Scott

                                                                                     Written Oct 15, 2013
That is so cool that you can use Google earth!! My House is in between 5th and 6th street on Glenn. It is a little yellow house with a covered porch. Our church is the only LDS church in Danville, and it is a little ways away, but not too bad. We are on carshare, so every other week we have a car, and the other weeks the sisters in our mission have the car. it works out pretty good. Our car is so nice though! Its a VW jetta. 2013 and it only has around 2,000 miles on it! Its so nice! But we do bike and walk alot cause we only have 750 miles and our area is pretty big plus we have to go down to Charlotte this month and that is about 300 miles or so.

I'm glad that Sadie and Jori both got my letters! hopefully Amanda did too! haha. I was hoping I would get some letters from them today so that I could not have to wait till next week, but oh well.

That is sad to hear all of that about football this week. That stinks that we lost all of them this week, but I hope that they are able to work hard and to do really good this next week! I can't wait to hear how they do. It is something that I really look forward to each week is finding out how the football games went. I am always bragging about how well we are doing this year. that is so great!!  Alot of the people here are black, and their standard of living is very low. All of their homes are very small, and not very well taken care of. most of them do not take very good care of themselves either. Drinking and smoking are one of the biggest problems here. For example, we visited a man and his two brothers one day, and we had no desire to go into their home it was so bad. You could smell it from the stairs leading up to the house. One of them sat in a rocking chair on the front porch and he was drunk. The other brother sat next to him in his own chair. His name is Scott, and he is the one that we came to see. He doesn't live with his brothers, he just takes care of them. He is the only one with a job so he makes them food and basically keeps them alive. One brother I have still yet to seen yet because he is always in the house asleep because he is sick. I guess he has a giant abscess on his face that is really swollen and infected. Scott made him go to the hospital, and the doctor prescribed him just a antibiotic that would take care of it and if he kept it clean and took those, it would heal and be fine. but, he is always too drunk to go and get his prescription, and he can't afford it either because all of his money that he gets every month just goes to him getting alcohol and cigarettes. It is almost heartbreaking to see these people like this. So, I had an idea. before I left you gave me those Z-Packs so I thought I will give him one of these Z-Packs if he will promise us that he will be sober for one day and that he would read the Book of Mormon every day that he is taking these pills and and that we would promise him that if he would, that he would be healed and be fine. We would give him these pills if on one day he would be sober. Unfortunately, we talked to Sis. Craven about it and she said even though she would love for us to be able to help him, we could not give him the pills because it was too much liability. 

I am so excited about you running that 5K though!! you have no idea. I am so proud of you! that is so cool that you have been training, and I know that if you give it everything you have and put your trust in god you can do it. With god on your side you can do anything. their are so many stories in the book of Mormon and especially in the first 20 chapters of Alma that testify of this principle. Time and time again the righteous are taken to war with the wicked and even though the righteous are smaller, they have the lord with them and he preserves them for another day. They are always victorious in their quest because they have faith in their god.

 That is cool that Elder Thomas is a trainer. I know that it is possible that i
I could be a trainer after 3 months. it has happened before haha. but I know whatever happens the lord will prepare us for and he will help us rise to our calling. 1 Nephi 3:7 "and I Nephi said unto my father I will go and do the things which the lord hath commanded for I know that the lord givith no commandment unto the children of men save he shall prepare a way that they may accomplish the thing which he hath commanded them" have faith that you can do it and do your best, and the lord will make it possible. That is cool that you are both in the Gospel Principles class. That is the class. that we go to every Sunday as well. Thank you for the pictures! That is so good to see all of that and it made me so happy! The way that you sent them was great!

 The clay family is so awesome. they remind me of our family and the Grover family put together. He is a firefighter. We were able to go out to their house for dinner this Sunday night with the sisters, and it was alot of fun. They have a son who is out on his mission right now, and he has been out for about a year. But he tore his ACL and lateral something else so he is coming him this next transfer. So, they are all getting ready for that and making their home into a little MTC so that he can stay in missionary mode and get back out into the field as soon as possible. He will also be called as a ward missionary as soon as he is released from being a full time one so he will come out with us quite a bit probably which will be good. They also have two other sons that are about Andy and Cris's age, and them a daughter about 7ish. They are a great family, and we have fun with them. We feel very loved by them.

