 years for everyone.

Goodbye Friends

We are going to miss all of these boys.  What a great group of young men.

A Meat Night With The 3 Amigos

Jordan, Dave and Rich decided to have one last all you can eat meat night at Tucano's.  Jordan ended up gaining 8 lbs for the night and David 10 lbs.  Their server's name was even JP :)

Farewell Sunday

Jordan had his farewell on Sunday, January 15, 2012.  His farewell was combined with his best friend, David Coffman.  They each gave amazing talks and Ali Lloyd played a beautiful piano piece entitled "Missionary Medley."  After church, food was served at Jordan's house across the street.  We had many great friends and family who came and helped.  It was an awesome day for everyone.

One Last Family Trip

 

 

 

For Christmas, my family gave me a trip to the Insight Bowl in Phoenix to watch the Iowa Hawkeyes.  It was a great trip and we had a lot of fun even though Iowa lost to Oklahoma.  We got to enjoy nice weather and some great family time before I head to the MTC.

A Favorite Christmas Tradition

Every Christmas my family spends a night at Little America and goes to Temple Square to look at the Christmas lights.  This is one of my favorite holiday traditions.