Casey's (non) farewell - 7-24-11

CASEY'S DAD WRITES
Remember when a departing missionary got to have a farewell on his final Sunday? Family would speak, sing and give prayers. Now the bishop's aren't even supposed to call it a "farewell." I know in Utah missionaries go out every week but in my ward growing up, it was an event when someone was leaving to serve a mission.
So it was Casey's (non) farewell today. Actually, Devin spoke first as the youth speaker. His topic was the eighth article of faith ("We believe the Bible to be the word of God, as far as it is translated correctly; We also believe the Book of Mormon to be the word of God.") He did a fine job.
Casey's topic was "Lessons learned from our ancestors." He did very well and spoke for about 20 minutes, a record for him.
We had a big group of family and friends come over and enjoy some good food in our back yard, even though it was pretty warm out. Thanks to all who came and made this a special day for Casey!