Everything went exactly according to plan and I am very grateful. Emily told us
last night that her flight was delayed so we were nervous it would be worse but
she landed at 10 AM and it was just fine. I got up and saw Jonny out the door
and did my basic tasks and got ready for the day. I was ready by 10 AM like
planned. It took us a little bit to get out of the house. I had to remember
three important things: the Canon video camera and tripod, the banner and
poster, and to make sure we pick up Finnegan. I asked Michael to handle picking
up Finnegan and I would pick up Jonny at school. So Michael, Daniel, and Dad
picked up Finnegan, dropped off a letter for Dad, and headed to the airport.
They picked up Emily at terminal four and drove to terminal three. I drove
everybody else and we picked up Jonny. We got to the airport in plenty of time. Charlie was
asleep so Nathaniel and Audrey waited in the car with him and Jonny and I went
in to greet Emily and get ready for Andrew to arrive. He landed at about 12:04
PM. Lexie, the videographer, came and she was very nice. She did some preliminary shots and got
some pictures with the banner and everything. I got really emotional and started hugging
Michael. The Dopp family was right next to us and we thought their daughter was
going to come out first but as we were standing there wondering what was going
on, Andrew called us on Messenger. That was at 12:18 PM. Michael helped him and
told him where to go. Dad spotted him first and said he was on the right, and
then he moved over to the left and when I saw him I jumped up and down and
waved to him and he did the same. He was walking fast and then eventually broke
into a run to come greet us. He immediately ran to me and gave me a big hug. At
first, he hugged me with just one arm because he didn't want to drop this
suitcase because it was top heavy because of his backpack but he figured it out
and we hugged for a long time. Michael saw him struggling with the bag and took it for him. I wasn't going to let go until he did. Then he
hugged Michael. Then he hugged Papa and all of his siblings and then his
friends, Andrew Van Orden and Finnegan Lee. It was so nice that they were
there! Charlie wasn't too sure about giving him a hug but he'll get used to
him. Lexie took a bunch of pictures. We got individuals and group and all of
that. She even took a few with my phone which was nice because on the way home,
Andrew wanted me to send one to him so he could send it to President Gomez and
let him know that he made it home OK. He also brought us a letter from
President Gomez written to Michael and me that was very nice.
Andrew's Homecoming Video
Andrew running to hug us
Another version taken with our video camera
Once we were done hugging and taking pictures,
Michael, Daniel, Finnegan, and Andrew all went downstairs to get his checked
bags. I knew I wanted to ride with Andrew
but we hadn't completely figured all of that out yet so it was a little bit
chaotic figuring out who was going and what car making sure all the luggage
would fit. Dad went with Nathaniel, Audrey, and Charlie in my car and the rest
of us went in the Navigator. Everything was kind of surreal for Andrew, switching from one life to another.
He wanted to stop at Swig so that was our plan. We went to the one by Costco
and everybody got something. We treated Finnegan to a drink, as well. Andrew
Van Orden went home by himself and he had driven himself because he had to
work.
After that, we dropped Finnegan off at home and
went to the house. Andrew was glad to see his room.
I can’t remember exactly when it was, but I gave
Andrew his iPhone. He already had his Samsung but it didn’t have a SIM card. He
is happy with this phone for now. He got showered and put some fresh clothes on. I called
Texas Roadhouse and they said they would seat 10 of us together or at least in
tables next to each other so we headed over there and they seated us right
away. It worked out perfectly. They had a booth with six of us and then the
table next to us. We all enjoyed our appetizers and rolls and food.
Andrew fell asleep on the car ride home. I had
offered that we could have a family testimony meeting before he got released
and he liked that idea but everybody was so tired and he wanted to take a nap
so we let everyone sleep for about 45 minutes. We had to get everyone up to get
dressed in their church clothes. I was
not ready for him to be released. I heard Andrew say do I need to bring
anything? And then I remembered
that he had said that his mission president had a letter for President Cardon
so I reminded him to bring that and he was grateful I did. President Cardon asked
Andrew a bunch of questions. I was so impressed with all of Andrew's answers. Afterwards, we headed back to the house. I told everybody that I'd love to read the first
chapter of Esther and the beginning of the Come Follow Me lesson once we got
home and have some cake that I had bought for Andrew. It said Welcome Home,
Elder May. So that's what we did.