I love you all, and i look forward to next Monday. work hard at home, and know that i will be working hard here. thank you for the package too! it was so great! I'm surprised that it got here so fast. haha but I love ya"ll and know that I'm proud of you. Thank you! 

Love, Elder Jorgensen

Matt's Farewell

Matt's Farewell was such a wonderful day. I was so excited for Matt that I couldn't even be emotional. I was nervous for him but excited. It was September 15th 2013. Our meeting started at 11:00. We actually got there a little early and many people we knew and love were already there. It was so fun to see all the people come to support Matt. We sat in the chapel and they had chairs set up like usual in the gym. 5-7 rows of chairs. By the time the meeting started the chairs were gone and they set up more and went to classrooms to find more. Our neighbor is the ward clerk and he said we had about 150 more people in attendance that day than usual. All of Matt's football coaches came. People who used to be in the ward but have since moved away were there. Family and Friends. Such Great friends!  So much love for him.   Matt spoke first and did a Fabulous job!! I just wanted to sit and soak up his spirit. I held it together very well till we sang "Called to Serve" at the close. It's been a couple years since I sang that song without tears and I expect it to be many more before I ever do again.  So many people to talk to afterward and I'm sure so many we missed. Then Lots of people came to the house to visit and eat. It was wonderful! The day was warm with a threat of  rain. So we were able to eat outside and the kids ran and played some football.  We figured about 130-150 people came over it was so great to talk and visit and share. So many Great friends!!

These were the only pictures I got that day. It was almost evening and the Williams girls came to just hang out and play ball for a few. It was perfect! Wish I had gotten more pictures of the people and the day.

Opening Matt's call

 Matt and Jarrod Cook

 You are Hearby called to:

 Serve in the North Carolina Charlotte Mission. He enters the MTC in Provo on September 18, 2013

 Andy, Cris, Danny and Marceen Ferguson, Matt and Sadie Marley

 Bishop and Tandy Sutton

Onda K and Heather Hayes

 Marceen and Danny and Adam Hayes

Jori Ball and Jarrod Cook

Danny and Matt

 Matt and Cris

Conner, Abby and Josey Grover

Matt and Sadie Marley, Tresa Sorensen

So on Sunday Evening, July 30th Matt invited some of his close friends over and some close ward members he wanted to share the moment with. Grandma Call was on Facetime. I bought a map a few days before and we had everyone guess where they thought he would go while we were waiting for every one to arrive. Matt guessed Atlanta Georgia. It was funny his Dad and I both guessed foreign.Matt had so many there to support him, So many that were so excited for him. Our family room was overflowing!
I had made pies for refreshments. It was a great time.

Before the Call

So in all my excitement to get this blog up and running I neglected to post about right before Matt's call came and his Farewell. So I will break it up in to two posts.
Matt submitted his papers on Sunday night, June 16th. It was Father's day. President Foster said it was taking about 2 1/2 -3 weeks to get calls back. We had a packed couple of weeks planned. We left late at night Thursday the 20th for Seattle with the 3 oldest. Matt drove to Grammy Call's with me that morning and she watched Nate, Paxten, and Keasa while we were gone. Couldn't have done it with out her.  It was better than I ever could have imagined. Shane and I had so much fun watching those 3 interact and be brothers. I'm so glad we made that happen and wouldn't trade those 4 crazy packed days for anything!

 This was right in front of Pikes Place. (They had all just gotten new Oakleys and wanted to show them off.) This was Matt's favorite place. I think we went there 3 times in 3 days. We seen all the levels and all the shops.

 This was at the top of the Space Needle. We bought the city pass so we went up in the day and at night. Oh how I Love these boys!!

