January 28, 2013

January 28, 2013

"We were sitting in class and we were role playing a certain investigator so that we could practice teaching that person. As we were teaching, my teacher Brother Burdette, stopped us and said "Before you talk again, just stop and listen and don't say anything until you know what to say from the Holy Ghost. After he said this, I was scared I wasn't going to get an answer or know what to say. So I said a quick prayer in my heart and waited...and waited...and waited. My mind was blank but all of a sudden I started talking and saying things I never even though of saying. And I just talked to the investigator (well, the Holy Ghost did) but it just bore simple and humble truths. It was one of the coolest experiences I have ever had, to have the Holy Ghost use me as a tool and talk through me. I hope I will have this happen again as I teach the real people out in the mission field."

A Little Bit of Light.

Lately I have been into reading past conference talks! They are SO crazy good!! Every spare second I get I am reading more and more! So amazing! Two that I have read that have really stuck out to me are "See Others as they can Become" and "Willing and Worthy to Serve" both given by President Monson. I can't stop reading, it's weird because you know me, I am NOT a big reader!! In those talks some things that hit me hard and are good advice to anyone who IS a missionary, HAS a missionary, or simply, just living through life. "When that same call comes to you and to me, what will be our response? Will we murmur, as did Laman and Lemuel, and say, “This is a hard thing required of us”? Or will we, with Nephi, individually declare, “I will go. I will do”? Will we be willing to serve and to obey?" This quote hits close to home, because by being so close to a missionary while they are preparing to leave and watching them say goodbye to everything they have ever known, I know it is not easy. It is not necessarily what you want to do and you may think it will be too hard. You either have two choices, you can be like Nephi, or Lamen and Lemuel. President Monson also said, "Miracles are everywhere to be found when the priesthood is understood, its power is honored and used properly, and faith is exerted. When faith replaces doubt, when selfless service eliminates selfish striving, the power of God brings to pass His purposes." Faith is the first and most important principle of this wonderful gospel, and since Dillon has left, I have really understood that statement. Without faith, this gospel is nothing. With this new announcement of the changing the age of both brother and sister missionaries this timing of The Lords Second Coming is creeping upon us quickly, and he needs US to spread his word quickly. I believe that this statement is not only for the the boys but the girls as well. "Brethren, the world is in need of our help. Are we doing all we should? Do we remember the words of President John Taylor: “If you do not magnify your callings, God will hold you responsible for those whom you might have saved had you done your duty”? There are feet to steady, hands to grasp, minds to encourage, hearts to inspire, and souls to save. The blessings of eternity await you. Yours is the privilege to be not spectators but participants on the stage of priesthood service. Let us hearken to the stirring reminder found in the Epistle of James: “Be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.” It is scary to me that if you fail to do your mission here on earth you will be held personally responsible for those lives who you could have touched and changed for the better. That makes me so happy to know that I supported Dillon and his choice to serve a mission, I know I wouldn't want that guilt on my shoulders. I got an email from Dillon today! He is doing great!! Been sick, but I LOVE that he is doing so good! Him and his roommates created a band and call themselves "The City of Enoch" he is still the same old goofy kid who left two weeks ago! I love him so much.

Ties on Ties on Ties on Ties.

We all know that two years seems like such a long time!! Seven Hundred and Thirty Days??! Like how in the world am I supposed to make a chain countdown with 700 chain links?! To make this a little easier and a lot more realistic we decided to look at it as only 24 months. Twenty Four months doesn't seem that long, right? Oh Boy..... In just 24 short months my best friend would be back in my arms! To make it a little more fun and a lot more exciting than the traditional paper chain links, every month I will send Dillon a package with a tie and some other surprises that every missionary needs. This will be our countdown! 24 Ties. Dill arrives at the MTC today at 1:00 and I already have a package there waiting to be opened with his first of many ties. I can already tell that sending packages is SO fun! Ties on Ties on Ties on Ties.

Goals.

