Dale leaves for his Mission to Dominican Republic- November 30, 2011

 

	Krystal Owen was baptized on November 26, 2011 by Dale.  The next day she was confirmed and is now a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.  Now that Dale is on his mission, Krystal comes to church with Dad and I.  Her sister Ashley has been coming and the two and their mother come to our house for Sunday dinners.  It is good to have such good new friends.  They are a good addition. Elder VanWagner, Elder Bird, Dale and Krystal.
	Dale left for his mission on November 30, 2011.  He was very serious  that morning at 4:00 am.  He took his bags out to the car.  Dad, Nickle, and I followed.  After he  got them in, he went back to the house.  I followed and asked where he was going.  He said that he was going to say good bye to the house and the dog.  I got into the house in time to see him patting Rock, the dog’s head.  He said something like, “You’re stupid, but I love you anyway.”  Then he was off to the car.  When we got there, he grabbed his bags before anyone could help and took off for the airport.  He got the bags checked in and was ready to go, all without saying much or showing much emotion.
	He let me take one picture of him.  I think it was not an easy time for him.  He was very serious until he got picked to have his backpack looked through.  It took them a little while to do that.  He waved and smiled a few times at us. It did my heart good to see the smiles. As of today, he is loving the gospel studies and working hard at the Spanish.  He will be good at it soon.   We are cheering him on. He leaves Provo tomorrow.  He flies to Dallas, then Miami and then down to Dominican Republic.  He will spend some time in the MTC there for a few weeks and then he will be in the mission field.  Woo Hoo!!  We are excited for you, Dale.