Off to Hawaii

Today is the day. Jared left the Provo missionary training center (MTC) early this morning and flew to Honolulu (via Phoenix). He was allowed to call us during his travels so Michelle, Glen and Lauren all got to talk to him at some point today. It was good to hear from him and know that he is in good health, good spirits and excited to get to his assignment. Below is a photo of Jared.

Ok, so it's not exactly a photo of Jared, but you get the point.

We also got a letter from him via good old USPS yesterday. It included a photo of him with Sister Brooksby - his 2nd cousin - who he met coincidentally at the MTC. Sister Brooksby is headed to a mission in North Carolina. Sister Brooksby's grandfather, Lyle, is the brother of Jared's grandfather, Merrill, and Lyle lives in ...wait for it ...wait for it ...Hawaii! So Sister Brooksby's grandfather could be feeding Jared someday soon. Below is a photo of Elder and Sister Brooksby.

Jared also included a photo of his MTC district (below). They are, from left to right, Elder Shipley, Elder Hudson, Elder Tripp, Elder Penitani, Elder La, Elder Brinkerhoff, Elder Small, Elder Brooksby, Elder Workman and Elder Packer.

Two down, One to Go

We got our second e-mail from Jared today. He's just finished his second week in the MTC, and has one more to go. He is scheduled to fly to Hawaii on Tuesday, June 28th. So he has just one week left in the MTC.

Here is an excerpt from his letter: "So the MTC... it's going well! And don't worry, there's a letter with some pictures on the way now and more to come! In a very bizarre set of circumstances I met a sister named Andrea going to North Carolina on her mission! She knew Zach Yoshikawa and was in his district here at the MTC. So she gave me a letter that he had written to me and expected us to find each other. Can you guess why? Well Andrea's Grandpa lives in Hawaii! His name in Lyle Brooksby!!!! That's right I met Andrea Brooksby (first cousin once removed?) here at the MTC just in a random hallway, haha!!! Well we got to chat for a little while here and there and she's way nice and we got along together super well! But she's off on her mission now but I just thought it'd be funny to share that with you!"

Who knew that Jared would run into an unknown relative in the MTC of all places. We can't believe that he's been in the MTC for two weeks already, and that he'll leave there in a week. The time seems to be flying by!

First e-mail from Jared

We got our first letter from Jared while he's in the MTC. One week down, two more to go before he flies to Hawaii.

Here is an excerpt from his letter: "I did indeed make it here! I'm safely moved in and happy here at the Missionary Training center. Today is P-Day and I'm sooooo happy that i actually get a break from sitting in class for 6 hours a day haha. I would rather have college classes right now than sitting in a cramped room with no AC at all. But such is life here at the MTC! We are a district of 10 missionaries all going to Hawaii and we are all having a lot of spiritual growth here, as is the point I believe. I love the Elders in my district. And I love my companion, Elder Small. We work together well. I'm learning patience and I'm learning to love everyone."

It was so good to hear from him!

It's Official!

Jared is officially a missionary for
The Church of Jesus Christ
of Latter-day Saints!
He left today for Utah and will enter
the MTC on Wednesday.

Honolulu vs. Lake George

We went to Lake George today and were laughing at our
beach compared to Hawaii where Jared will be in about
a month. We decided that there would be no
comparison, especially in February.

While we were walking into Lake George Village Jared
dialed a phone number that had called him earlier. It
ended up being Jared's mission president,
President John Dalton. He was calling Jared to tell
him how excited they were for him to enter the mission
and that it was "the best mission in the world!"
I think it made the mission seem even more real for Jared.