First Letter from Elder Matua

YES!!! We got our first letter from Elder Matua and I have to say I've never felt so HAPPY in my life. It was short but so worth the read. His P-days in the MTC are Thursday so we'll hopefully get an email this Thursday. His companion is Elder Rawle, and Wilson mentioned that he played football at Timpview HS in Provo. So curiosity got the best of me and I googled his last name and found out that his first name is Carson and spent the last year at Utah State, he is listed on the football roster as a defensive tackle. Wilson said he has been a great companion, helping him through a little homesickness. Hopefully he will give us a little more information. Special shout out to Aunt Lanea and family for your encouraging letters for Elder Matua. As soon as we get more news we'll post it.
Have a great day!!

Waiting to hear from Elder Matua

I'd have to say that the past couple of days have been hard because we haven't heard from Elder Matua. But we know that in time he'll have the opportunity to write, so we wait with great excitement and anticipation for his FIRST letter/email. I'm sure there are many of you missionary families that can relate to this post, and I can only imagine what you must have been feeling as well. So, as soon as he gets something to us we will share it with all of you. Thanks again for your continued love and support, it has meant everything to us!!! Alofa tele mo outou uma, much love to you all!!!
Have a great day, and an especially blessed weekend!

Off to the MTC, Goodbye Elder Matua

We had a great morning. Last minute packing, checked all the bags, then got ready and headed out to Provo. On our way we stopped and said gooodbye to Aunt Jen (Matua) in Lehi. She gave Wilson a notebook that Peace Corps volunteers use to familiarize themselves with the Samoan language...so cool!!! Then we drove to Red Robin in Provo for lunch and then up to the Provo temple to take some pictures. When we drove up to the MTC, we were directed to #22, got out, took some more pictures, said our final goodbyes and then Elder Matua grabbed his bags and followed his host to begin his 1st day in the MTC. He will be missed but we now turn him over to the Lord. God be with you 'til we meet again.

SEE YOU IN 2!!!!

An AMAZING night!!!!

The day started out with Tai and Garrett heading off to school. But only a couple of hours later they were both checked out and we spent our last full day together. After stops at the distribution center, the bank and Sam's Club, we came home and packed the remainder of Wilson's stuff into his already stuffed suitcases. I think we have everything but I guess we'll hear from him if he's missing something. Around 7pm we headed over to the Stake Center and Pres. McCleary set him apart as a full-time missionary. It was an amazing experience. He was blessed with so many things and I believe that he will be in the Lord's care for the next 2 years.

Dad and his boys

Family

Set apart and ready to go!!!

Testimonies were shared, tears were shed, words of encouragement were given. The spirit was so strong and a feeling of great joy was felt. The night was capped off by a beautiful medley of hymns on the violin played by Aunt Jen and Uncle Mike giving a solemn and heartfelt prayer. Afterwards, Bishop and his beautiful wife, Kim sang "God Be With You" and then we all joined in. I've never been more happy and I hope that Wilson will remember this night forever.

Final day before heading to the MTC

It's here, last full day before entering the MTC in Provo. Everyone is home and we're spending the day together. Emotions are ranging from excited, anxious, nervous, happy, sad, you name it I think someone in this household is feeling it. Tonight at 7pm we will head to the Stake Center where Wilson will be set apart by Pres. McCleary as a full-time missionary of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. WOW!!! What an exciting time!!! So here is his address at the MTC:

NOV06 NZE-AUC
2007 N 900 E Unit#51
Provo UT 84602

And here is his email addres:
wilson.matua@myldsmail.net

He is scheduled to report to the MTC at 1:15pm. And will  be there for 6 short weeks. Hopefully, his visa will be ready to go, cause he wants to get to New Zealand and start working. So, as we count down the minutes, we look forward with great anticipation and a little sadness as we prepare to make the drive down to Provo to drop him off. Wish us the best and say a lot of prayers for us, we're going to need them, as we say good-bye to Elder Matua.

