Here I go!

Off I go to Provo Utah. I was originally supposed to go to the MTC (Missionary Training Center) in Sao Paolo Brazil. But, I got a call last week from President Green because my MTC had changed from the one in Brazil to the one in Utah. We originally thought the change was made because of visa issues, but alas, it twas not. Apparently they didn't have enough people going down when I was supposed to head down to hire a Portuguese teacher for English speakers, therefore I am going to Provo where I will start learning Portuguese until we gather enough people to travel down to Brazil all together. So, I was looking forward to the warm weather down south, but instead headed to a cold winter.... On the bright side of things, my buddy Garry Laugenour, and I are now heading to the same MTC together. Garry will be serving in the Monterey Mexico mission speaking Spanish. We received our mission calls about one week apart from each other (I being the latter), and are to report to the MTC on the 13th of January 2010. Originally, I was supposed to leave on the 12th because of the long arduous flight to Sao Paulo, but I've already explained that situation. It'll be nice though, I'll have a traveling buddy from here to Utah, he's great company. So, from here, I will fly to Salt Lake City UT, where my dear Aunt Patty will pick me up from the airport and drive me down to Provo. I'm supposed to report to the MTC by 12:45pm. This is way exciting except for the part where I just caught a cold. Total drag. Anyway, yesterday was exceptionally awesome. I started the day going up to the Oakland Temple with my father, then administering a priesthood blessing to a friend, and last minute shopping with my friend Kelly. Giving the blessing was an amazing experience. I had not done one before, and it's been a little over a year since I received the Melchizedek Priesthood. In the evening my family and I went to the Stake Center where I was set apart as a Missionary of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. So, now, I am officially Elder Chiba. Wow that's cool! Afterward I had a nice Japanese dinner with my family. I love them so much. Saying goodbyes are kind of weird, because it hasn't really hit just yet that I am leaving in a couple hours. It seems like I'm still here, which I am, but not for too much longer. I'm not dying or anything, just going away for a short while. While I'm gone, I think it'll feel like the end date is light years away, but in reality, two years will have passed us by in no time. It'll feel like I had just left, or that I hadn't been gone for very long. Time is weird, just two years ago I was starting my second semester at Southern Virginia University, and I have no idea where time went. Anyways, saying goodbye to my family is especially difficult because I love them more than I can express, and I will miss them terribly. (I was pretty emotional last night, earlier tonight? It's two a.m. right now, but technically that was yesterday I suppose.) But, at times like these when it feels like it will be forever until I see them again, I am comforted by the knowledge that I am sealed to my family for eternity. I am eternally grateful for the blessings of the temple, because there we can be sealed to our families for time and all eternity. So, it'll be a short while to be apart from them, and, the bigger picture, it's only a microscopic portion of time. So, I will manage. I hope and pray that everyone of my friends and family members stay safe and happy while I'm away. I'm not sure what my address is, email address is, or how I will be able to keep track of everyone's email and mailing addresses. Once I find out my contact information is, my dear sister Christy will post it after I email her. Until next time, God be with you til we meet again.

Love,

Elder Chiba