The Big Day

Justin arrived at LAX on July 26, 2012.  It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.  When we checked his flight status, we were sent to the wrong terminal.  We snapped at each other and went in different directions to determine where we should be.  The worst thing imaginable would be if Justin arrived and no one was there to greet him!  In the process, I tripped over a curb and slaughtered my knee (which I continued to complain about for days my family will attest) and Jeff took way too many chances jaywalking and stopping traffic (in LA!!!!) to get there in time.  Do not get between this man and his child, you will lose every time.

Suffice it to say, we all got to the right place and….

 

WAITED.

I made this awesome sign so he’d recognize us.

Unfortunately, Elder Juker’s family made a bigger & better one.

Yes.  We have sign envy.

Here we are waiting.  Very patiently.

Our first glimpse!

Check out the belt.  Hehe.

Here it is closer. And. There’s more where that came from, he loves them.   Wait ‘til you see the rooster belt.

All together now!

Two very happy families.

Clearly, we called for a surrender in the sign competition.

However, ours was much more mobile and made us more hug accessible, so it wasn’t a complete fail.

Choose your caption:

1.  In the parking lot of the Stake Center preparing for Justin’s interview with, and release by, the Stake President.

2.  Modeling the sentimental, hand-selected gifts from a Mexico City Flea Market.  (Mine is pink and sparkly by the way.  I can’t wait to find an occasion to wear it…)

3.  Justin:  “This one’s obviously mine because it has a sweet beard.”

Last Week in the Field

[I asked Justin to write this last post to complete the chronicle of his mission experience.  Note he found his first name again when he signed it]

Hello family and friends,

Well, it has now been three weeks since I returned from my mission in Mexico City. I just want to thank everybody for all of the love and support that I received during my time as a missionary.

The last week of the mission was a lot of fun. It was hard to keep focused for sure but I'm glad I could. That last Saturday in the mission may have just been the longest day I have EVER had. We knocked doors all day with almost zero success. The minutes seemed to pass by like hours and the hours like days. But after a day full of contacting and very little teaching, it was over. Sunday was a day of goodbyes, packing and my exit interview. President Villarreal informed me in my exit interview that my search for a future wife would begin as soon as I returned home. HAHA weird.

Monday was a fun day to do basically whatever we wanted. We went to downtown and bought some stuff.

Tuesday we went to Teotihuacan which is just outside of Mexico City and are the largest ancient ruins in all of Mexico. The Pyramid of the Sun there is the 2nd largest pyramid in the world. We had a guide take us around and teach us using the Book of Mormon about ancient Mayan culture and about Teotihuacan. It was way sweet.

And then, on Wednesday, we got to go to the temple in the morning and then in the night we had a dinner and testimony meeting with our mission President and his family.

After the dinner it was 11 at night already and since we had to leave at 3 in the morning for the airport we just stayed up all night. I got on the plane at 755 and by 10 in the morning in California I was home.

And now 3 weeks later I'm getting ready to head up to BYU and get back to normal life. It's kind of weird thinking about how fast the time seems to have gone. It seems ike just the other day me and Pat Spiker were moving into our room for our freshman year at BYU and now we're hanging out as two returned missionaries.

I am so grateful for the opportunity that I had to serve a mission. It has blessed my life in soo many ways, and I have learned and grown so much as a person the last 2 years. I know that my Savior lives and He loves His children. I know that the atonement of Jesus Christ is a very real thing, and if we trust in Him, we can overcome any obstacle in our lives.

And this is my Joy,
Justin Peacock