Everyone knows that while you are serving a mission you grow so much spiritually. Dillon hasn't even been out for seven  days and in just one letter I can already tell how much his testimony has grown and the love he has for his Savior, and I know this is only the beginning and he is only going to keep growing. The last thing I want to happen is for him to grow spiritually and for me not to progress and things to be "weird" when he gets back. I want to prepare myself over these next two years to be the  best person,wife, and mother I can be for him and I also want my testimony to grow and to serve my own little mission here.  In a fireside given by Vaughn Featherstone he talks about Missionaries and Girlfriends. He says "Of coarse the first duty is to serve the Lord's work,which you have been called to do; second is to your family, and third is to the girlfriend. He then goes on to say that leaving a girlfriend behind is hard but it is better to go out there with support than getting out there wishing you had it. Also he says how lucky it is for the young woman, the missionary left behind is, to have the opportunity to share this mission for the next 24 months with one of the Lords chosen servants. Her testimony will become stronger in the gospel because of  it." I am so excited to be able to become closer to my savior and get to know him on a completely different level. Ever since the day I said goodbye to my best friend, I have never in my life been so happy. Some might ask how could I be so happy, when I just said goodbye to the love of my life? By spending alot of time next to my bedside on my knees, and through the love of my savior I am able to look at this new chapter through an eternal perspective. It's not the end. It is a new beginning. I am on a spiritual high and I LOVE it!! I am so excited to be able to continue to learn about Christ and see Dillons testimony grow and develop as well.

I have decided to set some goals to keep on track for my personal growth.   Also so I will be ready and on the same level as Dillon when he comes back in 726 days.

• Read and finish all the Work & Glory books. (I'm  crazy I know)
• Get my Young Womens Recognisiton again.
• Learn how to be the BEST cook, because of right now.. I am TERRIBLE in the kitchen.
• Have my first job.
• Read the Book of Mormon cover to cover twice.

I am so grateful for this opportunity I have to be able to share Dillon's missionary experiences with him through letters and get to know him through a different perspective that is only made possible through serving The Lord through a mission.

January 23, 2013

January 23, 2013

    
 "I have only been here a week and I have already grown so much. Mostly because of my companion Elder Skelton, because he is such  a good example to me. One thing that we have learned is how to teach by the spirit.  Our first few lessons went awful because we didn't know how  to work  together and we were trying to memorize the lessons in Preach My Gospel. But that was a bad idea. Now we learn the material from Preach My Gospel and then when we teach, we tell what we know. It is so much better that way, because it enables  us to teach with and by the spirit. The coolest thing is when you are teaching  and you can feel the spirit just take over. A lot of the time when that happens,  the lesson goes in a completely different direction than we had planned and then while you talk the spirit confirms  the truth of what you are saying to both myself and the investigator."
   

Letter Number One.

January 17, 2013

Hey Meg! I am at the MTC and I am loving it just like you said I would. It is really so awesome here, and the spirit is so strong. There are people here from all over the world. I love looking at all the elders and sisters name tags to see where they are from. We really are the Army of Helaman. One of my favorite things to so here is learn words in different languages. But the spirit here is undeniable, the second I got dropped off it just over come me. Everything here is centered around our Savior and how we can learn to teach it to the people we come in contact with. It really is cool how everyone just does what they are supposed to without being asked and we are on time for everything, not because we get in trouble if we don't, we do it to show our love to our Savior _!| because through exact obedience we can receive more blessings. As missionaries we need ALL the blessings we can get. So don't forget to pray for all of us. My P-day is on Wednesday and other than this letter that's when I get to write home, and to you. Thanks for the package! All the elders were so jealous, but I shared a lot of it with my roommates and I now have a new favorite pillow case that I love and I hung the picture up and now I am wearing this nice looking black skinny tie. You seriously I ow me so well I love it so much and you make me so happy! You really were on top of having a package here so soon. The MTC is amazing! I have never said so many prayers in one day. But it is good because we need the spirit here with everything we do. We even start our gym time off with a prayer. When we play basketball everyone calls each other "Elder" and it is kinda really funny. There are 4 of us in our room a s my companions name is Elder Skelton and he is really cool! We are a lot alike and I enjoy getting to work with him. He played soccer and he likes shoes too! He is from Arizona. The schedule here is crazy busy and you have to go to bed right at 10:30 and we wake up around 6. The only time we get to be in our room is when it is bed time. Other than that we are studying in a class room. One of our teachers names is Sistwr DeAron and she looks exactly like Sydney Yates in your grade. It trips me out! My other roommates names are Elder Cox he is from Utah and Elder Prince from Canada. I wish you could see my schedule, there is seriously no free time. I guess the day before I got here Elder Holland spoke here so I can't believe I missed that! You should see how official I look with my name tag, but it's more than that, because we are wearing the Savior's name so we have to act like he would in EVERYTHING we do. This is one thing I need to work on is being more humble because I won't be able to do anything without Christ to help me out. Thanks for all you do for me and keep an eye on BK for me. Before I left, my mom made me change my Facebook profile picture she said because I am a missionary I should have a picture that looks like one. How are things going at home? What do you think you will do about D State now? How is high school ball? Remember everything happens for a reason. I found a scripture that I really like that I think you will like too. Alma 32:16 (all of alma is great for missionaries!!)
Love,
Elder Hurt

