2-26-09

Mom,

Elder Bienz and I are still getting along fine. So how goes the wedding plans? Any thing cool going on? If you send a package before or after I leave send a Dr Pepper I can't even buy one here. Also send some Peanut Butter M&Ms I want some more. I'm so excited to be going in to the field one day earlier than planned because they made a mistake and to fix it so they had to send the elders going to Ogden a day Earlier. I LOVE YOU!!!

Love
Elder Lunt


Dad,

I am Learning so much here and am excited to go into the field on Tuesday. we had a 70 here the other day and the first week we had the General Primary President here those were all so cool to have around. But my favorite was M Russell Ballard. I'm trying to get all the extra things I need here because they have a huge missionary discount. If you find anything that I can use I'm glad to know that you will send it to me I Love you.

Love Elder Lunt

2-19-09

Hi Mom!!!!!

Here is the address. Already sent your keys but you can still send a package anyway. My companion is named Elder Bienz pronounced Benz. He is cool and my district is awesome we have Elder Dooley, Elder Nielson, Elder Greep, Elder Laughman (Loffman), and Elder Engerbretson they all have already become some of my best friends. I still need my address book so i can write everyone else. I'm so excited to be here it feels like just yesterday I was dropped off but it has been over a week. It was soooo cool M. Russell Ballard spoke at the first devotional that we had Tuesday. I was amazed at how fast the spirit came to the room it felt like conference all over again. He spoke about the Draper temple and how he invited the press to be personally given a tour by him and only a few showed up but the main message was to show enthusiasm as a missionary. I still cant wait to go out into the field but it still scares me Well my thirty minutes on the computer are almost up so...

next e-mail will happen on next Thursday.

Love, Elder Jeremy Lunt

SHORT AND SWEET: FIRST LETTER FROM THE MTC

2-11-09

Dear Mom and Family,

I have been here only ten hours and I have learned so much. My senior companion Elder Bienz has turned out to be an ok guy. The other two Elders in my room are pretty cool too. We have already started to do most things that companions are supposed to do.

Love Elder Lunt

TO THE MTC (MISSIONARY TRAINING CENTER) FEBRUARY 11, 2009

In the morning he said good bye to his cousin Vijay...

... and to his Uncle Howard...

And they're off!! Driving to Provo, UT where the MTC (Missionary Training Center) is located. Brrrr! Doesn't it looks cold!? :)

Good thing he has this nice warm jacket! :)

They stopped for breakfast at IHOP. Notice the two families in the background are missionary families as well!

In front of the Provo Temple. Do you think he is tired of having his picture taken?? :) He is probably cold!! How is this Arizona boy going to survive this cold weather!!?

Here is where you drop off your luggage when you get to the MTC...

Saying good-bye again to Uncle Dan and cousins Michael and Jamon...

Inside of the MTC... Jeremy just recieved his Elder Lunt missionary badge. The orange dot at the bottom right of his badge is called the "dummy dot" by the missionaries. They give all new missionaries this sticker so that people know to help them if they seem lost. Jeremy said he was going to take his "dummy dot" off!!

Saying good-bye to Mom and Dad...

Here is what Mom wrote about the trip up to the MTC...

We left Saturday the 7^th of Feb. so that Jeremy could see relatives along the way. We didn’t get away until about 11:30am, as Nathan and his fiancé and Marvin and his fiancé wanted to come by to say goodbye.

The weather was good, so it was decided that we would go through Flagstaff, and then up over Jacobs Lake. The pictures are in the canyon before we got to Jacobs lake. I was worried it would be snowing, but as you can see from the pictures it was a nice day.

Rod had not been feeling well for the past few days, but on Saturday he said he was feeling much better. He had been running a high fever, and having chills, and so just after we passed through Colorado City, when he started to shake, I was worried. It took some convincing to get him to pull over and let me drive. His head was hot to the touch. As soon as we got to St. George, his mom and I worked on convincing him to go to Insta-Care. Jeremy wasn’t looking well either, so I touched his head, and he too had a fever.

Off to the Insta-Care we went. Rod’s was 102, and Jeremy’s was 101. Both were put on meds, and told we could safely continue the trip without fear of infecting anyone else.

On Sunday after church Jeremy told his grandmother goodbye, and off we went. I was going to drive to give Rod a break, but we got to the Black Ridge, and it started snowing, and I was afraid to drive in the snow. Luckily that was the worst of it. We arrived at Rod’s brother Dan’s home in time for Dan’s birthday party. Nice we invited ourselves huh?

Monday morning we went on to Salt Lake. It had been arranged for us to go the Draper Temple for a tour. It is such a beautiful temple and a peaceful visit. They started the tour at a church house about a five min. drive from the temple. We rode a shuttle bus to the temple. Because of the snowy cold weather, the walk way was cover like a tent walkway. It was also heated. Very nice. After what felt like a long walk, we finally entered the main doors of the temple. It was a nice tour. We saw the baptismal font, the dressing rooms, the ordinance rooms, the celestial room and the sealing rooms. It was an awesome experience. I took a picture of Jeremy in the walkway to the Stake Center by the temple, and also at one of the displays in the Stake Center.

Tuesday was a rest and recover day. Jeremy went to the place that Vijay is serving a service mission in Provo. That night he came to Howard’s to spend the night.

