The More the Merrier!

Nothing with Gannon just happens. There are funny and strange turns of events that make everything memorable. Before we receive his first email, and I begin to share those here, I want to take the time to record some of these funny things that have happened….

Gannon and Tristin (or I guess I should say Elder Hess and Elder Tidwell), didn't travel alone yesterday. It just so happens that there is an Elder who has been serving in the Texas McAllen Mission for the past year who is from Vancouver, Washington, just on the other side of the Columbia River from where we are in Portland. I became acquainted with his mother through the McAllen Mission Facebook page.

This Elder has a younger sister. Right around the time these two young men, Elder Hess and Elder Tidwell, got their calls, she got hers as well. She is heading to the Virginia Richmond Mission. Speaking?….You guessed it…Spanish! Her date of departure?….February 25th!

I'm not sure how all of the connections happened once the boys were on the plane, but they somehow met up with her.

The flight arrived right before 9:00am Mountain Time. Our oldest daughter and a friend picked them up and ran around with them--took them to breakfast, etc.--until it was time for them to report to the Missionary Training Center, which was to take place right around noon.

It was nice to grab all three of these young people from the Northwest and get them all there together….Does anyone else think it's funny how connections work?…That this young woman's brother is serving in McAllen, of all places!...Kind of blows my mind.

Just the Beginning: A Mother's Note

Yesterday we dropped Elder Gannon Hess off at the airport. It was 5:00am. We all arose at 4:00, dressed, gathered for family prayer and a father's blessing for our oldest son and brother. Then it was off to catch a 6:00am flight to Salt Lake City.

We knew we would be meeting friends at the airport. Actually, a young man who has become one of Gannon's very best friends would be flying out too.

It just so happens that these two had met a number of months back. They, and a small group of others, had become Gannon's social life as he prepared to turn in his mission papers.

Gannon and this other young man turned in their mission papers close to the same time; although, if my memory serves me correctly, the friend, Tristin, turned his in just a bit sooner.

Now, you have to understand, there are more than 400 missions throughout the world where a missionary can serve. Gannon's dad served in Paraguay, I served in Japan, his older sister just returned from her mission in the Philippines (in the Philippines alone, there are 21 different missions one can serve in), so you really could be called to serve pretty much ANYWHERE in the world.

It just so happens that Gannon opened his call and found that he would be serving in the Texas McAllen Mission, and he would be speaking Spanish.

Tristin opened had opened his call close to the same time. His call?….The Texas Houston Mission; speaking Spanish.

Their date of departure? February 25, 2015. Needless to say, these two are great friends. This forged that friendship even more.

It was nice to watch two friends depart yesterday morning…..for six weeks in the MTC.