Joel was ordained an elder after Stake Conference on Sunday, June 16, 2019. After President Bill Hancock gave him his ordination and blessing, he looked at Joel and said he felt impressed that Joel should not wait to serve a mission, but should apply right away. Up until then, Joel was very unsure what to do - maybe go to college for a bit, certainly serve a mission eventually, but he didn't know. I kept telling people that really, he didn't want to leave high school, and particularly the drama program, which increasingly became his whole life throughout high school and especially his senior year.
When President Hancock said go now, we got to work! Joel made an appointment with the bishop and filled out his paperwork in two days once he received it. We made dentist appointments and doctor appointments. We had such a short window to work in before Joel went to Stanley for the summer to earn a little money. (He had worked at Scout Camp for the two summers before, which was great leadership experience, but made very little money, so he needed funds to buy mission supplies.) Skyler came over to our house to take Joel's mission photos to submit with his mission papers. It was raining, but we didn't have any other time or place to take the photos, so Skyler took them in the rain in the back yard. I couldn't help but wonder if that influenced the brethren's decision to send him to Florida?
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