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There are just a couple things I want to remember about Declan preparing for his mission.

• One of the things that I loved was listening to Declan tell people he was going to Chile on a "mission trip" for two years. Where I come from we would say "I'm going on a mission" or "I will be serving a mission", but when I heard Declan say "I'm going on a mission trip" I knew he was a Texan. Every time he said it I smiled.
• Everywhere we went we always needed to plan on it taking a little bit longer because anytime we were out we would undoubtedly see someone we knew, and Declan made sure to take the time to tell them about his mission. I was amazed at all that people wanted to know about his "mission trip". Everyone had seen the missionaries in suits walking around, and now they had the perfect person to ask questions about them to. I sat and listened as he answered question after question, some of them not easy, and was amazed at his maturity and understanding as he eloquently answered them. Everyone was so impressed with his decision to serve, and they continually told him how proud they were of him and what a great choice he was making. Their encouragement was amazing.
• During the time leading up to Declan's mission I was so overcome with love for our community that has become like an extended family, and grateful for the influences of the people in it on our kids lives. Members and non-members alike have had such a good, positive influence on our children, and have helped to encourage them to not only be themselves, but be the best version of themselves. We have been very blessed to be surrounded by such a good, loving community.
• I have felt the blessing of the many people in my life that have been keeping Declan and our family in their prayers. We have had members, non-members, Facebook friends, nurses at doctors offices, ladies in the bank, all kinds of people tell us that they will be praying for us, and we have felt their prayers.

• I received an email from one of Declan's old scout leaders who moved a couple years ago. He included this picture that he was getting ready to send to all of the young men that are in it. Everyone of the boys in the picture are now serving a mission. EVERY SINGLE ONE. All of the boys were so different than each other, yet they all were friends and all loved each other fiercely. If you were to ask Declan about any of the boys above you would hear nothing other than the amazing qualities that that one person had, because that is how they saw each other. What an amazing group of boys to grow up with.
• My love for the ward we are in, the ward that is home for my children, grew even more. I thought of the individuals that made that ward feel like home for my children. I thought of the leaders that had gotten to know and grew to love my kids. I better appreciated the time they spend with them, the times they put up with them when they are ornery, and how my children have always felt loved in their presence. I thought of the people in the ward that have become more like family members than friends. I thought of the youth they've grown up with; the lessons they have learned in patience, forgiveness, humbling themselves, and finding the best in others. I have became so appreciative of the fact that our ward has become our ward family.
• One thing I never wanted to do was make Declan feel pressured into serving a mission. I have always hoped he would, but wanted it to be something he wanted to do and his decision. I learned that several years ago my dad sat down with Declan and told him that as the oldest grandkid he needed to be a good example to all of his cousins and serve a mission. He felt a lot of pressure to live up to that, something I never wanted him to have to feel the weight of. As Declan started to become of age and was starting to thinking about his mission he knew it was something he needed to do in order to set a good example. When he prayed about when he should serve he felt very impressed to go to school first and then go. His original plan was to go to school for a semester and leave on his mission around Christmas, but that was not the plan The Lord had for him because nothing worked out so we could get his papers in on time. It was a very frustrating time for Declan, but when he accepted the fact that he would have to wait until the school year was over everything started to fall into place. He began to want to serve a mission for himself and the people he would reach, along with being an example to others. The mission began to become something that was personal to him, and not something he was doing just to check it off on the list. He learned to trust in The Lord and his timing.
• While my parents were here my dad made the comment that Declan was ready. I said, "you think?" And he said he thought he as probably more prepared than any of my brothers. I was shocked by that statement, and it stuck in my head the rest of the time Declan was here. As I sat and talked to Declan, watched Declan, and listened to Declan over the next couple weeks I knew that without a shadow of a doubt he was ready. He had done an amazing job of preparing himself, and he really understood the importance of what he was doing.

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