Purest Love of Christ

How cute are they! Elder Jackson & his #1 fan! Uncle Kirk...who would hardly leave Ty's side!



Clear back in the spring our nephew Tylan was called to the Oklahoma LDS Mission...well, just a few days before he was to leave, he jacked up his knee playing soccer on P~Day (personal day)...so he had to be released :( come back home :( and have surgery on his knee :( The first 6 weeks go by, then the next 6 weeks go by! He is kinda still a "missionary" but released...he could of just decided to be DONE...and stay home...but he didn't! He did what the Dr. said to do for his knee to heal, he became very close to his younger brother (s). The next one to him is a Jr. this year and they have really bonded...it was almost like Braden was his 'companion' (my opinion) the were together a lot!...walked his 5 miles with his dad (had to be pain free for 5 miles..no running!) Golfing with his mom, teasing Chan, lifting with Austin, going to Football practice with both brothers.....getting to know his nephew better, hanging with grandpa and grandma, going to the Temple with grandpa (so cool...family Temple work!) and many other amazing things!! Anyway...Ty grew a TON over the summer...became an even more AMAZING MAN! (soooo proud of him!) on Sunday (yesterday) he was set apart as an "Elder" at home...not your regular deal...you see he wasn't going back to the MTC...his family was going to get to take him straight to the airport for him to fly straight to Oklahoma! How totally cool to leave like this! I am telling you right now that any weakened testimony present in my brother and sister inlaw's house that was not strengthened...is just.....I just don't know what is wrong with you! (lol) Seriously, before he was set apart, the Bishop Brick were there as was the Stake Pres (I think that is who that was) anyway...people from his ward and stake. His mom and dad were asked to bare their Testimonies to Ty, along with the grandma's and grandpa's and Ty himself...so by the time Ty was set apart the Spirit in the room was sooooooooo strong and emotions were pretty high. Then the members from Ty's ward left and as a family, we had the pleasure of having a personal family testimony meeting where so many amazing things were said, Encouragement for Ty, love and appreciation for the support he has, AMAZING THINGS were said! Well, (sniff, sniff ~ sheesh) Rhett & Brenan's youngest brother, Kirk, who is mentally disabled due to a childhood illness (spinal meningitis) as a 5 month old baby :( which left him with quite a bit of brain damage. BUT this man is SO amazingly smart! And so close to the spirit. He has his own way of saying things...when you are around him long enough you learn to understand him. He is 13 months younger than Rhett, and so very close to all his brothers and mom & dad! He has been in a group home for as long as I have known him (almost 17ish years!). He has his things he likes and does...like hotdogs and radios, mickey mouse and M&M's, birthday parties, Santa...ect... Oh do we love Kirk....well...Kirk LOVES Jesus! In this family circle, the Testimonies had pretty much come to an end (it gets really personal here!) when Kirk said "Me"... Brenan asked him if he wanted to bare his testimony...Kirk said "Jesus", Brenan then said "Do you want Ty to teach about Jesus?", Kirk said again "Jesus" as he started to cry. You see Kirk doesn't cry. NONE of us has ever seen Kirk cry. We have seen him upset and irritated..excited and happy...but never have seen him cry. Even Afton (mom) said she couldn't remember the last time Kirk cried. The love in Kirk's face for our Savior Jesus Christ was so PURE. The spirit in that room was so strong! I have never in my whole life felt anything like it! For my sweet little kids to see how much "Jesus" meant to Uncle Kirk was so amazing. For my nieces and nephews who are still in middle/high school...for us as adults to see this 'Testimony' in the purest form was and is unexplainable...my heart was and still is FULL! Bursting FULL! I am so grateful for the Gospel. For the love of our Heavenly Father and our brother and Savior Jesus Christ. I know they love us! We are children of GOD and we have been sent here on earth for a specific purpose. I know that Elder Jackson will be AMAZING in Oklahoma! I know that he is a HUGE example to so many ~ his own brothers and sisters, my young family! To me! He could have made so many different choices this summer regarding his mission and he chose to GO! He said that HE knew that he needed to get 'out there' and get to work! How totally lucky he is to have that kind of 'farewell'! To go into the mission field with the purest testimony ever told! To know with out a doubt what he is doing right now is part of the plan Heavenly Father has for him! Thank you for including us in this most amazing day! One that will be held in my heart forever! And thank you Kirk for strengthening me! We love you! (if you want to know more click on the Temple in the right hand column)