Less than 1 month till Zachary comes home!

Zachary as a Prince in his Senior play
"The Slipper and the Rose"

I am so amazed at how quickly 2 years can go by.  It seems like a long time, and it is, but 2 years can just fly.  I see people meet, get married, and have a child in that time frame.  I see babies go to confident toddlers.  I've seen teenagers turn into adults.  And I get to see my brothers go from confident young men into strong, powerful men.  And it's about to happen again.

My sweet brother, Zachary, comes home from his mission to Daejeon, South Korea in just under a month.  Zachary is a young man that I have enjoyed watching grow up.  But in the last several years I have loved the man he was becoming.  He is handsome, he can sing, he is kind, and goes out of his way to be thoughtful.  I remember one Christmas, all 6 of the kids who were out of the home were flying into the airport within 2 hours of each of each other.  I was originally suppose to be in the middle group, but due to winter weather, I was the first to arrive.  It was a long day and I had not eaten for several hours.  Zachary choose to stay with me and keep me company as I waited for my luggage and the family went to another terminal to meet my siblings and my nephew.  It would have been more fun to go and meet the nephew, but he stayed with me.  We had time to kill, so I went to a little cafe within the terminal and got a large plate of cheese fries to share with Zachary.  He picked up the tab.  Here he was, 19 years old putting off college to save every penny to go on his mission.  I tried to pay for it, but Zachary insisted.  A few days latter, I was heading out to go run errands for my mother and Zachary gets up, scrapes the windows and turns on the car for it to be ready for me.  It was a complete surprise.  And, on Christmas Eve, we have our tradition of playing checkers at the Independence Visitor's Center.  I lose horribly every time, but he delays the game enough to make it so we cannot finish and have to call it a draw.  I know what he's doing, but it's still sweet.

And now, in less than a month, this amazing young man comes home after spending the last two years serving the people of South Korea.  He has walked their streets, eaten at their tables, learned their language, and fell in love with the people in this part of the world.  He has taught English, performed countless hours of service, and taught the people of Christ.  I cannot wait to see him, hear his stories, and see the man he has become.

Zack (center white shirt and silver tie) with Elder D. Todd
Christofferson & wife (right), Zack's mission president
& wife, (left couple) and other missionaries.

Zachary, I hope that your last few weeks in South Korea are full of memories!  I know you only have a few p-days left (preparation days where he can see sites within the area he is serving, grocery shop, write letters to home) but I hope that you are able to do the last few items that are a must before you leave the area.  I hope that the trunkieness has not hit too hard, but I do hope that you are excited to come home and sing around the house and at the piano like you would before.  I cannot wait to hear you sing around the house again!

See you soon!

*** If you care to read about Zack's journey and mission, click here for a link to his missionary website where you can read his weekly e-mail home.