P.S. The sister missionaries (I can't spell I am so tired) but they are so weird. They always get mad at the Elders for "messing" around. But if you want to get mail to me faster while I am at the MTC you can use dearelder.com but I still really like hand writers letters "smiley face" I am so lucky that I don't have to learn another language because we have already taught our first lesson and if we are learning a different language you would be expected to teach in that language. We are so busy as missionaries but I love it. Anything and everything entertains you after being in class all day. So I made new friends at gym! Elder Holt and Elder Pursser, us three ball up all the other elders and I always wear my D-state shoes and everyone always says how much they like them!
Gods Speed

The Little Things.

So today has been one of those days, you know those kind that NEVER end? Yeah that would be today! I am missing my best friend so much!! But he is doing great and LOVING the MTC! Today I am missing the little things. Our simple conversations, our goofy inside jokes, and just the way we would look at each other. He is PERFECT!! In this weeks letter to him I sent him a lucky nickel he can carry around with him, with a note that said "If I had a nickel for every time I thought of you... I  would have one nickel, because since Senior Sunrise 2011, you haven't left my mind. For christmas this year I got the best present. I opened my stocking to find this necklace that reads "Called to Serve" "West Virginia" "2013, 2015"  I wear it every day as I go about my life, growing individually, and becoming more like my savior.

.

Also this past week I have been very busy woh practice, games, and team nights. Although I have been super busy I am still always thinking about my best friend. So much so that on Friday night Autumn and I decided to have a sleep over. Around 2:30 am I turned to her (thinking she was Dillon, of coarse) and asked her to cuddle. She kindly accepted the offer, and briefly started stroking my hair. Shortly after, we both realized she wasn't Dillon. It was a strange night to say the least. But that is the story if my life. I miss him so much I am legitimately going crazy!! But I got my first letter!!! So things are going up!!

Inspiration.

I know that Heavenly Father puts people (friends, family, strangers) in our lives for a reason. One particular Sunday I was having doubts. I know that Dillon is serving a mission and I know that his focus is on the Lord. But I kept having these thoughts of how can I help him and support him in a positive way without being his "girlfriend" the last thing I want to do is be a distraction for him while he is serving. And most of all I just wanted a little bit of reassurance that everything was going to be okay. So I called up one of my good friends Meghan McKenna (who has had a missionary out for a year) for some advise. She made a copy of a talk given by Vaughn Featherstone. It was perfect. Exactly what I needed to hear.

Missionaries and Girlfriends:
Taken from a fireside by Vaughn Featherstone 

Question: Is it good for a fellow to leave a girl behind?
Answer: Is it good for the sun to shine?