Andrew had gifts for everyone. He gave me a
necklace with a kangaroo charm. He had key chains for everyone. Some were
Australia flag designs and some were kangaroos. Lexie had sent me the pictures
and video when we were on our way to the stake center so I told everyone we
should watch the video and I put it on the TV for everyone to see and it was
amazing! I'm so glad we did that! Andrew thanked me for doing that for him. He
was hoping to see himself running down the corridor but that wasn't in her video so
I'll have to see if it's on the one that I took with my video camera or I can
ask her for that footage. Andrew talked about getting in the pool and Daniel
brought up the idea again so we all got in the pool and that was so fun! Dad
went to bed and they put Charlie to bed and had his little monitor app but
everybody else went in the pool. They were pretty surprised when I joined them.
The pool felt so nice and it was so wonderful to be in there with all of our
children. Michael and I were happy that they're all together.
So, we talked about our Disney trip quite a bit
and then eventually everybody got out of the pool and headed over to the hot
tub. Audrey can't get in so she just stuck her feet in and I just stood there
and talked to everybody for a few more minutes and then I went up to get ready
for bed. It's been a wonderful, long day.
Here is some of what President Cardon and Andrew discussed at his release:
President Cardon: what is something you won't
forget? Andrew's response: love conquers all. He talked about how he learned to
love the people he was working with. He said his last companion was extremely
hard-working and so he inspired Andrew to work hard as well. President Cardon
asked: what's a valuable change you see in yourself? Andrew said: the devotion
to become more converted. He learned that the more you put into it, the more
you can be converted. President Cardon asked: what is something you learned
from someone else that had an impact on you? Andrew said: Elder Kjar talked
about his dad who ran a rugby team that went out of business, but he had such a
good attitude and it reminded Andrew to always allow peace to prevail in your
life. President Cardon asked him how he found peace and he said through prayer.
President Cardon asked what are the ways that you can draw closer to Jesus?
Then he had Andrew list all those ways and talk about them individually. The
first was reading scriptures. Andrew said he read the Book of Mormon with the
Institute manual and that helped him with his study. President Cardon asked how
will he continue that habit and Andrew said by reading 30 minutes every day.
President Cardon confirmed that that was a great way to do it even if it's not
the same time every day. Next was prayer. Andrew said that lets him know that
God is with him. He gave an example of having trouble listening to the Spirit
but he knows that prayer blesses him. He talked about how the temple is the
most peaceful place on earth and he loved going to the temple. He said
Sacrament meeting and taking the Sacrament is a reminder of what the Savior did
for all mankind. He talked about service, through Church service and serving
others and how that helps us learn more about Jesus. President Cardon added to
his list and said how does repentance help you become closer to God? It took a
minute for him to think of that but he said it gives him reassurance and
comfort, and communicates to him about what he can work on. President Cardon
asked him what's the next step on his covenant path? Of course, Andrew knew he
meant finding an eternal companion. President Cardon asked what do you hope
your future spouse is doing right now? Andrew said that we all have to work on
ourselves and that our efforts will help us to grow together eventually and be
more Christlike. President Cardon talked about Doctrine and Covenants 109, the
dedication of the Kirtland Temple. He said how important it is for Andrew to
remember that as a missionary he wore a tag that bore the name of Jesus Christ,
and now he still needs to continue to take the name of Jesus upon him. Then
President Cardon asked Michael and I to each share how having Andrew serve a
mission was a blessing to our family. I talked about what a blessing this
particular meeting is, and getting to see how Andrew has grown as a person and
how his testimony has grown. I talked about what a blessing it has been to have
video calls every Sunday on Andrew's p-day which is actually his Monday in
Australia. That sometimes we would have family home evening together and what a
blessing that was, and even if we didn't have time for family home evening we
would have a prayer together. I mentioned how we like to ask the kids what we
can pray about on their behalf and I asked that to all the kids but for Andrew
we would ask who he was teaching so we could pray about specific people and
that was a great blessing. I also talked about how Andrew got to go to the
temple once a transfer and how much I loved it when he would take a family name
to the temple. Then I bore my testimony. Michael said a lot of nice things too,
but he later said I stole his ideas, haha. So I'm glad I went first. He talked about
how Andrew served in the temple with him on his shift before he left and
Michael says that people ask about him every single week and how grateful he
was that Andrew had such a impact on everyone because of his example. It was
hard watching Andrew be released and I definitely wasn't ready and I know he
wasn't either. Then he asked Daniel to give a prayer which he did happily and we headed back home.
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