The Letter

A letter from Ken!

One of the first letters we received from Ken while he was in the MTC had a note written to me on the back of the envelope. It went something like this: “J.D., please write to Elder George Waller. He is not getting any mail. His address is the same as mine.” What was I supposed to do with that little piece of information?! Some of my thoughts went along this line: I can’t write to this guy, I don’t even know him! If I write to him, he will think I’m a loser! There is no way I am going to write to him! I put the envelope on my desk in my room.

As the days passed, thoughts of that poor missionary kept entering my mind. I started to feel sorry for him! He was far away from home and not getting any mail. ‘Maybe I could write to him. What am I thinking? I can’t write to him’. ‘OK, I’ll send him 1 letter. How embarrassing to get a letter from someone you don’t even know! I’m not going to write to him.’ I kept being reminded about that poor missionary not getting any mail. I felt so bad for him. Finally I figured that I could write to him 1 time. How bad could it be? I’d never see him. He won’t write back…

Ken goes on a mission

In August 1987 my older brother, Ken, left on his mission. He was called to serve in the Leeds, England mission. I was so proud of him. I know it was a huge decision for him to make. Ken turned 19 in January of 1987. He had decided not to go on a mission. It was a disappointment for all of our family. I think especially for my parents. As the year progressed, Ken realized that he wanted to get married, and that the kind of girl he wanted to marry, would want a Returned Missionary (a.k.a. “R.M.”). So he got things in order. He was called to serve in the Leeds, England mission. He left for the MTC in August of that same year.

I remember the day he left. Mom and Dad were driving him to Provo. We all stood outside the front door… hugs and good-bye’s all around. They drove off. Summer and I went into the house to work on homework. I heard a little sniff coming from Summer. I snapped at her, “Don’t you cry!” I knew that if she cried, I’d be crying, and I DID NOT want to cry!

Tangent

I spent some time with my sweet Niece, Kyndal, last Thursday while her parents went to a D-backs game. I clipped a toy to her diaper. She thought it was great. I took a little video clip of it. I have to share it. Kyndal is so adorable. I love spending time with her. I fell in love with her the moment I saw her when she was only 2 days old. Kyndal is a year and a half. Did I mention how adorable she is? Sorry it is so dark, but you will get the idea. Please turn off the music at the bottom of the blog so that you can hear her sweet voice.

Senior Year

An unforeseen opportunity changed my life forever.

I took a Shakespeare class from Ms. Cunningham which was a lot of fun. Ms. Cunningham had a passion for Shakespeare, and her enthusiasm rubbed off on her students. This was the final year I was in the orchestra. Seminary was still a high point in my day. I went to the Homecoming Dance with Andrew. I went to the Co-ed Dance with Doug.

Sophomore Year

I turned 16. I got my drivers license. I got my first kiss. I was asked out on my first date. I made a new friend, Rosanna. I still really enjoyed orchestra. Brother Lunt was my seminary teacher.