This was in front of the Gum Wall. It was under Pikes Place. Gross but cool.
 We came home at like 4 am on the 25th and the boys left for Encampment at 8am. I left to get Nate and the kids that afternoon. On the 27th I got the mail and there was Matt's call. As I pulled the envelope out I thought to myself "his call will come in an envelope like this."  I had no Idea that's what it was. As I looked at it I knew I was holding sacred paper. I cried and called Shane. Not 10 min had gone by and Matt called. I couldn't believe it. He wasn't supposed to use his phone at Encampment and what was I going to say? I think it went something like this- M- Hey. Me- Hey whats up? M- hmmm is my call there? Me- what?  Aaaahhh How did you know? I just barely pulled it out of the mailbox. M-hmmm ok Pres. Foster just talked to me and said it left Salt Lake Sunday.  (WOW a week to issue and send his call. Heavenly Father totally knew where he was going. He just needed Matt to be ready.) Me- ok so when so you want to open it? Matt- well I have to work Saturday and won't be home till Sunday Morning, so how about Sunday evening? Me- yep I think that works best. Are you scared? M- a little. Me- ok see ya soon Love you. M- Love you too.

I wouldn't have traded that time before we opened his call for anything in the World!! It was the perfect place as a Mom. I knew in that instance everything was perfect, He was worthy and about to be a preparing full time Missionary for the Lord. But my world hadn't changed yet, I knew the moment he opened that call Everything would change. I loved the Lull!

Pictures from the Mission Home

October 7, 2013

We think these are all the missionaries that came in with Matt.

                                                          This is Pres. and Sis. Craven.

                                            Elder Mathue Jorgensen at the Mission Home

Danville, VA

                                                                                           October7, 2013

I agree. I would have loved to talk more, but there were only three phones, and 25 of us flying to Charlotte. but its okay. at first I didn't really like it here, but I'm liking it more and more. i think the hardest part so far in not knowing anyone and trying to remember their names. I'm so bad at remembering names! President and sister Craven are so nice and wonderful! they love us all so much, and they are so spiritual. they are not only interested in making good missionary's, but making good men and women. one of their favorite sayings is "today, tomorrow, and forever" like...no matter how hot it is outside, you should never roll your sleeves up. that's a today, tomorrow, and forever principal. I am in a companionship in Danville, Virginia. my companions name is Elder Latalu-lokeni. he is Samoan and he is from Utah. he is 25 and a great trainer. I have learned so much from him already! I haven't noticed the humidity too much yet. it has gotten a little hot during the day, but not too bad.

As for being prepared for this, I don't think you can really anticipate exactly what it will be like. not that that's a bad thing, its just different from anything you have ever done. the biggest thing that i think would help the most is to do everything in seminary that you can. Don't just read the Book of Mormon, but study it and know the stories and what are in it. a huge thing that would help them so much is to have all the scripture masteries memorized and to know where they are!! I think besides having read the Book of Mormon is to know those. When we go into someones home, or we meet someone on the street, we need to share a message that will help them with the problems they are facing in their lives. If we can do that through the book of Mormon we can more easily let the spirit touch them, and better help them. but if they have a question about faith, and we don't know that in Alma 32:21 it says that faith is not to have a perfect knowledge of things, we cant share that with them, and the spirit cant touch them. even though we are promised that in the very hour that we need it our mouths will be filled, if the spirit has nothing to pull from, how can it fill our mouths? 

and you will be happy to know that I have brushed my teeth every morning and night without fail! Also, my address is: 1609 glenn street, Danville Virginia 24540. we have a house to live in instead of an apartment :)

Thank you so much dad!! i love you so much!! That is so cool that they are starting that construction! where will the new ones be? in that torn up area kinda by your shop? and that is such a good idea for the heating! it sounds like a very conservative and useful use of their resources. will it generate alot of power? do you loose some of the effectiveness of the steam because of the turban?

Of course i think it is okay that you are doing this 5K thing! i think it is so cool, and it inspires me to do more! every morning we have workouts for 30min, and i don't really like doing that, but i have new found commitment to it knowing that you are working hard back home, i will work just as hard here to stay in shape and even when im tired or hurting, we will keep going and talking to people and spreading the truth. thank you so much for that!! i love you so much!! 