      Have you ever heard of mission calls telling all missionaries to get rid of all girlfriends? Do you think that you could be a better missionary if she were there to help you? I think you could. Most of my best missionaries during the three years that I served left a girl behind. You notice that I said "girl" and not "girls." There isn't time for more than one.
      Of course the first duty is to the Lord's work, which you have been called to do; second is to your family, and third is to the girlfriend. This you should always remember.I always interviewed all missionaries as they entered the field and one of the questions I asked was, "Do you have a girlfriend at home?" If the answer was yes, I would say, "Can I have her name and address, and would it be all right if I wrote her a letter?" Of course this would scare the poor fellow to death--then I would bring the color back to his face by telling him I only wanted to write her a letter and tell her how lucky she was to have the opportunity to share this mission for the next 24 months with one of the Lord's chosen servants. If she is faithful, her testimony would become stronger in the gospel because of it... along with a little more advice that I will touch on later.
      Young men, do not ask a returned missionary for advice on this subject. For if he has been "jilted," should we say, he's giving out poor advice. Pray about this together, and if you feel that you can do a better job, then go ahead. There's nothing wrong with it. It is better to have support than to go out there wishing that you had it. This is more frustrating than worrying about a "Dear John," and believe me, there won't be one of those right in the beginning. The Lord always answers prayers to those who honor Him.
      Have an understanding with your parents so they can encourage her and make your girl happy by showing they have faith in her and love her. Let her parents know your plans, and in most cases they will stand by her when she gets lonely. If you show them respect, as well as the girl, they will be behind you all the way.
      Write her once a week or more. You can almost always write two letters a week on P-Days. There is plenty of time if they're not books. Tell her about your mission and experiences, let her live your mission with you through your letters, and send her a snapshot once in a while. Yes, you could let her make a scrapbook for you. Mom is not going to have time and both of them would love that.Remember that behind every successful man, there is a good woman. So why shouldn't it be good to leave a girlfriend behind if you feel that she is special? Forget that old story of "24 months is a long time." I have known girls to wait two or three years. Also forget the story that you will change a lot. You will only if you make yourself scarce in letters, etc. You will only change in the fact that you will be more mature and have a greater testimony and mind.
      Now girls, make sure that you do things that will help you grow along with the missionary. Study the gospel; stay active in the church, pray often--morning, noon, and night. Watch out for those lonely returned jilted missionaries. You're not in a hurry to get married.
      Write happy letters every week. Let him know that you still care. He will be looking for those letters if he is really busy during the week and on P-Days. Yes, you could send him a snapshot of yourself. He would love that. So what if you don't take good pictures--anything will look good to him. You will be busy getting the education you need, perhaps working in and out of the church, maybe learning to sew and all those lovely things, or learning to cook fancy things, but most of all, just learning the basics of life.
      If the occasion arises, and you feel as if you want to accept a date now and then, it's okay, but again... Beware of those jilted returned missionaries. They are dynamite. Stay close to your parents.
      Oh yes, there isn't any harm in leaving a girlfriend at home, if you're both determined to fulfill the mission together. It will not be the big job you think, but a happy 24 months in both of your lives. When you are both back together again, it won't be long before you are sure of each other because of your pure maturity. I can say these things because it happened to me, and I know of many others who have experienced the same great thing.

I know that Heavenly Father knows me individually. My needs, the desires of my heart. EVERYTHING. I also know that he know Dillon personally as well, and will bless him tremendously by making this righteous decision to serve a mission. I Love my Heavenly Father more than anything and West Virginia is the only place on this whole planet Dillon needs to be at this time, and by following the prophet's counsel we will both be blessed. 

I found another video and it was definitely inspiring to say the least! Hailey Devine is AMAZING and if you haven't watched her videos, your definitely missing out. This specific one gets me every time.

http://vimeo.com/31673669

Littarally a Wreck.

Dill finally made it to the MTC, and was able to write his family a letter the night he arrived! He loves it there and is doing SO great!!

Dillon and Bk

Dillon and Aspen

January 16, 2013

Dear Family,

          My Mission President advised us all to write home tonight so that we could put all your worries to rest. All I have to say is that I love the MTC! Everyone is so nice and outgoing. It is easy to make friends here, especially if you have an orange dot on your name tag. This means you are a new missionary and everyone looks out for you. After you guys left and drove away I got a tour (a quick one) and then got my name tag(Luckily my pocket had already been ripped open). It is weird calling everyone Sister and Elder. I can already tell the Sister missionaries are going to be an amazing asset to the mission field.

          It is also really cool to see people from all around the world here. I like seeing in the name tags in different languages. The Elders that are learning different languages always try to talk to you in the language they are learning. I love it! We really are the Army of Helamen from all around the world!

          I have already seen Elder Jordan Marcroft (roommate), Elder CJ Reber, Elder Brayden Derrick, Elder JT Abbot and Elder David Lloyd. My P-day is on Wednesdays’ so that’s when you can expect an email from me. Apparently we are in here for three weeks so we leave to West Virginia on Feb 5th. My companion’s name is Elder Skeleton and he seems really cool. He is from Arizona and played soccer. There are four people in my room and I got stuck on a top bunk. Everyone loves the cookies and they say thanks.
I am gonna be so busy while I am here but I am excited to learn and grow so I will be ready to teach the people of West Virginia. All of the Elders going to my mission sing John Denver’s song. One of the guys in my room is a Canadian EH. Everything here is centered around the Church. I love you guys.

