Happy 19th Birthday!

Happy 19th Birthday Elder Varvel! His birthday happened to fall on Mother's Day this year, so we got to Skype with him! So fun! 

We sent him a 'Just add ice cream' package for his birthday!

We also sent him a new camera! 

Happy birthday from Oreo and Reeses!

Best Mother's Day present EVER! We got to Skype for an hour! He looks great and seems happy! I felt like I was going to have a panic attack when our time was almost up. I knew I wasn't going to be able to talk to him again until Christmas! That's 7 months away! I just need to count it down in baby steps! The next milestone is his year mark which is only 1 month away! I can do this!

Selfies with her favorite missionary!

Savannah came over for the last 15 minutes to chat with Elder Varvel!

 HAPPY BIRTHDAY ELDER VARVEL! LOVE YA!

Van Horn, Texas

Sawyer got transferred to Van Horn, Texas. It's just east of El Paso, close to the Mexican border. He was in Muleshoe before, and was getting anxious to get out of such a small town. I was a little worried when I found out he was going to Van Horn. It's so small! It's less than 3 square miles, with a population less than 2500 people, and is literally in the middle of nowhere! He lives in a travel trailer in an RV park with no hot water. I was surprised to hear that he LOVES it! His companion is Elder Palmer and they get along great. The people are really nice, and he even loves their cozy little camp trailer. There is only one member family in the area, and no church building. They meet for church at a member's house. He's kind of a city boy, so it's funny that he keeps ending up in these little ranching towns. Good luck in Van Horn Elder Varvel!

Lost Pictures :(

I haven't updated Elder Varvel's blog in quite awhile. He got transferred out of Muleshoe after being there for a long time. He sent me his SD card with all the pictures and videos from his last few months there. Our computer couldn't read the card. Mark took it to work and none of the computers there could read it either. We sent it to a local shop that has special equipment for this kind of problem. No luck there either. I was devastated! The card had 50 pictures and videos on it! We tried one last thing. We sent the card to Florida, to a place where they actually open it up, and take out the small hard drive and hook it up to different equipment to retrieve the pictures. We just got word back from them that they can't recover the pictures either. We don't know what could have happened to it. It isn't physically damaged in any way. It had pictures from his last 3 districts (including when he was a district leader), him with his last two companions (Elder Walker and Elder Velasco), him saying goodbye to all the people he loved in Muleshoe, and tons of other stuff. I'm not gonna lie, I cried several times about it.  He was really disappointed when I told him.  I guess there is nothing left to do but stop worrying about it, and move on. Muleshoe was a great place. He loved the people there. Someday maybe we can go there and meet them all in person. That would be better than pictures anyways.

A Very Protective Brother….

I sent Sawyer a letter awhile back telling him that Bailey has a 'boyfriend'. I told him all about it, and asked him if he would send her some advice about making good choices, being smart about it, yada yada yada… I figured she'd listen to his advice more than mine. I finally got his response letter back, and laughed right out loud. I love that he still cracks me up from 4 states away. I'd say any boy who likes Bailey has more than just her Dad to worry about. There's a crazy, protective, missionary brother in Texas who is looking out for her as well. 

"Bailey has a WHAT?!?! Nononononono NO! What happened to her always telling the guys, "I'm not 16 yet!?!?" She has to realize that it's not going to workout with this guy! For multiple reasons! 1. She's a fetching 14 year old! 2. He's a fetching 14 year old! 3. She is supposed to like dorky, harmless runner boys, NOT basketball players. And 4. I will NOT let her last name be Pugmire. I bet he looks like a pug….But those are just to name a few. And yes, hugging and holding hands is BAD! Don't be open minded about it mother! You need to steal her phone in the middle of the night and text him, "Welcome to Dumpsville. Population YOU!"

Oh my heck I love him! He also e-mailed her and told her that when she goes to sleep at night, I'm gonna start going in her room and rubbing leprosy lotion on her face. I remember her getting love notes from boys in elementary school, and him writing back to them for her. It was hilarious! I would never let her give his notes back to the poor boys. 

Happy St. Patty's Day

We sent Sawyer a fun little package for St. Patrick's Day. I hope he remembered to wear a green tie :)!

We think we're pretty funny!

3 Nephi 5:13

3 Nephi 5:13

Behold, I am a disciple of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. I have been called of him to declare his word among his people, that they might have everlasting life.

This is our mission's motto, but it's for members as well. We are all disciples of Christ and we are lucky enough to have the message of his true gospel in the palm of our hands. There are other people in the world who aren't that lucky, so it is our responsibility to bring that light to them in whatever way possible. Whether it be through a mission, a friendship, being a good example, or anything of the sort. Anything we do to spread the Gospel is bringing souls that much closer to having everlasting life.

-Elder Sawyer Varvel

Sending Some LOVE to Texas

Happy Valentine's Day Elder Varvel! We LOVE you!

Sending some love to Texas!

Hahaha! Mark made the best puzzle for him!

Personalized M&Ms! We crack ourselves up!

His friend Katie is the first of his HS friends to get engaged since he's been gone. When I wrote to tell him about it, his reaction was hilarious. Then he wrote this:

Sister Carrion told me that I was going to get married within two months after I get home. I don't know if I should be offended because she thinks I have no will power, or honored because I'm such a stud with the ladies. I don't think it will happen though, because I'm going to lock myself in my room for two months after I get back and watch all the movies that I missed.

Yep, he's a real charmer!

He also said he's been gaining some weight. I told him he needed to get his butt in shape. In the next letter he sent, he wrote:

Mom, my butt is in shape- round is a shape!

And that is why he is so easy to love! He did assure me that he would be doing the 6 months to sexy program before he comes home though!