That is such a crazy firewood story, but that is so cool!! i cant believe that there is that much wood out back now! have they started to split and stack it yet? and yes, i can receive and sent pictures. i would love some of those pictures! 

thank you all so much for all of your prayers and everything headed my way! its so nice, and i love you all! its been slightly discouraging because i went on two exchanges my first week here in Danville, and it seems like thus far we having accomplished anything yet. i haven't even taught one lesson yet. our area in kind of dead right now, and we have no progressing investigators. but that's okay, don't worry. that just means that we have a lot of work to get done, and lots of people to talk to. Elder L and i have both made it our goal to kill it this week! we are going to work hard and help the spirit bring at least 10 people unto Christ this week! I'm so excited to finally be able to get to work this week, and feel like we are actually getting something done. i read the account of President Hinckley, and how he wrote home and said that he felt like he was wasting his time and his dads money but his dad said "forget yourself and go to work, and that was really good for me to hear. its time for me to forget myself and go to work.

Love you all!!

Elder Jorgensen

On Tue, Oct 1, 2013 at 1:13 AM,

Hey Elder Matt,
Boy it was so great to talk to you this morning! 9 minutes wasn't enough but I guess 90 wouldn't have been enough either. It was good to hear your voice. Paxten and Keasa loved talking to you as well. Your brothers were still asleep and there wasn't time to wake them, but we had talked the night before and this morning, They send all of their love and support. They were glad to here you sounded good and were excited.  I hope you loved flying. Paxten wanted to know how big your plane was. I told him it was huge. :)  Well your there now, a full time Ambassador of the Lord starting the service you have been prepared for. You will be Amazing!! We hope the next year and 11 1/2 months go by as fast as the last week did for you. ;) You will have to tell us all about the Mission home and Pres. Craven and his wife.  I'm sure they are nice. Are you in a companionship or a 3some? who is your trainer and where is he from?  Hows the humidity? Send us an address where we can send mail and packages ASAP.
Talon's farewell was yesterday, we went.people love you! He did a good job
So I forgot to ask you about your FB while you were on the phone. I would still like to clean it up and  check it for you. I don't know if you can remember what the new password you entered was or if you'll have to reset it. The thing is you can't access that email account to do anything. So I guess just let me know what you can that would be Awesome!!  
The game Friday was good we kind of told you about it on the phone, I want to give you all the details you want without making you homesick or feeling left out. Cris's senior year when you are here is going to Rock! Rigby is going to stay on top for awhile. We didn't play as well as we had the week before but the attitude has changed to a win no matter what instead of we can't pull this off.  "So what. Now what" is really making a difference. Refs, bad plays, so what, now what. Andy says the over all attitude of the players is better. they pick each other up and are better friends on and off the field. The score was 21-19. Drew Zagula carried the ball well and got one touch down. Hayden and Landon Larsen connected a few times a couple were Very pretty. 2 were  TDs.  Century had 2 or 3 quarterbacks. one could scramble, one could pass and one to hand off. it really kept our defense on its toes. But Norm totally handled it. We blocked a couple of PAT's and a crutcial punt. It was 18-19 at this point.  on the final drive Hayden put the ball in the middle of the field so Alan Caudillo could kick a field goal Then we drew Century off sides. so instead of kicking 27 yards they moved 5 yards closer. He nailed it no problem. It was also Alan's birthday! cool present! There was about 2 min left on the clock then so we defended 4 more downs then just stalled the min that was left. Hayden ran for 56 yards and completed 14 of 22 passes.  So this week we play Madison should be a good game- they are yet to win. Ririe got beat by firth last week 59-7. Their new coach isn't working out so well. ;)
I F beat Skyline in the emotion bowl 44-22. IF is really good this year. Bonneville is the only other team at 4A that is really good this year.  Blackfoot doesn't have much either.
Saturday we went and got wood. We went with Sorensen's and it was kinda fun. We filled Doug's big trailer then got about 3 rows in Floyd's dump trailer. There isn't much dead stuff left up there. We went a little further up than before and a lot of the land on one side is privately owned. And a mile or 2 further you run out of forest. it is just open ground and hills. We were suprised. So next year we will be hunting for a different place to go. But while we were waiting for Dad and Doug to fall a couple of trees, a guy drove up and said he had some ground on the other side that he was clearing an we could have all the wood he had already cut and didn't need. So Dad finished and Doug went and cut up about 1/2 a cord. Then the guy told them he would be back next week end and he would haul out all we wanted to cut. So we are going back up  this weekend to try and fill both trailers with some that's a little easier to get.  See blessings are already coming. ;)
Mrs. Thurber said to tell you Hi and that you did a Great job training Raina. She said they are in good hands till you come back. :)
I guess I'm walking/running my first 5K with Aunt Kara in 2 weeks. Think I can train as fast as you did?? ;0 I'm not a runner, as you know, but I told you before if you can do hard things so can I, and this is a Stretch for me! But I really hope to get better.  We are so Proud of you!!
I'm excited for conference this week end. I find it hard to believe that it was a year ago that Pres. Monson made that historic announcement that changed the age. And now look you are already serving. Wow what a difference a year makes. I find it a little exciting that you are out right now and that I have a piece of the almost 80,000 servants of the Lord. AMAZING!! and Awesome!!
I know your time is limited and I don't want to suck it all up with you reading. We are all fine. Love you so much. I hope your brothers get their emails off before your p-day. Can't wait to hear how you are and all about your first few days. Have you heard from others?