Love,

Elder Hurt

          The day Dill went in, was not the ideal day for me.Not only was I a wreck, I was in a wreck. It started off just like any other days, I got up, ate breakfast, AND I finally got to put the first sticker on our count down, and went to school. When 11:05 struck so did the bell to head to lunch! Just like most days, Autumn and I got in my truck and headed to my house for some tomato sandwiches. And before I knew it, CRASH!!! The front of my truck was broken, bent up, and a little bruised. Some girl in smart car and suddenly stopped to let one of her friends in front of her for lunch (in a place in the road that normally you do not stop) and the kid behind her slammed on his breaks barely missing her smart car, which gave me no reaction time and slam!! I hit the truck and the truck hit the smart car. We were in a 3 car pile up. Right in front of the high school. I had never been so embarrassed in my entire life. After a long slow process of talking to the officer I ended up with a ticket for "following too close" and the girl in the smart car got 2 tickets. One for stopping in a place you shouldn't, and the other I don't know what it was for. But I was informed that it was NOT my fault. Luckily, no one was hurt and fortunately for me, I got to experience my first crash with my best friend. But none the less, this was not the ideal way to start off the beginning of these 2 years!!

Just Can't Get Enough.

I'd just like to personally thank my best friend Autumn Shipp. She is absolutely amazing at everything she does. AND no these aren't engagements, just mission pictures..but hopefully before we know it....... you catching my drift...like nah mean? Just kidding, but these are just too cute not to share!

Our Last Day.

Yesterday was a bitter-sweet-kind-of-day. It started off early, at 9 O' clock Dillon took the same drive that he had driven so many times before from his house to mine. The road that we both could drive with our eyes closed, only it was different. Knowing it would be the last time, made it difficult. Soaking it all in. Every turn. Every pot hole. EVERYTHING!! In exactly 7 minutes Dillon had arrived at my house. We decided to have a C.P. (cereal party) like we had done many times before, only this time we soaked it in, took in every breath..and of coarse we ate the "norm" Capt N' Crunch and Trix -- what we could eat of it anyway. After that we played a game of pool, where we had made so many memories before. And unfortunately he beat me..(like always, but I was just being nice). After that, we drove over to the mall and took pictures in the photo booth. By this time it was almost 11:00 and that's when we were meeting his parents for lunch! Dillon chose to eat at 5 guys Burgers and Fries. PERFECT place to eat!! It was soo good! Then from there, we had to head home to say our goodbyes. I will never forget that feeling, sitting in the car, heart beating, holding my best friends hand..SO tightly!! We had been dreading this day ever since I could remember. Tears streaming down our faces.. It was such a melancholy feeling. We were so happy, so happy to be in this together. So happy that we are both going to grow so much, and so happy this would be our last goodbye and knowing after we get through these next two years, it is only up hill from there. But it was SO SO hard seeing the one I love walk away not knowing what would cross our paths over these two years, and so hard to say goodbye..I mean, I already missed him and he was holding me in his arms! But we both love The Lord so much and have so much faith that we KNOW this is what he is supposed to be doing and KNOW how much it will bless us for the rest of our lives together. Two years does not even come close to comparing to eternity. We have to keep an eternal perspective. I love my best friend and can't wait for the day he we can holds hands, look each other in the eyes and know we did it. Know we did it the right way.

The Farewell.

Dillon did an AMAZING job on his talk!! Okay well like he says, my opinion doesn't matter because its obviously a little biased --which might be true -- but in all honesty he did so good! The topic he was assigned was the restoration. And it was hand written! If that doesn't tell you how hard working and sincere his talk was, I don't know what does! I wish I had a copy of it to share, but I don't, so I will tell you a couple things I do remember, 1). He called BK his sister! 2). He claimed to be the favorite child! 3). He is SO ready!! He might not believe it now, but I saw a glimpse of my missionary! After the farewell he held an open house at his house for his friends and family to come and say their goodbyes. I have NEVER seen so many people in one place At one time! By 6:00 Dill was dying!! He was hungry and sick of talking, but he kept on going, clear until 9:30! I don't know how he did it! I made it through the day with out any tears, I thought I was doing good...until everyone left and then BOOM!! Like a ton of bricks I realized my best friend would be gone for two years. Two years??! That's a long time.. I couldn't hold back anymore..here comes the tears..

Our Bucket List.

While Dillon was going to school at Utah State, I received this paper in the mail titled "Things to do with Meg before I Leave" and this little piece of paper soon became what we lived by, our goal was to cross off everything on his list before he would report the the MTC on Wednesday January 16, 2013.

