He's Home From His Mission!

On Friday, July 17, 2015, our youngest son arrived home from serving a two-year full-time mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Our son served in the Arizona Tempe Mission. He served in the cities of Tempe, Mesa, and Chandler, and in the towns of Arizona City, Eloy, and Picacho. He was a wonderful missionary and loved his mission!

We had a little surprise waiting for our son when he arrived home. All of our family members were able to be at the airport to welcome him home! Two of our five kids are married, and we also have a baby grandson. Most of our kids live out-of-state. They all arrived at our house the day before our missionary son's arrival.

At our local airport, there are decorative sequoia trees inside the terminal. They aren't real trees. But I think they look pretty cool. Our kids hid inside the huge walk-through Sequoia tree.

While our kids were hiding, my husband and I hugged our son as we welcomed him home and took pictures, trying to act like all was normal and that we were the only family members at the airport. I was excited to see his reaction when he finally would see his siblings, in-law-siblings and nephew. We walked toward the baggage claim area and walked by the tree where everyone was hiding. Surprise! They all came out of hiding. It was great!

Here are some pictures of the happy reunion. (I've blurred my grandson's face for privacy reasons.)

Time for hugs!

Our son hadn't met his new sister-in-law in person before his arrival home. One of our sons got married while our youngest son was serving his mission in Arizona.

Meeting his nephew in person for the first time. Our daughter and son-in-law welcomed a new baby boy into their family while our son was serving his mission.

Time for more hugs.

Our son loved his mission! He served honorably and well. We received a very nice email from a family in his mission not too long ago. They had some very nice things to say about our son. And they even shared a picture of him as well.

When I shared a picture of our son's homecoming on Facebook, some complimentary comments about our son were left by people he knew from his mission. One person wrote that our son was "a huge blessing to our family." And another person wrote, "Elder Last was a fantastic missionary."

We're so proud of our son's selfless service to our Heavenly Father and His son Jesus Christ and to the people in Arizona. Well done son! Welcome home!

Thanks for stopping by!

© 2015 Copyright by Jana Last, All Rights Reserved

He'll Be Home Soon!

Two years ago we said goodbye to our youngest son as he left to serve a two-year full-time mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He was called to serve in the Arizona Tempe Mission.

We took him to the airport and hugged him.

And then we watched him as he went through airport security. We wanted to be with him and see him as long as we could.

As he left airport security, he turned and waved at us before he walked away.

We stayed and watched him on the big screen in the airport. 

We stayed until we couldn't see him anymore.

This Friday we will be taking pictures of our youngest son at the airport again. Only this time they will be pictures of him walking towards us. Friday, July 17th, our son officially completes his two-year mission. We are so excited to see him again!

We are happy that he chose to serve a two-year full-time LDS mission. It's been wonderful these last two years to read his emails about his experiences serving as a missionary in Arizona. He was already a wonderful young man before he left. He has grown into an even more wonderful young man because of his missionary service.

This is a picture of him when he arrived at the Missionary Training Center (MTC) in Provo, Utah on the day he began his mission. Our daughter sent this picture to us two years ago. She, her husband, and one of our other sons, were able to pick him up from the Salt Lake City Airport and drop him off at the MTC.

I love this picture of him and have it up on our refrigerator. Our son loved his mission and has served honorably and well.

I'll share photos of the happy reunion with our son in a future post.

Thanks for stopping by!

© 2015 Copyright by Jana Last, All Rights Reserved

The Latest Happenings ~ Missionary Son Update – Snow…ish Stuff

I thought I'd share some of the latest happenings regarding our youngest son, who's serving a two-year full-time mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Arizona.

After Christmas our family, minus our missionary son of course, spent time together in Utah. It snowed the first two days of our vacation. And the temperatures the rest of the week didn't get above freezing. So there was snow and ice on the ground the whole week.

In one of our weekly emails, we told our missionary son about our experiences with the snowy and freezing conditions in Utah and he told us about the cold weather he experienced at the beginning of 2015.

He said, "…on New Years Eve, we got rain. A good portion of rain. Which is rather unfortunate, because this Stake started their Pioneer Trek on New Years Eve. So, the kids got a nice muddy start. And the dirt here has a lot of clay in it. Unlike Sandy Mud, which is just kind of moist, this Mud is thick and clings to anything it touches. So, the youth had to pull handcarts in six inches of mud the whole eleven miles of the first day. Then, on that night, it got a little below freezing, and so some of that rain turned into ice. Which, actually iced our trash can shut the next morning. A sight and a feeling I thought I would never see on my mission!"

Wow! I have to hand it to those kids on their Pioneer Trek. And it's pretty funny that our son's trash can was iced shut.

In an email from our son with the subject line "Our own bit of snow...ish stuff" he sent two very similar pictures of the same mountain range. Here's one of the photos.



