Elder Chapman's Birthday!!

Josh had a birthday last week too! He is now 21! What the junk?! I seriously feel so old! I'm really not, but it just seems weird that two of my younger brothers are getting to the same point in life as I am. Kinda weird actually!

My family actually sang happy birthday for Josh at breakfast the morning of his birthday! It was kinda funny and to be honest I was half asleep and had no idea what in the heck we were doing until I was half-way into the birthday song and had to think about who in the world we were singing to! Ha Ha! What a goof! Anyway, we love and miss him but he is doing so fabulous and I am just so happy for him and the things he is accomplishing right now! He was just called to be zone leader which has really kept him hopping but he is loving every second of it!

Josh is such an incredible example to me! I can't believe he has already been gone a year and a half! Time has flown but it has definitely been slow at times too! I miss my best friend, my "big" brother, and just having him around period! But I know the day will soon come when he is home and I can enjoy him all the time! I can't wait! The only thing I have to say is that he better not get married too fast! I will have none of that happening until I have my fill of him first! :)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ELDER CHAPMAN!!

Josh's Hump Day!

At the airport saying good-bye

The fam

The siblings (We just love each other so much!)


Yesterday was Josh's Hump Day! He has been out a whole year!! WOW! It seems so crazy! It feels like he just left! I was thinking about him a lot yesterday and I started reminiscing about memories I'd had with him to a wonderful friend of mine and we really had a great time laughing and remembering some of those crazy times we've had with Josh! As I was talking to her last night I just told her that I was so grateful that I have been able to have him as part of my life, to see him change and become this amazing guy. I miss Josh, I miss him a lot sometimes, but then I read his letters and I realize that he is blessing so many people's lives and that they need him there! He is doing so many incredible things. I love to hear about all of the experiences he's having and to see him growing more and more as time goes on! I have always known how amazing Josh is, but he is becoming even more impressive and he is so dedicated to the Lord and His work! I love it! It is such a wonderful blessing to see him grow so much!So it is celebration time!! One year down! Awesome job so far Elder Chapman! We are all so proud of you!!

First day in the MTC!

It's a Small World!

So my friend just e-mailed me a couple of pics of Josh on his mission!! CRAZY!! Her mom is on vacation in France with a friend. They went to a ward there this last Sunday and Josh was singing a solo! He sang it in French and then he sang it in English for them. They took a couple pics afterward and my friend was so excited to tell me her mom had seen him. So cool huh?!


He looks so good!

My Missionary Brother

So this morning we just got an e-mail from my brother Josh who is on his mission in Switzerland. It was such a great e-mail! Well, usually all of his e-mails are wonderful but today was very heartfelt as he explained to us the happenings of this last week. He expressed a great love for his companion. His name is Elder Cadeau and about a week and a half ago he broke his foot while at a "piquenique" with some ward members and investigators. Well this last week they found out that because of his injury he will have to be sent home a transfer early. His last day on the mission is this coming Monday. Josh expressed the heart wrenching reality that hit his companion when he realized his mission was going to be cut short. They cried together as he expressed his great love for Josh and that Josh had become his mission miracle. Josh has had some deep spiritual understanding since he's been gone, but it seems like these last couple of months you can really tell how much his testimony and life has been changed by this experience.

As I was thinking about all those things this morning I was filled with an overwhelming sense of gratitude. Josh is amazing! I've always known that, he is my dearest and best friend in the entire world, and it has been the most amazing opportunity to see him grow so much. He also wrote individual little notes to each of us in his e-mail. I was grateful for the wisdom he shared with me and the way that he taught me today. I love being able to have his "eternal perspective" hit me upside the head sometimes. Life gets crazy and I don't always think about the big picture but Josh brings me back down to earth and helps me grasp onto the things I know. I appreciate that!

There has been one experience he's had (from a whole slew!) that has really stood out to me and made me really think. It was about a month ago now that Josh wrote us and told us about a rendezvous he had with a woman and a couple of Jehovah Witnesses. The actual "getting there" to her apartment was a story in itself, but when he and his companion finally got there he had a wonderful experience. This woman had her bible ready and Josh's companion went right at it with the bible bashing. Josh said that as all of these people started pulling out their bibles he posed a question. "Is this all you do at your church, find ways to prove other people's doctrines wrong?" At that moment every one of them shut their bibles and as Josh explains it he began to testify "up the wazoo" that this gospel is true, that he knew it and that nothing could take that away from him. The spirit was strong and they left immediately after he testified. As I imagined Josh doing this I was just so proud of him! He has so much courage and faith and I think that this experience he had really brought home to me how converted he is. It was just neat to think that he is blessing people's lives just as much as he has blessed mine. I know how grateful I am to him for his love and friendship that we have always shared and I am so grateful that he is having these wonderful experiences!

My Heart Is Full

At this moment my heart is very full. Over the last few weeks my thoughts, feelings, and emotions have been very close to the surface. I am very overcome with a feeling of deep and complete love for some specific people in my life. What is love? What does it really encompass? And how can you know when it has really hit you? I'm not sure that I know all those answers but there is something that I do know for sure. There is not one relationship in my life that has not changed me for good. I am a better person for having gone through and for going through the things that I have. No matter how much I have had to sacrifice, it has always been worth it in the end. I can honestly say that I would not be the person I am today without having loved. It is the deepest emotion a person can feel and I am truly grateful for the people that have come into my life and that I have had the opportunity to care for. I have learned so much. And I hope that there is no doubt that I would be willing to give anything to those that I care about. There is no sacrifice too large that would keep me from giving to them the things they need to be happy in this life.

As I was reflecting on this my mind immediately caught hold to the thought of my brother leaving on his mission. For any of those that know my brother and I, you would know how close we are to each other. Being separated is not something that I like to dwell on and I know that it is going to hit me like a ton of bricks when he finally walks through our front door for the last time on his way to the MTC. I love him so much! He has been my best friend when there was no one else I could turn to. He knows me better than I know myself. He also gives the best hugs in the whole world! How can I live without that for two years? He is my cheerleader, a listening ear, my biggest support, and my shoulder to cry on. And he always understands! Always! I'm not too silly for him, and we can be crazy with each other. He is my greatest and dearest friend, and now he is leaving. I know that the next two years are going to be hard, but I am so excited for him to have this experience! And I want to be that support to him that he has always been for me. I love him so much! Who could ask for a better friend! Someone to make me laugh (and usually uncontrollably), to lift me up when I'm down, and to always be cheering me on when there may not be anyone else there. He truly is the greatest blessing to me in my life and I am so grateful for him! There is nothing else so wonderful than to have my brother around. And I am so grateful that he has the opportunity to bless the lives of the people in Switzerland. He is a beautiful person going to one of the most beautiful places in the whole world! How fitting. And how incredibly wonderful!