• Go to Kolob and Find Our Tree

Back in August, Dill and I decided to go to Kanarraville Falls, hiking, and somewhere down the road we took a wrong turn and ended up on top of Kolob. After driving around for sometime wondering how could we have gotten so carried away singing, talking and just enjoying each others company, we pulled over and carved "Meg + Dill" in our tree in the pouring rain. It was PERFECT!! Evey girls dream right? Being with your dream man in the woods, carving your name in a tree, while its pouring rain! SO PERFECT (but only because HE was there)

    Now it being January makes it almost impossible to get to our tree with the roads being snowy and all, but that did not stop us.. we HAD to get there one last time before he leaves to burry our time capsule. So we packed up in my truck and headed out--not knowing what we were getting our selves into. About 200 feet up the mountain, the snow started to get thicker and thicker, and my tires on my little truck definitely we not made for the snow. If any of you know Dillon, he can do ANYTHING and thinks he is INVINCIBLE--and I totally agree-- so we kept heading up the mountain. By this time I am TERRIFIED!! I can just see us, sliding off the mountain into the valley..and boom..before we know it...squashed!! Dillon could see the terror in my eyes so he kindly offers to say a prayer, so he does and after that, things got a whole lot better. We decided to turn around and head back down the Mountain of Death as I now call it. We safely made it back to St. George and had to hide our time capsule some place else! We did not quite make it to our tree, but its the thought that counts, right?

• Go Clay Pigeon Shooting

• Shoot Meg's Bow 

• Texas Road House  Texas Roadhouse has always been one of mine and Dill's most favorite places to eat! BUT that is only when he doesn't torture me and make me ride the saddle.

• Hot Tub 

Dillon LOVES to hot tub, in fact he LIVES to hot tub, so New Years Eve his dream finally came true! We went to the movie with my family and saw 'Parental Guidance' which is a MUST see, then we met up with his family at the high school and harassed Aspen and her friends playing dodge ball and then after that Dill finally got to hot tub! --> he's so darn cute!

New Years Eve 2012

•  Watch Movies 

Before Dillon leaves he had a list of movies he wanted to watch, we only got to a few of them.

1). Second Hand Lions

2). Tangled

3). The Proposal

4). Valentines Day

5). Christmas Vacation

• Make a Ginger Bread House

 (He even showed up with FLOWERS and my favorite CHOCOLATE)

• Go in the Tunnels in the School

• Shoot Hoops
• Fishing in the Dark

The Call.

Dear Elder Hurt:
 
You are hereby called to serve as a missionary of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day saints. You are assigned to labor in the...

Alright, so lets back track to November 14, 2011--THE CALL-- I can remember this day like it was yesterday..the anticipation, the mixed emotion, and the nerves, all going at once. I knew this was going to be a big day, that would change both mine and Dillon's life forever. All the thoughts of where the lord would call him, what language would he speak, and most importantly when would he leave? Dillon, being a year older than me in school was going to Utah State University at the time, loving it. After what seemed like an eternity of sitting in class Dillon ran to the mail box only to find a cute little envelope waiting with the words printed ELDER HURT and a stamp of $1.70. Within seconds he had me dialed on the phone with excitement, I can remember that conversation word for word (like most conversations we share together). And shortly after that he had made his call a necklace and wore it around his neck all day--in fear it might get up and run away while he wasn't looking--When six o' clock finally rolled around it was time to open his call...but with him being 700 miles away in the freezing weather of Logan, we had to Skype. I, along with Dill's family and some of his close friends gathered at the high school to try and watch him on a bigger screen, but with our luck, things just couldn't go right. Shellie not knowing locked her keys inside her car, with the video camera and the sound on the computer was not working. With Shellie scrambling to find keys and Paul trying to figure out another way to watch, and Dillon and his friends on the other side of the computer chanting "Open it!! Open it!!" There was just too much confusion and Dillon opened his call. When we finally got the I Pad working and everyone settled in a room, it was too late. Us here in St. George missed it. We had missed him opening his Mission call. This has to be a joke, right? That is what i though too..but nope..this was NO joke. We had missed it. But that it besides the fact, soon after the realization that he had opened it with his mom there he quickly re-read his call...

Dear Elder Hurt:

You are hereby called to serve as a missionary of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day saints. You are assigned to labor in the West Virginia Charleston Mission. It is anticipated that you will serve for a period of 24 Months.

You should report to the Provo Missionary Training center on Wednesday, January 16, 2013. You will prepare to preach the gospel in the English language. Your assignment may be modified according to the needs of the mission president.

 My brain was going a million miles per hour, I was so overwhelmed all the anticipation... all my questions had been answered. West Virginia.. WEST VIRGINIA. WEST VIRGINIA!!! I soon came to realize that West Virginia was the most PERFECT place on all of Planet Earth for my best friend.