Michael's first snail mail 2/7/13

Thank you all for the letters.  It seemed like every pocket I opened, something else fell out! (Mom interjection: Aimee did put a note in every white shirt pocket, and Lindsay hid a note in his ties.)  Thank you for the encouragement, it means a lot to me.

So after Day 1, overwhelmed doesn't even begin to describe how I feel.  While the thought of 2 years of this makes me feel a little nauseous, the thought of being at home makes me even more sick. 


So after we got all our stuff dropped off, we went and met our District.  There are 12 of us, 8 Elders and 4 Sisters.  But my companion didn't show up, so I had to hang out with the other guys that are in my room.  One is from Pleasant Grove, UT and plays football for BYU.  We were told that we are the first group on the 2 week plan, so we will be headed for California on the 19th, I think.

One thing I found interesting was on our certification card it says, "This certifies that Elder Michael Jeffrey Gardanier... is a duly ordained minister of the Gospel...", and then at the end right above President Monson's signature it says, "We invite all people to heed his message."  I thought that was really powerful.

There are so many things I wish I could write, but I am short on time.  Hopefully I will be able to answer all your questions and better explain what it is like, but right now I haven't really grasped it other than the fact that we eat dinner way early (4:15)!! (Mom: At college he use to eat around 10 PM.)

Anyways I love all of you so much and miss you already!  Thanks again for all the support! I really appreciate it!  Don't stop the party on my account.  I don't thnk I will be able to eamil until later next week...:\ But letters I can answer anytime!  I love you tons!  Keep smiling, I think I can do this.

(Michael signed his name by pencil rubbing over his name tag.)