We Love you so much and pray for you every minute of  everyday! You are never far from our thoughts. Work hard and Brush your teeth! We Love you So much!
Love
Mom and Dad and Fam 

FB nightmare

                                                                                                              October 3,2013
So, i cant remember what i changed my facebook password to. I've spent like the past two days trying to think of what it might be, and i have tried so many things. can you think of it? and ideas or hints would be great! i thought i wrote it down somewhere by the computer for you maybe? idk. i would reset it, but because my facebook is connected to jorgensen7@q.com i cant access that email any more, therefore it wont let me do anything. thanks so much! talk to you Monday.

Letter from Pres. Craven

Thursday, 3 October 2013  
 
 
 
Dear Loved Ones of Elder Mathue Shane Jorgensen,
 
  Your son has arrived in the North Carolina Charlotte Mission. 

 He  has been assigned an outstanding companion

 to help him  grow and 

develop as a missionary.  

The people of North Carolina are wonderful and the 

members of the church 

love the missionaries. 

 We will work hard as a mission to assist him to 

become a successful servant

 of our Heavenly Father. 
 
  Your son will be serving in the Danville Ward area with

 Elder Lyle Letalu-Lokeni.
 
  You may send letters and packages to him at the following 

address until you

 have been notified otherwise:
 
1609 Glenn St.Danville, VA 24541USA 
 
  We love your son and look forward to serving with him.
 
 
 
 Sincerely,
 
 
 
Ronald L. Craven
 
President
 
 

Your Missionary has arrived.

Dear Parents,                                                                    Sept. 30, 2013

Your missionary arrived safely in our mission today.  We are grateful for the sacrifice and hard work that has brought them to help serve the Lord in our mission. 

Pictures will be taken at the mission offices and a copy of that picture along with the name of their trainer companion and apartment address will be emailed to you within the next two weeks.

With Love,

Sister Andrus, Secretary
North Carolina Charlotte Mission

Travel plans

I fly out this Monday at 7:10am. i fly into Atlanta at 12;47 their time, and then fly into Charlotte at 2:49 their time.