Yes. I think I see some "snow...ish stuff" on top of those mountains.

It sure is fun receiving emails and photos from our missionary son. He's doing great and loves his mission so much.

Thanks for stopping by!


© 2015 Copyright by Jana Last, All Rights Reserved

The Latest Happenings ~ Missionary Son Update - Transfers Week

I thought I'd share the latest happenings regarding our youngest son, who's serving a two-year full-time mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

We received his weekly email this last Monday. Last week was transfers week. Transfers week comes along every six weeks. At that time, missionaries may be assigned to work in a different city or area within the mission. Or they may just stay where they are currently serving. Our son found out that he's staying put for now, but his missionary companion was being transferred. That meant our son would get a new missionary companion.

Transfers took place last Thursday. Our son now has a new missionary companion. And his new companion came straight from the Missionary Training Center (MTC) in Provo, Utah. Our son has the opportunity and responsibility to train a new missionary for the third time since the beginning of his mission! How awesome is that!?

As you can imagine, summers in Arizona can get very hot. So, how's the weather in Arizona now that it's fall? Well, in one of his recent emails, our son said that it's finally cooling down. This is what he wrote, "Speaking of weather, it is finally starting to cool down. And by cool down I mean it gets down to the 60s in the evening. Haha. And the highs are in the 70s."

Our son is doing great and is really enjoying his mission! I'm so proud of him and his desire to serve our Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ.

Thanks for stopping by!

© 2014 Copyright by Jana Last, All Rights Reserved

Hiking Casa Grande Mountain Park

Our youngest son is serving a full-time two-year mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Arizona. In his most recent email to us, he told us that he and some other missionaries hiked around Casa Grand Mountain Park on their P-day (preparation day).

P-day is the one day a week that LDS missionaries use to take care of personal things like food shopping, laundry, emailing home, etc. The rest of the week is spent sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

It's especially fun to receive photos from our son. He sent these awesome pictures from their hike.



He said that they hiked in the morning. Looking closely at the photo below, I noticed headlights on cars along the highway as well as other lights that appear to be at business locations.



Our son told us that the hike was "lots of fun" and that there were "Jumping Cholla cactus everywhere." He said that one "grabbed onto" a fellow missionary's shoe but that thankfully it was "at the sole of his shoe, so it only burrowed into the rubber."



Yikes! It's a good thing the cactus only penetrated the sole of that missionary's shoe. The Jumping Cholla cactus is also referred to as the Chain Fruit Cholla. You can read more about it in an online article called Jumping Cholla. From what I read in the article, it sounds like getting pierced by one of this cactus' spines would not be fun at all.



Our son is loving his mission in Arizona. In one of his recent emails he said, "I love this work. I know that God loves each and every one of us. The Atonement can be applied into every single aspect of our lives. We just need to look for it. The Tender Mercies of the Lord, as well, are everywhere. Seek, and ye shall find."

Thanks for stopping by!


© 2014 Copyright by Jana Last, All Rights Reserved

He's Home!

Last Friday, our third-oldest son returned home from serving a two-year full-time mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.



He served his mission in the Massachusetts Boston Mission, which includes most of Massachusetts, all of Rhode Island, and parts of New Hampshire, Vermont, and Connecticut. During his mission, our son served in Keene, New Hampshire, Quincy, Massachusetts, Lowell, Massachusetts, and Manchester, Connecticut.

We hadn't seen our son in person for two years, so as you can imagine, the reunion we had with him at the airport was wonderful! This is a picture of him hugging his dad.



And here they are together waiting for our son's luggage.



Our son loved his mission and served faithfully. He returned with honor. We recently received two emails and a letter from people in the areas where he served. They had such kind words to say about our son and his service while he was on his mission. It was heartwarming and touching to read what they said about him. The following paragraph is an excerpt from one of the emails that we received:

"I just want to tell you how grateful we are to you and your family for being willing to share your son with us for a short time.  He is a wonderful missionary and carries the Spirit with him wherever he goes.  He has been a great influence on our family and the members of our ward.  We will miss him so much, but we are also very excited for you to welcome him home after a 2-year absence.  Just know that he has served faithfully and has helped to change many lives for the better.  We know he will continue to do so as he returns home and moves on with the next chapter of his life."

We're so proud of our son's selfless service to our Heavenly Father and His son Jesus Christ and to the people in New England. Well done son! And welcome home!

Thanks for stopping by!


© 2014 Copyright by Jana Last, All Rights Reserved

The One-Year Mark

We recently received this picture in an email from our youngest son, who's serving a full-time 2-year mission in Arizona for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He's the one on the right. Notice the short-sleeve shirts? Ya. It's hot over there in Arizona right now.

