He's Hoooome!!!

Note from Elder Alley's mom: Elder Alley returned home July 5, 2016. I figured it'd only be fitting to show pictures from the happy homecoming for his last mission blog post. 

Elder Alley requested I make baklava for his homecoming. He didn't request that
we not eat any before he got here. ;) (Don't judge me. I can't have access to baklava
and NOT eat it.)

Last prep for the the airport pick up. 

20 minutes before his flight was due to land and his sisters are more than
ready to get this party started.

It's much better to be standing under the "Arrivals" sign, than under the
"Departures" sign.

Gotta take a pic in front of the "Welcome to Spokane" sign.

The Canadian Welcome Committee :D

The waiting is the hardest part...

But it's worth it! Hug collage! His baby sister couldn't wait
for her first hug.

This. Is. The. Best. 

Dad's first hug in two years...

Grandma's first hug...

Big sis patiently waited her turn. Now we have two new RMs in the family.
Excited to get #3 in October! :)

He's back!

Hi, Grandma!

His friend, Grant, just happened to be getting off of work when he saw us holding
the "Welcome Home, Elder Alley" sign and decided to stick around. Fun surprise! 

There's a lot of people who are happy Elder Alley is home. 

So great to have our friends, the Kiriakas, there.

Cousin Leah reuniting with Elder Alley

This girl missed her brother an awful lot.

They are gonna have sooo much fun down in Provo together this fall.

Daddio

I had to refrain from hugging him the whole time.
(It was making it hard for him to walk. lol) 

Yea! Just. Yea. :D

His cousin Adam was not sure about this new guy who just showed up... 

Still eyeing him...

Happy to report that Elder Alley (Max) has since won him over.
A little wrestling time and Max was in! ;)

Apparently, this happened the first flight he took with them. So he's had a  broken 
handle since day 1 of his mission. :(  Mexico City baggage handlers are not gentle.

Adam had a sweet ride back to the car

He's home. He's really, really home.

And not much has changed. haha

It's still hard to get a serious pic out of him. haha

There we go. That big smile we all missed so much.

Aunt Peggy and Uncle Jon joined us for lunch at Rancho Chico. Max spoke Spanish with all the staff and Ashley (his sister who recently returned from her mission to Thailand) leaned over to me and said, "That's it. We're going to a Thai restaurant for dinner!"

Old habits die hard. Still in mission mode. Helping his "companion" (Dad) back the car up. 

Elder Alley thought it only fitting that he wear his Grandpa Alley's tie on his way home.

Excited to have a visit from Mama Hilmes. :)

Shoes that say, "I worked hard...really hard."

He said his goal is to wear out his life in service to the Lord. If these shoes
are any indication, he's on the right track.

A little overwhelmed at being home.

"What do I do now?!"

It didn't take him long to figure out what to do next. He was home less than 24 hours before boarding a plane to Chicago with the family to attend his uncle's funeral who had passed away unexpectedly the previous Saturday. He was able to continue to do what he loves: serve. He felt it a privilege to help support his cousins who had lost their father so young. He made the comment, "This is why I left my family for two years. I wanted others to have what we have and to know what we know: This life is not the end of things. It's just a step in our eternal progression. Families are forever. The sting of death is swallowed up in the victory of Christ and the knowledge that we will see Uncle Marc again."

And that is how Elder Alley started his transition back to post mission life. We are so glad to have Max back with us. 

He That Loseth His Life

Signing off from Vegas

Saying goodbye to the Kings 

Hillpointe Priests, my boys!

The final street...

The last door

July 4, 2016

2 years.

It's been 2 years since I've been home, since I've seen my family, since I've watched a movie, since I've just sat and listened to music, since I've seen my friends from growing up, since I've slept in my own bed, since I've spent a day just doing nothing.

And yet, they've been the best two years of my life.

How is that?

