DAY 1674... 365 Days

I have a younger brother who is currently serving as a missionary for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the Scotland/Ireland Mission.

He has officially been gone for 1 year.

This is the halfway mark people!

It's very exciting.

For those of you not familiar with the LDS Church,

young men at 18 and young women at 19 are able to serve missions,

2 years for boys,

18 months for girls,

to share the Gospel with others.

Here is a short video about the day in the life of a missionary in the UK,

which is where my brother is serving.

My brother chose to leave when he was 19.

My parents are kind of awesome and don't pressure us into doing something when it comes to church.

They allow us to make our own decisions,

and that has made a world of difference in my opinion.

I hope to do the same for my children.

During this time we primarily communicate with him through weekly e-mails.

Every Monday he e-mails us and tells us about his week.

Twice a year,

Christmas and Mother's Day,

we get to Skype with him.

Pretty excited that Mother's Day is only a month away and we get to see him again.

He generally spends his days doing service,

teaching the Gospel,

and eating lots of Kebabs.

I never served a mission.

I am not strong enough to do something like that.

My husband did serve a mission in Alabama.

It takes so much discipline and focus,

and I can't even imagine how much they miss their families.
I'm kind of a wimp.

My little brother is kind of my hero.

He has been doing so well,

and his letters home seem so happy!

My parents are also heros in my eyes during this time.

I cannot even imagine having my child gone for 2 years.

But through prayer,

we know that he is being protected and that he is where he needs to be,

doing exactly what he needs to be doing.

My Mom and I definitely had a good cry session when several missionaries were injured in the Brussels terrorist attack.

We were so grateful for the safety of our missionary,

but our hearts and prayers went out to the families affected.

But when I watched the interview of Matt Lauer with one of the missionaries,

I gained so much strength,

admiration,

hope,

and love for all the missionaries out there.

Their faith is strong.

Their hearts are pure.

And they are blessing the lives of so many people.

The Lord has immensely blessed our family since he has been gone,

and he has definitely blessed us with how fast time has gone by.

1 more year Elder Kinville!

You got this!

If you are interested in reading Elder Kinville's weekly e-mails home,

You can do so here.

Every Monday the blog is updated with his latest letter and pictures.