First P-day

hey everyone!!

today is my fist and only P-day here at the MTC. i am at the west campus of the MTC, and i am so grateful that i am. everyone here is so wonderful and nice. our teachers are amazing! my testimony has been able to grow so much. it has been hard, and we have alot of work to do even here. time management is so important. we are given between 2-6 hours of personal and companion study and planning every day. at first that was boring and hard to figure out how to use wisely, but now we find ourselves wishing that we had more. we have two investigators that we are teaching right now. their names are margaly and annie. they are wonderful, and so different in their individual needs. we pray for them every day, and both are steadily progressing. margaly has accepted the invitation to follow Christ and to be baptized and to receive the holy ghost. but the law of chastity seems to be holding her back. we hope and pray that we can help her make this important decision in her life. annie is very knowledgeable, and i think she believes everything that we have taught her so far. but because of family issues, she is also hesitant. but i can tell she wants to believe it, and she wants to follow her Savior.

i have been getting your dear elders, and also your packages. it is so nice to be able to receive mail every day. the cookies were amazing, and we all sat down and shared our food last night. i love the elders and sisters in my district. they are so wonderful and i have learned so much from them. elder Schoenfeld is my companion and he is great. i could not have asked for a better companion. his testimony is so strong, and he is the only member in his family. we have an elder in our zone who is the only member of his family as well, but he has only been a member for 18 months. he is so great. on Sunday i was asked to give one of the talks in sacrament meeting, and that was cool. it was on enduring to the end. you should read 2 nephi 31:20. it us a great scripture about enduring to the end. we have also been able to give three blessings so far, and that was way cool. we have learned so much about how the spirit talks to you, and how to listen. the biggest and one of the only ways to learn here is through receiving revelation for yourself and the others that you have keys over. the Book of Mormon and prayer are the two biggest ways to receive that revelation.

i have received my travel plans. i fly out the 30th at i believe around 7:00am. i don't have those with me, but i will mail you a letter with those details. i feel like i have figured out the routine now. the first days were so long and hard, but we have adjusted and have it pretty much figured out now. the days are flying by much faster now. 

thank you everyone for your prayers. 

Andy: i am so glad to hear that your date went well and that we are winning still!! kick but this week! the time will fly by, so use every moment to get better. you are amazing. pay attention in seminary. when you get here, you will wish you had every ounce of knowledge that you could get. i have had to study the doctrine so much. Be good and remember who you are and what you stand for.

Cris: good job in your game. good luck with this one. pull off a win for me. the advice above isn't just for Andy. it goes for all of you. and you better do it. you had all better have the book of Mormon read before i get home, or you leave on your mission. that will help you so much. i love it here, and everyone is so great. i hope you all get sent to this west campus as well. there is construction all around us, and everything is always changing. we do alot of walking, but it is good. the spirit that is here is so strong. its like getting to live in the temple. i miss you all too, and know i love you all. it is great here, and pretty fun. just alot of work. but it is all worth it.

Nate: decide now that you want to serve a mission, and go for it. heavenly father will prepare you. your strong. i know your doing great in football too, and keep up the hard work. do it for me. the ntc is great. i kinda wish i could stay here. we learn so much.

Paxten and Keasa: i love you both, and i hope your being good for mommy and daddy! that's so awesome that you are doing so good in school. i want you to help them read the scriptures every day, and say prayer every day too! be good, and i will see you in a few.

thank you dad! i know what you said is true about the priesthood. we have already been able to give three blessings. one of those i gave to our district leader. one was to a sister in our district that was just having a really tough time. and one to one of our investigators. the spirit speaks to us continually, and we have learned how to better listen and receive that revelation. thank you for the example that you have set for me. one of the elders really struggled with giving a blessing, but because of what you have taught me, i was able to do it just fine. thank you for that. you have done well, and taught me well.  

 i read i scripture in D&C 100. its verse two, and i really liked it, and it comforted me. its a great verse, and i know it is true. Sundays are so amazing for us. they are just as busy as the other days, but its also a day to re-charge. we were so tired Saturday, but Sunday came, and we were rejuvenated and l know it helped our souls. most amazing day of the week. also, margally came to Church with us, and she loved it. Sunday we mostly have meetings and alot of study time in our class rooms. we also meet with our branch presidency. 

p.s. margaly and annie are real people, but not real investigators. they are our practice investigators. but, to us they are real, and we love them the same. we rejoice in their good decisions, and are devastated by their bad ones and when they don't follow through with commitments.   its getting colder here as well, and i had to buy a sweatshirt. buts its a cool one! we are rooming with one other companionship and they are great. the one companion is our district leader. everything is working great. i had a pair of pants rip on the side, but the alterations department took care of it for me. there is a big group of about 16 of us who will all fly together and who are all going to Charlotte. they are all in our branch. my companion is going to new york city north though. thank you for all your love and support. i love you all, and ill write you next p-day. if you could get me Tanner Fonnesbeck, Trent Stucki, and Jarrod Cooks emails that would be great. 

