Girl in The Works: He's coming HOME!

Mormon Missionaries are probably some of my favorite people in the entire world. They go out and serve in an area of the world which they were called by the church's Presidency. They teach the beliefs of our church, they do service, they lift up, and make lives happy...or happier than they were. They go and do all these things (an more) for 18 months (for Sister Missionaries) to 24 (For Elders) months. Some are sent to Sierra Leone, Africa; some go to Kiev, Ukraine; and some go to Ventura, California. There are 405 missions throughout the world, with over a hundred different languages spoken. There are over 60,000 missionaries currently serving around the world. Recently the missionary age had changed from 19 to 18 for Young Men and from 21 to 19 for Young Women. I have about 5 friends who have come home/ will come home this year, and more coming home ext year. One friend in particular, Elder Jacob Wenz, will be coming home in just SIX DAYS!

Just a little bit of a back story for you about Jake: I met him at my first Youth Conference in 2008, when I was 14 and he was 16. We automatically became friends.We were friends for about two years or so before our friendship became rocky. We barely spoke for two years. We'd 'deal' with each other when he had to, but we just kind of drifted apart. Another year went by and we kind of started talking again, very infrequently, however. Right before he went on his mission, He sent me a text saying that he wanted me to be at his farewell. My first thought was that I didn't need to go, he wouldn't miss me if I wasn't there. I ended up deciding that I should go. I went and I felt a little bit out of place because I didn't know any of his family except for his little sister, Charlie. I met his mom, who by the way is SO sweet. I wasn't there for very long, but I was glad that I went and that I got to say goodbye to him. Before I left, I shook his hand and called him "Elder" for the first time (after missionaries are set apart, they are not allowed to hug someone of the opposite gender). At the beginning of his mission, I wrote letters to him fairly frequently. In the middle of his mission, however, I stopped writing him because I felt like I hadn't completely cleared the air with him from those years before. About 9 months ago, Jake's mom got in contact with me and (I won't go into detail) we bonded a little bit. I explained to her my reservations about writing to Jake and she encouraged me to continue writing to him. I started writing him again. Once I found out that missionaries were allowed to email anyone (family, friends, etc) I began emailing him. We've become such good friends. So needless to say, I am STOKED for him to get home. Unfortunately, because I'm at school in Idaho and he will be returning to Kentucky, I won't be able to be at his homecoming or the airport when he gets home. I'm just really excited to see him whenever I can.It's always a special, sweet time when Missionaries come home.