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| Family pictures at Mark's talk in church. |
On July 27, Mark was set apart as a missionary. Our stake president and his first counselor came to our house to set Mark apart. Grandma and Grandpa Daniels were there, as well as Laurie and Glen, and Daniel. It was such an amazing evening. The spirit was so strong as they pronounced some great blessings and promises on Mark. Afterward, everyone shared their testimony or something special for Mark. It was a wonderful night and one that strengthened our testimonies.
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| Officially a missionary. |
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| Mark has had so much support. |
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| Mom is so proud. |
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| These three boys are going to change so much over the next two years. |
The next morning home MTC began. The missionaries had a specific schedule. Mark had classes with his district from 2:15-5:15 pm and 6-9 pm. At noon every day, he also had a one hour workshop with everyone entering going to the MTC with him. Then he also had personal study, companionship study and language study to take care of in the mornings. So he stayed pretty busy, but he did get a little bit of down time here and there. Most of the downtime was going to the temple. Mark squeezed in three temple trips in his 10 days of Home MTC. You would also find him doing puzzles on his 5 minute breaks.
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| The very first workshop was fraught with tech problems, but not on his end. |
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| Mark played pickleball with Will one last time before they head to different continents. |
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| Saying goodbye to Will and Nate before he goes to the MTC. |
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| We went on a walk most days during Home MTC just to get out of the house. |
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| Dad created some Argentina lights for the house. |
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| We arranged a mom and son temple trip. 5 of 6 are set apart. Nate will be set apart in two weeks. |
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| Love these boys so much. They are going to do amazing things! |
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| Mark went to say goodbye to Daniel before he flew to the Philippines. |
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| Grandma and Grandpa said goodbye to Mark before they headed back to Idaho. |
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| We went to the temple! |
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| Mark did a lot of puzzles! |
One of the cool things during Home MTC was when Seth got to be the person attending a lesson. Seth put on his shirt and tie, but kept his shorts on. Then he participated in the lesson. He got to do this two times, and it was so neat that he got to hear how Mark was preparing to teach the gospel.
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| Seth helping Mark with his missionary lessons. |
Mark had one P-day during Home MTC. We tried to plan some fun things. Mark really wanted to golf, so he went to the driving range with Dad. The golf course didn't charge him because he had his missionary tags on. Then later that day, we went bowling as a family. Mark really wanted to bowl one last time, probably to prove he could still beat us! Of course, Mom tried to give him a run for his money. The evening of P-day we had all of the Ockeys who could make it come over for a final gathering. We also celebrated Grandpa Ockey's 90th birthday a month early since Gary was in town.
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| Mark has really grown to love golf. |
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| Bowling was a lot of fun. |
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| Our scores. |
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| The Ockey clan gathered to say goodbye to Mark. |
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| We had cake for Mark and cake for Grandpa Ockey. |
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| After the party, Mark and Dax went to the temple with a few friends! |
The day before Mark flew out was a packing day. He didn't have any classes, so he had more time. Lots of people stopped by to say goodbye. We took pictures with a few of the friends who were so nice to come wish Mark good luck. We spent plenty of time washing, packing and stressing.
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| Cute Aubrey brought Mark a tie. |
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| In N Out one last time. |
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| Josie and Grace brought Mark a treat, too! |
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| Our stake president and his wife came to see how Mark was doing and wish him luck. |
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| Mark's Home MTC district. It will be the same district at the Mexico MTC. |
On the morning of August 7, we got up early to take Mark to the airport. It was a surreal moment driving up and knowing we were sending him away for two years. Mom was only a little teary as she drove to the airport. Dad tried to keep everyone distracted with stories and having us share our favorite trip memories. We arrive a little after 7:00 am, got Mark's luggage checked, and then headed to the security area. There were lots of families saying goodbye to their missionaries. This is when Mom started to lose it. Seth also got a little sad as he hugged Mark goodbye. Dax and Dad kept the tears at bay and said they were just excited. Mark was teary, which did not help Mom. We took a family picture with the Argentina flag and then let Mark walk away to go through security. He was ready to go meet most of his district and grab some breakfast. We watched him walk around the corner to security, and then walked back to the car. We will miss Mark immensely, but we can't wait to hear about his adventures at the Mexico MTC and then in Argentina.
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| How tall will Seth be when Mark returns? |
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| Dax was the most excited for Mark! |
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| Mark and Mom will miss each other! |
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| Mom was so sad! But she is doing so good! |
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| We are a missionary family now! |
