Dare to be a Mormon; Dare to stand alone. Dare to have a purpose firm; Dare to make it known. 

This set the focus in sacrament meeting today. Today my heart filled as I watched 2 of my boys speak in church today. Today was Cole's farewell talk. And Alex was able to speak today as well. Alex used this statement to build his talk on. What a powerful talk to come from a 15 year old. If I can get my hands on his copy I will post it here later. He has such a strong testimony of the Savior and follows the promptings he gets without hesitation. I love that boy. I can't wait to see him grow even stronger and be able to see him share that with all of those around him. 

How do I describe the feeling of sending your son to serve the Lord for 2 years knowing that there is no daily phone calls to make sure he is okay. To hear him laugh or just talk to him but 2 times a year. To know that your son has such a strong testimony of the Lord and his love for us that he wants to share it with others. That he is willing to give his 2 years to serve the Lord.  I have been playing the scene of leaving him in the Airport and how I am going to handle him being gone. I always figured I would be able to send care packages etc to keep him going to remind him of home. Where Cole is going to serve in the West Indes Mission it is difficult to send those packages. 

As I have watched my son prepare for his mission going to the Temple and reading and going out with the missionaries I have spent my days and nights praying to be able to have the peace I see in my son's eyes. We have had many talks about him leaving and have been able to share mornings going to the temple and enjoyed wonderful talks about life and the Gospel. His testimony has blessed our family and increased all of our testimonies as well. We have grown spiritually as a family as well. We have been blessed to have amazing missionaries Elder Neilson and Elder Johnson the last couple of months. They have been true examples for Cole to see those already serving the Lord. 

Today came so fast and sitting in Sacrament listening to both boys but especially Cole talk and so much Love for his Savior I found that peace today. I watched him how animated he was about leaving and KNOWING he was to go. I knew Heavenly father would watch over him. He would be the one checking on him daily. Helping through his troubles and calming his heart when he needs it. I know that my sweet little boy is no longer so little he has the heart of a servant. He has the testimony that needs to be shared with the world. He has the ability to change lives and share the gospel with others.

I will say that no one will probably ever hear a farewell talk quite like Cole's. Comparing Vanilla wafers to pray and how the more you eat the better they get. And the more you pray the better it is. The closer you are to Heavenly Father. I knew many years ago that he would one day serve the lord in a capacity only our Father in Heaven knew.

I will continue to pray for the ability to be strong and remember the feeling I had to day as he spoke. And remember the peace I felt. I know our Heavenly Father is aware of all of our needs and loves us very much. And he has prepared a way for us to accomplish many things. It is Cole's time to accomplish the will of the Lord and for us as a family to strengthen our own testimonies as well.

I never in my wildest dreams thought I would be as blessed as I am today. To have the children I do and to be touched by their testimonies and love for each other and those around them. But also see and feel the love they have for the Savior and spreading his Gospel.