I've never been happier, I've never felt more peace, I've never leaned so much about myself and about the world, I've never had more purpose. And you know what, I think before I would have looked at those two lists and been shocked that they coexist. However, now that I understand the Gospel more, I realize that those two lists are perfectly intertwined. And it's not from the sole fact alone that I've stopped doing those first things that has made me happy. It is what I have been doing INSTEAD of that first list.

For the past two years I have focused on others and not myself. I have spent all day every day trying to provide service, trying to improve the quality of other people's lives. I've been standing up for something I believe in with all my soul. I've invited people to live the way that The Savior taught us to, and helped them do so. I've been more determined to strengthen my relationship with God, to study the scriptures, to pray with real intent. In short, for two years I have been doing my best to follow the example of Jesus Christ. To serve Him with all my heart, might, mind, and strength. Which has lead me to discover for myself the truthfulness of the verse Mathew 10:39.

"He that findeth his life shall lose it: and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it."

And that is why I will forever be indebted to Las Vegas and its people. It was here, in the streets of Sin City that I found out who I truly was, and who Jesus Christ is. It was by reading scriptures at old study desks in beat up apartments at 8:00am that I learned eternal truths. It was being yelled at by people that I wanted to serve but who didn't want to give me a chance that I developed diligence and confidence. It was by loving those who welcomed me into their homes that I learned charity and humility. It was by working with and serving other missionaries that I gained the best friendships I've ever had. It was by teaching and testifying of The Restoration, The Plan of Salvation and of The Atonement that I gained an unbreakable testimony of their truthfulness. It was here that I lost my life.

I LOVE my mission. It has been the single greatest experience of my life. I will spend the rest of my life talking about how incredible it is to be a full-time missionary for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. I want my friends, my family, my future children to all know, that this was where it all began for me. This is where I decided that I am a Disciple of Jesus Christ, and that I was determined to waste and wear out my life in His service. In the Nevada Las Vegas West Mission from July 2014 to July 2016. The time and place where I lost my life for His sake, and I found something eternally better.

I know that Jesus Christ lives, He is my Lord, my Redeemer, my God. I know that He is the ultimate physician and that He can heal us of any infirmity whatsoever. I know that Joseph Smith was a prophet of God and that he did in fact see the Father and the Son and that he was called to restore Christ's church to the earth. I know that the Book of Mormon is God's word and that it is safety for the soul, a sure place to build your testimony of this church. I know that this church is literally God's kingdom on the earth today and that when The Savior comes again He will take His place at the head of it. I testify of all these things, one last time, as a set apart representative of the Him, and do so in His name, even Jesus Christ, amen.

-Elder Alley

Farewell Tour

Elder Anderson and I feeling *trunky at the Zunigas haha 
It was great to see them again. :)

Dinner with Mireya and Grisel from our Bonzana days!

The boys are back in town! (Me and Walker)

Brian, a good friend I made on the mission.

The Ortiz Family!!! They were the very first family I taught on my mission
while I was being trained by Elder Maldonado! I haven't seen them in a year and a half,
but when I knocked on the door and they opened it, they said, "Hermano Alley!!!"
It made me feel so awesome that even after so much time they remembered me :)

Back in Flamingo with some of the very first families I got close with :)

Hermana Zamorra and I. She makes the best papusas in the world!

ChiChi! An awesome priest from back in Flamingo.

June 27, 2016

President Ahlander was so kind as to let me take a couple hours one day to go visit people I have worked with over the course of my mission. Thursday Elder Walker and I got to team up again to go back to the Bonanza Ward in the Las Vegas Zone, and then yesterday Elder Anderson (CCM) and I got to go back to the Flamingo Ward in the Spring Mountain Zone to visit! Tonight Elder Anderson (former comp) and I get to go back to the Springs Zone to say goodbye to a couple people we worked with together. It was so nice to get to see them and it's a blessing that President Ahlander would let us do that.

---Elder Alley

*Trunky=mission term meaning you're ready to go home, your bags/trunks are packed (hence you're "trunky")