I'm always serious, and don't call me Shirly - not edited

[The first email we got from Calvin this past Tuesday was titled "No Subject" and said:]

sorry, I had a longer one written to you but I accidentally erased it.

Calvin

[We were so disappointed! But I remembered the joke about Christ and Satan who were taking a test on their computers. They had been at it for almost three hours when suddenly the power went out. Satan went into a rage "I lost everything! three hours and all my time for nothing!" Just then the power came back on and Jesus opened his files to find everything right there. Satan looked at the test proctor and asked, "Why did his stuff come up like that? It's not fair! His stuff came up and mine is lost!" The proctor calmly replied, "Jesus saves." I also decided that my next handwritten letter is going to be in pencil and I'm going to write the entire thing, and then erase it all, and write "sorry, I had a longer one written but I erased it." I'm such a wicked mother!

  Later in the evening, after Chantal went to bed, I was checking my email for other things and I found the email with this title. So we woke up Chantal and read it together. Calvin keeps telling us how much he loves to get mail, and how it's like the breath of life. I wrote to him that when I was younger and writing to a lot of friends on missions, the scripture was Proverbs 25:25 As cold waters to a thirsty soul, so is good news from a far country. Now on to the current email!]

Salutations from the MTC!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

How is every one doing????? I'm having LOTS of fun here. It's really hard to beleive that I have only TWO weeks until I go out into the feild. Oh, thanks for the help with the photo disk. Unfortunately I couldn't get the pictures from it, but I beleive pictures can be put on Dear Elders. [They can't.]  Miranda, I haven't had tme yet to answer your novel, but don't worry, you'll get a nice long letter from me, in 5 days. The drawing [he did for a missionary serving in our Greene Branch] is in my orange sketchbook, or one of them, but I'm pretty sure it was the orange one. Tell Midnight and Sophie I enjoyed both of their letters, especially Midnights'. It's always fun to read from a cat's perspective. maul him for me please! I had lots of fun expirienced this week. So mom, you are going to be SUPER jelous, this Sunday, our fireside was basically a private concert by Sister Jenny Oaks Baker. That was a REALLY COOL thing to watch! Her husband bore his testimony in Japenese,and her children played I am a child of God. There were three girls, all under the age of 12, who played the violin piano, and cello, and one five year old boy playing the classical guitar. It was a really cool expirience. Who knows, maybe Ishack Pearlman will convert in the next two days, and we can have another testimony by music with him. I would wait in line or three hours for that. It's weird, but out here, EVERYONE does music, usually piano or singing. I have thouroughly impressed many of the people in my zone withmy drawing skills, which is fun.

I cannot wait to hang with Sophie when I get back! It's going to be so fun seeing howmuch she's grown up. I'm also going to enjoy seeing the rest of you and how you've all changed! Miranda, would you get  into carving sarble statues, so when I get back you can carve a bust of me? I think that would be awesome!!!!!! Hmm.... anything else? ( frantic typing sounds in the distance) 

Well, I should warn Mom and Dad to preview the pictures I send them because the girls will probaly print a few out and put them in their walls. (Wipe that drool off your face Chantal)

I had an interesting notion this week. I was reading the appearence of Moroni to Jospeh Smith, and looked up all the prophecies he quoted, and it hit me how cool Christ's secand coming will be. I had watched "the mountain of the Lord" on Sunday, and thought a lot about what should happen before that time and how much I want to see that day of the Lord, and then it hit me. I'm out here to build Zion, to bring to pass those prohesies, so that the LOrd can come. It suddenly hit me how glorious that was, and how important this work is, and I understood why all the prophets wish to sing praises unto God orever, cause that's what I felt like. I'm starting to get a love for this work, and a testimony in it.
I love you all so much, look for my letters in a few days!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I LOVE YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Calvin

Sorry, I had a brain fart earlier. I couldn't find it in my drafts box.

Calvin