November 17th at 9:30 p.m., Anthony was set apart by President Mike Strong as a missionary. The next day, November 18th, Dad gave Anthony a father's blessing and we sang the Barney song, "I Love You, You Love Me, We're a Happy Family...". We drove to Provo and took some family photos as the Provo Temple and then went to Grandpa and Grandma Kohkonen's home to visit with family for a couple of hours. At 1:10 p.m., everyone said a final "good-bye" to Anthony and then we drove him to the MTC. Tons of missionaries were outside waiting for new arrivals. We were told to find number 24 along the curb--found it and there was an Elder waiting for Anthony. We hopped out, got his luggage all out of the van, gave hugs, and he was off to begin the best two years!
