First Letter Home

We received our first letter from Morgan! This was written before he went into the MTC, so its information about the days leading up to Wednesday, the 4th. Here are some excerpts he wanted to share:

August 2nd, 2010

Dear Family, =)

Leaving Maine, yes, I’ve never seen such a beautiful landscape, with the fog rolling over the hills and the mountains in the distance, the Atlantic Ocean just within view. I was marveling at what Pappop said, “Once in Maine, you’ll always want to come back.”..The flight was uneventful to LaGuardia. I called you, Mom, and you said hello 3 times and couldn't hear me, then you hung up and the phone (blasted thing) took my four quarters. Then I called Bill, he didn't answer and I left a message to relay my arrival to you, but the blasted machine took another dollar and cut off my message. Note to Tim: Don't use pay phones in NYC, they rip you off!!

While I was sitting on the plane, reading Jesus The Christ, I paused and thought, “What have I just gotten myself into?”..Yes, I am excited. Please thank Brother Panthay, Brother Thomas, Brother Saunders and the Nesbits for seeing me off. It was a real pleasure to see them. Tell Brother Thomas that, unfortunately, it has been reported that one of those pestering lawn fairies has been caught and detained....

Well, its now 5:38pm in Provo, Utah and it says 7:57pm on my new watch - thank goodness I brought the instruction manual! We landed in Salt Lake City 30 mins early, which was great! The Strombergs met me and we picked up my bags. After dinner at a buffet (where I ate alot) we then went by the Bountiful Temple. It was beautiful, just being near the temple and seeing it, I could feel the spirit. This temple is truly designed by God, and it truly is His house.

August 3rd, 2010

We drove out 15 mins and lo and behold we were at Temple Square. I took lots of pictures and hope you will enjoy them (fr Lisa: nothing came with this letter), but the pictures hardly capture the majesty of this place. We took tours of the conference center, the tabernacle and temple gardens. The vantage point from the gardens was such that I could see all of Temple Square from above.

We then went on to the North and South visitor centers and this was where it started to get hard for me. Leaving, 8 sister missionaries saw me...yes I am STILL attracting girls somehow...and asked me when was my report date and where I would be serving. Upon telling them, one of the sisters said something in Tagalog to me and asked me to interpret. I thought for a second and out of desperation said with a huff, “I have no idea!” They had a good laugh. So in defense I said “Hey give me a break! I have 9 weeks to learn it!” They had another good laugh and I was on my way.

Throughout the day, I met with other soon-to-be missionaries, one going to Thailand, another to Zimbabwe. We were excited to meet each other and hope to see each other at the MTC. Well, I took alot of pictures and I hope you enjoy them. My next letter will be sent from the MTC.

Love, Elder Gunnell