ah!

elder remington (weird..) leaves the mtc this morning and is on his way to las vegas! how exciting!

i'm not really sure its allowed (in fact im pretty sure its not. he says that they were given no instruction about it..oh well. its not my head on the chopping block haha) but he called me from the airport before he left. oh jon, always making up his own rules, he's pretty much lawless. he called me super early, at like 7:15 and woke me up. rude.

it sounds like he's doing really well! he says the mtc food is "gross, heavy cafeteria food" and that he's excited to eat normal food again, as well as starting to exercise. he loved the mtc though! he said he learned so much while he was there and that he's going to learn soooo much more in the field. the first three days went by so slow for him, he said it felt like he was out for three weeks. he's already not a fan of having a companion around all the time haha. he said he was so happy to have a little bit of freedom/independence at the airport. apparently he ditched his companion (well, his companion in the mtc, i guess they're not companions now) as soon as they got to the airport and went off and bought a sandwich. i guess i shouldnt be surprised by this behaviour haha but it makes me laugh.

sounds like he's making some really good friends in the mtc. he met an elder that he says is "the man of his dreams". i should probably meet this guy. haha. kidding. i always thought it was strange how such strong relationships are formed there, these people only know each other for three(ish) weeks. i guess there's something about sweating over and studying and stressing about the gospel and freaking out about the next two years that brings people together.

he said (in a not rude way) that he hardly thought about me the first week he was gone, which i think is really good! because that means that he'll forget me pretty quick and focus all of his..focus..on the task at hand. he hasn't even been gone that long but i got all emotional when i read the letter he wrote to his mom..im sure this is normal right?

question to anybody who knows the rules of a mission better than me: say that i was in las vegas sometime over the next two years. would i be able to take out a couple of missionaries to lunch? just curious.

it feels like he's been gone forever! not that i've been missing him and that times been going slow, but it feels like we've both changed so much over the last threeish weeks. i cant even imagine what its gonna be like when he gets home. it was so good to hear from my best friend and how much he's changed already and the spiritual progress he's making. im kind of jealous of him! that boys get to go out at such a critical time in life and are completely submerged in the gospel for two years and come out completely different people. i want this kind of spiritual overhaul :)

i hadnt even planned on writing him until at least a year from now..but when he called he sounded kinda disappointed that i hadnt written him yet haha. i thought some more about the writing thing..the first year that a missionary is in the field i bet he gets a ton of letters from friends and family and he feels somewhat involved in their lives. the second year, however, i can imagine that the novelty of writing to a missionary wears off and the friends all stop writing..and that would be so discouraging for the missionary. so. two solutions:

a) i dont start writing him until a year from now, so i'll be the only one writing him still and therefore, very important to him. ha.

or

b) i just suck it up and write him the whole time.

(this is kind of a tough one cause i dont know what the next two years hold in store. ah well, cross those bridges when they come right?)


ah! how exciting! my first missionary! i'll most likely keep yall posted. cause this is really exciting for me. :) :)