Our son just passed his one-year mark on July 17, 2014. That's what the picture is about that he and the other elder are holding. The other elder received that cute picture from his parents. It turned out that July 17, 2014 was his one-year mark as well. In case you can't read the writing on the picture, here's what it says: Happy "Hump" Day! July 17, 2014.

So our son has reached the half-way point of his mission. In one of his emails he said that the first year of his mission has gone by so fast. And in his latest email he wrote, "If this year goes by as fast as the last one did, my mission will be much too short." That's so awesome. It makes me happy to read those words because they show how devoted he is to serving the Lord and the people in Arizona.

Thanks for stopping by!


© 2014 Copyright by Jana Last, All Rights Reserved

Scorpion In A Box

Each week, we look forward to the emails from our two youngest sons who are serving full-time 2-year missions for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. And it's extra fun when those emails include pictures.

I recently shared a couple of pictures sent to us by our youngest son who's serving in Arizona.
Well, this past week he sent a few pictures of a scorpion that had been caught by someone he knows. This is one of those pictures. Can you say yikes?!



This is what he said about this picture:

"This is a bark scorpion, the most common and most lethal scorpion. It just so happens to be able to blend in with carpet and can squeeze through something as small as the width of a credit card."

Double yikes!!

I did a search online for the bark scorpion and yes, this does look like the Arizona Bark Scorpion. You can read about it HERE.

Did you know that the Arizona Bark Scorpion is nocturnal and that it glows in the dark under ultraviolet light?



I found this picture of an Arizona Bark Scorpion on the Wikimedia Commons website. We actually purchased a UV ultraviolet LED flashlight blacklight for our son to take with him on his mission to Arizona. I don't know if he's used it yet though. But, it's nice to know he has it in case he wants or needs to use it make sure there aren't any scorpions in his apartment.

He's been serving in Arizona for just over a year now. And so far, he hasn't mentioned finding any scorpions in either of the apartments where he's lived. And I'm thankful for that.

Thanks for stopping by!


© 2014 Copyright by Jana Last, All Rights Reserved

Exciting News In The Mail

Last week we received something exciting in the mail. It was the travel itinerary for our third-oldest son who's currently serving a two-year mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

He's serving in the Massachusetts Boston Mission, which includes most of Massachusetts, all of Rhode Island, and parts of New Hampshire, Vermont, and Connecticut. This is a photo of him taken in December of last year. He was serving in Massachusetts at the time.



The travel itinerary we received gave us the date and time of his arrival at our local airport. Yay! It's so exciting! He will be arriving home in less than two months now!

My husband and I each write a weekly email to our son, which he responds to in his weekly email that he writes and sends to us on his P-day (Preparation Day). That's the one day in each week that missionaries are allowed to take care of personal business like food shopping, laundry, writing/emailing family, etc. The rest of the week is totally devoted to missionary work.

In our weekly emails to our son this last Sunday, my husband and I told him about receiving the itinerary. It turned out that he hadn't received it yet. He already knew what day he was coming home, but he didn't know what time, etc. So, this must have made it very real for him.

His reaction was actually wonderful to read. It sounds like the end of his two-year mission is coming up too fast for his liking. And that he doesn't feel like he's been out on his mission for very long at all. Those words are music to this missionary mom's ears. It shows how much he loves his mission and that he loves serving the Lord and the people in New England. And I know that that's true. He really does love his mission and loves sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

We look forward to the day when our son steps off of that plane and into our arms. Until that day arrives, we know that he will finish his mission strong and will continue to serve with all of his heart. And we wouldn't want it any other way.

Thanks for stopping by!


© 2014 Copyright by Jana Last, All Rights Reserved

Dusty Skies In Arizona

Our youngest son is currently serving a two-year mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Arizona. I had heard that there was a haboob, or dust storm, last week in or near the area where he's serving. So, of course, I had to ask him about it in my email to him a few days ago.

In his weekly email, he replied that when the dust storm hit, he and his missionary companion happened to be at the church building, so they waited in there until most of the dust storm passed. Then they headed home.

While he was waiting at the church building, he took pictures of what the sky looked like and sent a few of the pictures home via email. Here's one of the pictures he sent.



You can see how windy it was at the time of this storm by how the trees are bending in the wind. And the sky certainly is a dusty color.

For those unfamiliar with what a haboob, or dust storm, may look like, this is a photo from Wikimedia Commons showing a haboob in Texas.

Haboob in Ransom Canyon, Texas 2009
Wikimedia Commons - Photo by Leaflet

That looks pretty ominous and scary to me. I definitely would not want to be caught out in one of those dust storms! And I'm glad that our son was inside at the time the dust storm hit in Arizona this past week.

Contrast the dusty sky picture at the top of this post with this one taken by our son a couple of days after the dust storm in Arizona.



What a difference! And what a gorgeous sky!

Thanks for stopping by!


© 2014 Copyright by Jana Last, All Rights Reserved