Email Dated: 29 August 2011 - Part 2

Elder Johnson and Elder Record in Whitehorse, YT

NOTE: I asked Elder Record for more details about his first days in the mission home and his transfer to Whitehorse. His response follows:

We drove from the airport to the mission office [15 Aug 2011]. We met the people at the mission office. Very nice people. Then we left for the temple and took pictures. We met some of the elders at the church behind the person taking the picture of the temple. It was their p-day and they were going to play basketball.

Then we drove to the mission home, unpacked the luggage from the van, and got some orientation. We talked for a while too. Love President Beesley, coolest guy ever. We went out that evening for our "Greenie" tract. I went with an Elder named Elder Collins who is Samoan and was actually trained by my trainer Elder Johnson. So we're brothers. Elder Johnson even helped Elder Collins to learn English. Elder Collins knew some English, but Elder Johnson really helped him become able to speak it effectively. Anyway we went to teach a less active youth in the Samoan ward. Then I taught with another new missionary from my district back at the MTC, Elder Kearns, the first lesson at a family home evening with another Samoan family. They gave us food to take with us. It's their culture they just feed you. After that we went home and went to bed after dinner and other orientations. We were also told where we would be going. Elder Blackhurst (MTC companion) went to Fairbanks.

Alaskan glacier with the Chugach Mountain range to the right

In the morning [16 Aug 2011] I was interviewed by President Beesley and Sister Beesley, they did that to everyone. I was told who my trainer would be, "officially". Later we went to Eagle River to the chapel there to transfer. We all met our trainers got ready to go and had a short devotional/farewell meeting. After that Elder Johnson and I, since we had to leave in the morning unlike the others who left that day because we had further to travel, went tracting the rest of the day with some other elders who were the zone leaders for that area. We stayed at their house that night. I had taught the plan of salvation with Elder Ankney to a less active member.

In the morning we left at 5am [17 Aug 2011] for our 18 hour bus ride which left at 6am. We arrived in Whitehorse at midnight and got to bed at 1:30am. The other days were kind of crazy with tracting, planning, etc. We finally got settled into our new apt about 2 days later because it was being finished. We got our truck and about the 4th day out were finally independent, on our own, and more capable of doing the work. That's about it.

Love, Elder Record