Caleb Mission Farewell

Caleb had such a wonderful experience at BYU. It was so reassuring to hear after my first adult religion education class fail how much joy and light he had found at BYU; he especially loved how religion was integrated into his classes, and he could feel the Spirit while learning. Caleb took an organ class, piano, Book of Mormon, missionary preparation, Writing, required freshman class (University 101), and American Heritage. He didn't want a heavy schedule. He started dating a girl named Annie who was in 2 of his classes and his home ward. Instead of getting a job, he worked a Friday night shift in the temple. He joined an Ultimate Frisbee team and participated in a pickleball club and played in several tournaments, winning most of them (prize money or nice pickleball paddles that he sold). All of his friends from home went straight on their missions, so Caleb roomed with someone he didn't know ahead of time named Evan. They got along fine, and really helped each other when it came time to study for their American Heritage final. Caleb participated in tunnel singing on Sunday nights, practiced the piano a lot, organized musical numbers at church for his calling, went to a few football games, and enjoyed the freedom of being on his own. He and Annie became really close to their Book of Mormon teacher, and she had a huge impact on them both. Living in Helaman Halls, he had a meal plan and thought the food was great. He ate a huge spinach salad most every day. It was tricky doing some mission prep while he was away at school such as getting his passport and visa done, especially since he didn't have a car. He became very familiar with the public transportation system. Leading into the American Heritage final, he had a B in the class, so he studied super hard for the final with his roommate, staying up late quizzing each other. His roommate only missed one question on the final and Caleb missed two out of 90-ish questions! His final average qualified him to be asked to be a TA for the next semester!

While Caleb was home for Christmas and before being set apart as a missionary, we played a lot of games, and he played a lot of tennis and pickleball!

Cousin temple trip

Carter's first time baptizing

A snowstorm actually came through the weekend he was supposed to give his farewell talk, and church and school the next day were canceled. Fortunately, the bishop allowed him to play his musical number and give his talk the next week on a Fast Sunday, followed by testimonies from the congregation. He got emotional a few times during his talk as he shared experiences of how he has gained a testimony of Jesus Christ.