first email

This Was Kolton's First Email.  We received it Saturday July 9th.  so good to hear from him.  We also received a letter in the mail on Monday.  We have sent him many letters through www.dearelder.com  he gets those daily and enjoys hearing from everyone. 

I NEED SHIRTS! just shirts to wear around, darker shirts mostly, I want to keep my laundry down to darks and whites. Also, I forgot my watch (but you probably knew that already.) I also need some church pants, I only have one pair. I'll send a letter today, the bookstore opens at 10:00 so i can buy stamps then and send a letter. So far, this place is awesome. The language classes are a little overwhelming, my teachers won't speak a word of English to us. But we've had two and a half days of language classes and already I can say good morning, evening, etc. and ask how people are doing.  Today we're going to practice bearing our testimonies in Tagalog.

They take good care of us here, and I love both my roommates (For some reason there is three of us, nobody can seem to answer why.) Elder Stokes is from Ogden, UT and Elder Frearson is from New Zealand. He has an accent thicker than a Jamba Juice smoothie. Some people he talks to ask if he's speaking English.

We get 50 minutes of gym time each day, usually we play volleyball, tonight we might play soccer. Every morning so far I've woken up and thought "Ugh... Another day of the MTC" but the days go by at an incredible rate. I think the mountains have some sort of pull on the speed of time in Provo. I also think when the world ends, everyone who is going to be saved will come to Provo. Well, I got your letters, and the DearElder program can only take so much on each page, so the second letter you sent turned out to be three individual letters, and everyone in my district thought I had a fan club. Masarap ang pangaik! (The food is delicious!)

I love you,

    Elder Williams

Address

This Address is for the MTC.  We found that www.dearelder.com is a great service to use!  It is FREE but we ask if you use it often to please donate.  You can use it for the MTC and once he is on his mission. Kolton would love to hear from you.  As most of you know his time is limited so be aware he will not have as much time to write you back. 


Elder Kolton Williams
Philippines Angeles Mission
Box 182
Provo Missionary Training Center
2005 N 900 E
Provo UT 84604



Elder Kolton Williams
Philippines Angeles Mission
POB 30150
Salt Lake City UT 84130-0150

This address is only for postcards and letters.  You can also write a letter on www.dearelder.com and they will get it into the pouch system.

MTC Pictures and Memories

I feel like I need to start off by saying a few things about this blog.  I am not going to make this blog private as long as I feel like it is safe.  We have so many family members and friends around the world I want them to be able to hear and see the experiences Elder Williams is having.  Some of these posts may have personal experiences and emotions from our family or from Elder Williams.  Please be respectful of our lives and our feelings along this journey.  For those of you that may be reading this who are not LDS understand these are our beliefs and our intentions are not to offend you and we hope you will not make light of our beliefs.  We want to turn this blog into a book when Kolton returns home so please feel free to comment.

Yesterday was a very difficult but spiritual experience.  The drive from Idaho Falls to Salt Lake City was quiet.  From Salt Lake to Provo felt like minutes it went by so fast.   We arrived in Provo Utah at 11:00 AM.and knew soon we would have to leave him at the MTC.  We spent time together as a family walking around the Provo temple grounds and the botanical gardens at BYU and taking final pictures.  We got the chance to talk to a few families who were also sending off missionaries. It was interesting to hear the different stories.  It made us realize every mission experience is unique.  These moments were very precious to us and we will never forget them.  Our time to arrive at the MTC was 12:30. As we pulled in you could feel the spirit coming from the MTC.  The sidewalks are lined with missionaries waving and making you feel welcome. Kelly commented that at least all the Elders and Sisters look happy. The 3 missionaries that greeted us were so very nice and understanding, we were thankful for their patience with us.  It is very difficult to send your only son down the sidewalk with tears in his eyes knowing he will miss us as much as we miss him.  Nothing more needs to be said about this experience the pictures tell the story.

 Sorry it is upside down.

MTC

Just a quick post.  Elder Williams entered the MTC today at 12:20 today.  Many tears were shed and it was hard to let him go because we knew we were sending our Boy who will return a man.  I know he was sad to leave us but excited to start this new life.  I will post more of the experience and pictures in a few days. 

Farewell

What an amazing weekend.  Kolton ran his last race and give his mission talk in the same weekend.  Saturday June 25th were able to run the to Bone and Back relay race together as a family. On Sunday June 26th Kolton gave his mission farewell talk.  We then had lunch at our home and served about 150 people.  It was awesome to see everyone and feel the love from those who could not attend.

I just want to thank all our Family and Friends for the great support and love you have shown Kolton and us over the last few months.  It has been such a spiritual journey for our entire family.
Love the Williams Family.

Final month countdown and shopping

It is hard to believe the MTC date is coming up so quickly.  Last week Kolton and I went shopping.  Who does not love a good shopping trip with a high price tag.  Our grand total was $825.00 with more stuff to buy! 
Suit  (Check)
10 white shirts (Check)
2 pairs of shoes (ordered)
and the list goes on....

I just wish I would have taken pictures of our shopping.  I know Kolton went in thinking it was going to be a long and painful shopping trip but was surprised it was so easy.  We are down to the final week of college.  Thursday we move him home and head to the next chapter in our lives. Saturday he will go through the temple to take out his endowments.  I think it will be a long few days.

We were given advice from our former bishop and I really took it to heart.  "Enjoy every minute, it will be over before you know it"  I have taken that to heart and started to see things differently.  We only get to do this once so we need to enjoy every minute.

Preperations and priceless memories

May 6, 2011...2 more months.  Seems like time is flying by!  We are in the excitement phase of the mission call. It has been fun to hear stories of other missionaries that have served in the Philippines.  Our uncle Jim Passey actually served in the same mission that Kolton is going to.  We are excited to spend time with him and hear stories from his mission.

We were given advice last year from a neighbor to get Kolton his shots before he turned 18.  What a blessing!  The only shot he needs to get is Typhoid.  That has really made things easier.  I can't imagine trying to get him shots with him living so far away in a super small town. 

Getting the passport and visa taken care of has been a little tricky with Kolton living out of state.  We got the passport paperwork done and the first visa applications done while he was home for spring break.   The Church asks that you expedite the passport so their are no delays leaving the MTC on time. ($175 later) OUCH!  It did show up in 2 weeks!!  Then we were faced with the signature dilemma.  Do we send the passport Fed-ex so he can sign it and send it to the Church or do we wait a few weeks for Kelly to go over to his Track Meet? We decided to wait and have Kelly take it over because we needed the 2nd visa application signed and notarized.  I made arrangements with a friend to help Kelly and Kolton find a notary public in Boise.  Everything was falling into place and papers will be on the way.
Sunday night I was getting all the paperwork together.  Part of the paperwork is sending a copy of the passport along with the passport. After examining the copy of the passport I realize Kolton did not sign it.  UUGHHH!  I ended up sending the passport Fed-ex to him anyway  ($26) ...I guess I should have sent a checklist with Kelly.  Visa (CHECK) Passprt signed (UNCHECK).

I can now say the last of the paperwork is officially done!!!  Now on to spending lots of money!