A week full of spiritual blessings

Well, A LOT has happened since I last posted on here. so here goes.
Wilson's last day of work was the 13th, so all this week we've had the opportunity to spend some quality time together. It's such an honor to go to the temple and just be there with your son.
We went camping with our dear friends the Evans' and Bartons over the weekend of the 15th. It was AWESOME!! The weather was cool and there was a little rain, but it was so worth it. We camped in the beautiful Uintah mountains up near a place called Duchesne tunnel. Absolutely perfect!
Sunday evening on the 15th we had Wilson's Eagle Court of Honor (finally! We're such slackers). Big shout out to the very talented Susie Miller and her amazing family. Everything was perfect. The ceremony was short (45 minutes) but sweet (how can you go wrong with ice cream sundaes?). It was a great night. Thank you to all who came, it meant a lot to us that you were there.

Saturday the 21st we had the special honor of being in the Jordan River Temple with several family members and friends as our sweet sister, Annette, went through for the first time. Can I just say, "GOD IS GOOD!" We definitely felt the presence of loved ones on the other side. The show of support for Annette was overwhelming. Thank you to all who were there to show your love and support. We as a family are fortunate to have your encouragement and strength.
Later that same day we traveled to the Bountiful Temple to witness the sealing of John and Annamarie Forbes. Have I mentioned that "GOD IS GOOD?" What a beautiful ceremony. Congratulations to John and Annamarie, who by the way taught Wilson in Sunday School. You will always be a part of the River 7th Ward family. Needless to say, it was an emotional yet very spiritual feast. Thank you to Annette and the Forbes for inviting us to have a seat at the table.All of this in the midst of the big rivalry game on Saturday. But while the Cougars and Utes were battling it out on the field, we were having our own battle with a tent in our backyard. In preparation for Sunday, we borrowed a tent from our cousin Marion and let's just say it was a real test of patience. After a spiritual high all day, the tent got the best of us. We spent to good part of two hours trying to get this tent together and we failed miserably. I felt so bad for our dear neighbor, Lavon, who came over to help. Anyway, in the end we decided to bag the tent and made frantic calls to friends to borrow EZ-ups. Once the dust settled we had chairs arranged and tables set up and headed to bed to get some much needed rest.

Then came Sunday.....the day started out looking like we would have rain and so yeah we were nervous. BUT, did I mention that "GOD IS GOOD?" (Can you see a theme here?) What an incredible day!!!! Family and friends showed up in NUMBERS. It was an awesome sight. Sacrament meeting was powerful-Tina Evans gave a phenomenal talk, Wilson bore a powerful testimony, our young men did an amazing job administering the sacrament. And afterward, we headed home and got to hang out with our FAMILY. Food, laughs, more food, more laughs...it was a day filled with love, words of encouragement, and again food and definitely plenty of laughs. Friends, relatives, neighbors....YOU are all a part of our huge extended family, our village. Each of you in your own way have contributed to raising Wilson. And for that we will be eternally grateful. Sunday is what this life is really all about, brothers and sisters coming together to celebrate one of their own. Wilson is truly YOURS as much as he is ours.

So, now we look forward to Tuesday night, when he will set apart, and then drop him off Wednesday. Updates to come.

ONLY 2 MORE WEEKS...FROM TODAY

Well, Wilson has only 2 more days of work and then he'll have 12 days to get everything together and then....off to the MTC it is. Where did the time go? It seems like we just opened his call yesterday. Well, Mum is a nervous wreck to say the least. It seems like there is still so much to do. Eagle Court of Honor on Sunday, camping (hopefully) for the last time before he leaves, invitations to send out, people to contact, last minute shopping for whatever, food to prepare, the yard to clean and prep, house to get in order... I can see why Mum's a nervous wreck. I'm just so grateful to all of our wonderful family and friends who have just stepped in to help however they can. Special shout out to Susie Miller for taking charge of the court of honor, what a godsend. Faafetai tele lava to all of you for everything you do. It really does take a village!!!! As the clock winds down, we are truly grateful for the Lord's hand in preparing this young man to fulfill his priesthood duty. We look forward to seeing you all on Sept. 22, as we bid farewell to Elder Matua. Stay safe and God Bless.

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