Elder Wilkinson

Back in October, I posted about how my brother was called and had left to serve a mission in the Oregon, Portland mission. His first area was literally 5 minutes from my home and his second area is to serve in my congregation! I get to see him every Sunday and I have had the privilege of signing up to feed him and his companion dinners! (And if there are any holes in the calendar, the meal coordinator calls me and I make them a to-go meal or have them over again!)

 We have enjoyed having him over and having him meet our friends (through dinners, random service projects, etc), both members of the LDS church and not. It's been wonderful to see him interact with our neighbors in particular. The kids love him and they come out to help with our yard projects every time the missionaries are here. Apparently the missionaries, both Elders and Sisters, are service starved because they all keep coming to help us lay rock and red brick pavers. They have put in about 8 hours of work each and our home has never looked better! We are so grateful! Sorry, all the outdoor work is done for now until our grass shows up - but I promise we'll call you when it gets here!

 These guys sure are great. It's been so much more fun to do my yard work alongside them!  

 

Everytime they come, Aaron is sad to see them leave. He often tries to go with them!

Lucky for us, we know he'll be back which cheers up poor Aaron. He constantly asks when the missionaries will come back. Right now, he is struggling with calling Tom, Elder Wilkinson. He keeps calling Elder Gray, Tom's companion, Elder Wilkinson because, obviously, Tom is Tom... So who else could this "Elder Wilkinson" be? He both of their names as Elders right about 50/50 but it's pretty cute :)

The Elder's have been such an amazing example to Aaron. I don't know how much his little brain will remember of his experiences with the missionaries but I know his whole life he will want to serve a mission, and seeing Tom on his mission will definitely be what fired the desire!