On Mon, Sep 23, 2013 at 12:05 AM

Hey Elder Jorgensen,
So I guess if your reading this its your first P-day! We all have a million questions but I know you don't have time to answer them all. I hope you have been getting our dearelder letters. Do you have your travel arrangements yet? I will send you a phone card this week. We need to know when to expect your call cuz everyone can't wait to hear your voice. If you have a lay over we can talk then too. Just need to know what to expect. :) So do you feel like you are figuring out the routine?

I'm grateful we could go to church today, even though it was hard without you, my spirit felt good. we got through it. I can see how each week we will look forward to that renewal more than before. It's nice to feel the spirit a little stronger. You are probably getting used to feeling it so much more.
I know you aren't the fastest typer and that you are limited on time, but try to give us all you can. :) It's true we really are hungry to hear from you, all of us.

We love you So very much- I wish there was a better way to convey it in a letter. We miss you every minute of the day but know so well this is where you should be. As I looked around church today and seen some of the men I know have served missions, I couldn't help but think Matt is going to Rock this! You will move mountains and touch so many hearts!! Keep working hard and know that we are praying for you always and Love you so much!!
WE Love you !!
Mom and Dad and Fam

Dear Elder Week 2

Hey Elder Matt,                                                                        Sept.23, 2013
Well its on to a new week. Crazy busy like always. Keasa has preschool Mon, Tue, and Thur. Today she has a dentist appt. right after. So I will mail your bedding to the mission home today. I will stop and get a phone card as well. Cris forgot his cleats this morning so I will take those to him. It really is constant around here. :) It's all good- busy is good! 
I can't get into your facebook. can you send me the email and password? I was still cleaning it up and it got closed. Almost everyday something new would pop up so I just kept deleting pics and blocking. but now I can't get back in. 
It is totally fall here. The nights and mornings are getting cold. There is just that feel in the air. 
I will probably do Andy's senior pics this week sometime. He said the dead line is the 10th of Oct. So I kinda need to hurry. They have all sorts of restrictions this year he said. Like they cant have props and it has to just be from the waist up. No real personality. So we will see what we come up with. 
Well it's on with the day. We love you so so much!!
WE Love you! Work hard!
Love You,
Mom and Dad

Dear Elder/ Skyline Game

Hey Elder Matt,                                                                     Sept. 21, 2013
We WON again!!!4-0!! 32-13. We started on D and saced the QB 3 times, backed them into our endzone. they punted it out and we scored on the very first offensive play. It was awesome!! we saced Zac 9 times in the first half. The refs were ok but we still had Way more penalties than they did. Andy played alot as it seemed we were always kicking it or punting. He had some great blocks. It was 13-7 at half time and they never scored again till they had a good pass at the end of the 3rd.  I got to the game at 530 and the seating was already limited. by 630 there were no seats left and the line was 100yards long. It stayed that way till the game started. the track had people sitting on it half way around on both sides. Crazy!! The playback screen worked just like you said it would, Couldn't see a thing till it got dark then it was pretty cool. Jp replayed some bad calls and a couple of great touchdowns.
I sent you off a package yesterday, just random stuff. Please don't hesitate telling me what you want or need. I think I will run out of ideas fast.:)
We are all doing good. The first 24 hours was really hard. But we don't want you anywhere else and know you are taken care of. Dad cried alot and you already knew I would and will.Your brothers cried more than I thought they would and they definitely feel your absence. So it's got to be nice to know they at least love and miss you! :) But they are proud and happy tears. We miss you too!! So very much!! We haven't missed family prayer and we are trying to make it a habit. It will be! I almost can't believe it has been nearly a week since your farewell. 
 Be obedient and work hard Heavenly Father will take care of the rest. We Love you!!
I seen Marcie Nelson's mom yesterday, she said Marcie's cousin John is headed to your mission in December. The Broulim's send their love and best wishes as well. So do the Taylor's, Peterson's and Livingston's. They all love you!
Work Hard as I know you already are!! We love You So SO much!! 
Mom and Dad