Wednesday we got ready for the trip to the MTC. We drove to Provo then stopped for breakfast. Jeremy picked the IHOP. When we went in there was a new missionary and his parents leaving. Their check in at the MTC was at 11:30am. Elder Chase is going to the Utah Ogden mission too. Inside we saw at least 5 other new missionaries and there families. The IHOP gives eight dollars off on the missionary’s “last meal”.

We drove up by the Provo temple, where I took another picture of Jeremy. He was getting tired of getting his picture taken. Uncle Dan brought his boys Michael and Jamon one last time to see Jeremy off, then into the MTC. They have it all down to a science, getting the missionary’s luggage dropped off, and getting the missionaries and their families in for orientation.

Jeremy was given his badge, and we took one last picture, then no more pictures were allowed.

Here were the rules:

1. Missionary service begins today. Please do not arrange or request visits with your missionary, particularly “unanticipated” meetings at the temple.

2. All missionary mail must come through the US Mail or commercial deliver services. Hand delivered items will NOT be accepted. Do not send pizzas, fast foods, items needing refrigeration or anything that is perishable.

3. Communicate with your missionary through a weekly letter. Telephone calls for missionary cannot be accepted.

4. Families and friends should not plan to visit departing missionaries at the airport. Farewells should be said at home before the missionary departs for the MTC.

I am sure someone tried all of the above, or they wouldn’t be there as rules. They also said that, “Notes written on the sidewalk with chalk was not acceptable”. Someone tried that too?

Goodbye was hard. We made it quick, and we went out one side, and he went out the other. The hardest part was seeing Jeremy’s empty room when we got home, and knowing he wouldn’t use it again for two years.

Bye, Elder Lunt!!! See you in two years!! We look forward to hearing about your mission through your letters, emails and pictures!!!

GOOD-BYES

Good bye sunny, warm Phoenix, Arizona...

Hello freezing, cold, snowy Utah...

Right before he left he got to say good bye to a long time friend, Lauren Finnerty. She used to live down the street from us and they have been friends since Kindergarten...

Saying good bye to Grandma Smith in St. George, Utah...

Saying good bye to Uncle Dan, Aunt Janet and cousins Whitney, Michael, Alex, and Jamon...

They had the opportunity to take a tour of the Draper Temple...

Jeremy in the walk way after the temple tour. This walk way led to the Stake Center by the temple...

Jeremy standing by a display at the Stake Center...

Mom and dad on the bus after the temple tour...

Aunt Pam, and cousins Crystal and Sarah riding home from the tour...

Uncle Larry and Aunt Camilla...

On Feb. 9th the Isom families all got together for a dinner and to say good bye to Jeremy...

Aunt Pam, Mom, Jeremy, Aunt Camilla...

Jeremy with the Haefeli's... L-R: Crystal, Uncle Larry, Melissa, Jeremy, Rachael, Sarah, and Aunt Camilla...

Cousin Stephani and her husband Bill...

Cousin Jon with his wife Niki...

Cousin Jeff

Cousin Devin

IT'S OFFICIAL!!!

On February 5, 2009 Jeremy was set apart as a Missionary for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.

Drumroll.......

And here's Elder Lunt!!!

Here are those who came to his setting apart...

Nathan and his fiance Tarin. They are getting married March 7th!

Madison with Marvin and his fiance Sarah. They are getting married on April 3rd!!

Mom and Dad who will soon be empty-nesters with a son on a mission and 2 son's getting married :)

Amy and Robert

The family (minus the kids... they were a little wild that night!)

SO LONG, FAREWELL!!

On January 25, 2009 Jeremy had his "Mission Farewell". In sacrament meeting he gave a talk on "choices". He quoted James E. Faust, "In this life we have to make many choices. Some are very important choices. Some are not. Many of our choices are between good and evil. The choices we make, however, determine to a large extent our happiness or our unhappiness, because we have to live with the consequences of our choices. Making perfect choices all of the time is not possible. It just doesn’t happen. But it is possible to make good choices we can live with and grow from." He then told a story from Elder Faust's talk about some boys who were diving off of a sheer rock into a canyon reservoir. It became a contest of who could climb the highest up the rock wall and jump. The young man explained in the story how this choice to prove he could jump from the highest point could have cost him his life. ( James E. Faust, “Choices,” Ensign, May 2004, 51) Jeremy gave a great talk!

Immediately after the block was a luncheon in Jeremy's honor at mom and dad's. So many of his close friends and family were there to say their good-byes and wish him well before he left for the MTC.

L-R: Sister Roach, Veda Woods, Rick Woods, Bonnie Woods, Barbara Woods, Jan Deason

Mom with Sister Jones

L-R: Amy, Nathan, Uncle Malcolm, Aunt Nedra, Jeremy, Marvin

Brother and Sister Scarborough

L-R: Jessica Adair, Rebecca Adair, Brother and Sister Hughes, Brother and Sister Villarreal

The Bigelow Family

Getting food!

Some of the delicious food!

Lined up to eat!

L-R: Zachary Bushman, Tiffany Nelson, Michele Bushman, Jeremy Bushman, Garrett, Marie Nelson

L-R: Sister Jensen, Sister Muzyka, Sister Raje with her son Avi, Tina Massenburg

Jeremy visiting with friends from the ward...

Thank you to all of you who came to show your love and support to Jeremy!!