The End of An Era

In the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, the leaders of missions are called to serve for three years. Usually the new mission leaders arrive in their missions in late June of the year they are to start serving. When Chase got his mission call to Spokane, Washington in the summer of 2022, we quickly looked up the names of his mission leaders and how long they had been serving. As of that time, they had only been out for one year. They would be his mission leaders for almost the entirety of his mission...but not quite. They would go home when Chase had about three months left on his mission. Man, that sounded so far away, it was almost inconceivable that the time would ever come.

But here we are. Starting next Wednesday, July 3rd, Chase will have exactly three months left on his mission. And President and Sister LeBaron returned home to Utah just three days ago. There really aren't words to explain what this amazing couple has meant to our son. They have shaped him in a way that no one else on the earth ever has, and he loves them more than anyone outside of his family. 

Here he is, on the day of his arrival in Spokane 21 months ago:

And here he is again, first with his zone and then just by himself, on the last day he was able to see them before they departed. I understand that there were a lot of tears, which is a lovely sign of how much this couple did for their missionaries. 

We couldn't be more grateful for their inspiring service, for their dedication to the mission, for their desire to lead missionaries to be full of spirit, integrity and determination. Miracles, my friends. Miracles.