Dear Elder

Dear Elder Matt                                                                Sept 27,2013
WOW!!! you will Never know how great it was to get your email yesterday!. We all So loved getting to hear from you! Yep we are now one of the 80 thousand families that lives for and Email and p-day. :) You sound good and that is good. We knew it would be hard but in a good way. We are so glad you are learning to listen to the spirit and growing so much. Wow that is so cool. I read the scriptures and they are amazing. 2nd Nephi is one of my favorites. And D&C 100 was a very comforting read as well. Thank you! Your brothers all thought2-6 hours of study time was ALOT. but it sounds like you are using it well. They each loved reading a part in your letter just for them. Thank you. 
It will be great for you to fly with the others in your group. I hope there are enough phones for all of you to call. I'm glad the alterations department took care of your pants. Just take a picture of anything else and send it home so they can replace it. I'm glad they could fix it though. Speaking of pictures- I hope you are taking some. you will love that you have them later and we would love to see. I will send you another card next month and you can send a full one home. 
Your FB info still won't let me in. It says you changed the pass word 2 days before you left. Remember you were going to change it then changed it back? I think the computer never changed it back? I don't know. I've tried everything. If you can remember you can give it to me when we talk. 
Your investigators sound great! what a good thing to get to practice. And you are learning so much. 
We are learning too. 
Cris won again last night!!! 34-13 It was awesome! It is almost starting to feel normal to win. we are kind of expecting it. They need a win tonight. Last week through one gate they brought in $7900. They now have 2 gates at the field. That is a crazy amount of money! 
We are going to get wood tomorrow. It has been raining quite a bit lately and the high lands even seen some snow last night. Dad's a little worried about the mud and wet. but I hope it's okay.  UGGGGHH so not ready for snow. Ive been watching the weather in Charlotte since you got your call-it's supposed  to be 79 on Monday:) Enjoy! So I guess this will be your last dearelder letter. Since they don't deliver on the weekends and you will be gone on Monday. Wow! I pray you have enjoyed this part of your adventure and know that more joy awaits you on your next leg! You are and will be amazing. Just alot jealous we can't watch. :)  They are going to Love you!!
We Love you SO SO much!! Work hard as you are, and Brush your teeth. 
We love you!!
Mom and Dad and Fam

Matt's 1st Email home

Dear Familly,                                                                                                            Sept. 19th, 2013

I am doing great here at the MTC West campus. There is such a feeling of love and peace here, and I am excited about the work. everyone is so nice and helpful here. It is harder than i anticipated it being, but that's not necessarily a bad thing. i also got to see Elder Riley Jorgensen for just a second this morning, and he is doing great. i love you all, and i hope your doing great back home!! ttyl :)
                                                                                                                               

1st Dear Elder to Matt

Dear Elder Matt,
Well have you caught it yet? We are so Proud of you and Love you So much!!
 We got home just in time to drop Cris at Ravsten then home to drop the little ones off, Then ran back to the game. Cris played great!! He even got a few reps on Defense. We won 32-27. At one point we had a huge lead but gave it up. It was still a great game. Lets hope the varsity play as well. 
Please send us a note and tell us when your P-day will be. Just can't wait to hear from you! How are you feeling? Any more flu symptoms? Was your arm sore? How's the food? Did you get your suit to the cleaners? 
Is there any thing we can send you? 
Todd Hendricks says to tell you Hi. 
We love you So much and are Praying for you every minute. I will write again tomorrow. Praying for you to have a Great day! 
Love you!!
Mom and Dad