My Mission Call Video.

So my sister Marlena put this together for me. Don't make fun of my crying. I'm kind of an emotional wreck.

Argentina. I still can't believe it.

This is All I Frigging Think About (2).

::// Please Note: The contents of this blog have been very limitedly edited to ensure that my brother Reed will get off of my proverbial case. By way of information, the modifier is no longer misplaced.

Duh, my mission!


As you can see, that big blue blob up there is Argentina. The parts (that's right, parts...with an "s" at the end) in orange are the boundaries of my mission. I'll serve in northern Buenos Aires and surrounding areas--the smaller orange section towards the north--and in the provinces Santa Cruz and Tierra del Fuego--the larger section in the deep, deep south. Tierra del Fuego, the part floating off the mainland, according to Wikipedia has an annual average temperature of 5.3ºC--COLD.

Down in the south, I might run into the endings of the Andes Mountains. Hopefully, with both of my areas having borders on the ocean, I'll be able to see the Atlantic from the Southern Hemisphere. I will not, like I was stupidly thinking originally, be able to see the Pacific (which is a life goal). Maybe I'll see the Strait of Magellan. That would be cool.

I report to the Missionary Training Center (MTC) in Provo, Utah on December 12. I'll be there for two months learning Spanish and how to be a missionary, so I won't actually get to Argentina until February of next year. According to a friend of mine, who just left the MTC a week or two ago, the MTC is like the movie Groundhog Day; you do the same exact thing every day. For two months.

Some guys in my ward (a "ward" is a Mormon congregation) Andrew and Taylor Blain are going to be in the MTC in late January, so I'll probably run into them. And my second cousin (isn't that what you call your first cousin's children? Or is it "first cousin once removed"?) Bryan will be in the MTC a week after I get there. He won't be speaking a foreign language, though, so he'll leave after only a couple weeks. And my buddy Steven will get to the MTC about a month before I do. It will be neat to see all of those guys. Just for information's sake, Andrew is going to Monterrey, Mexico; Taylor is going to Arequipa, Peru; Bryan is going to Charleston, West Virginia; and Steven is going to Hong Kong. Good stuff.

My sister Marlena served a mission in Anaheim, California and spoke Spanish. She tells me Argentine Spanish, called Castellano, is super different from anything Mexican. So I'm thinking that although I've had some Spanish training, it will all be for naught when I actually get down there. But who knows.

At any rate, I am more excited now than I have ever been in my life. And "excitement" is an emotion that comes in huge quantities with me. I have never felt so determined that what I'm doing is right and good. I have never felt so happy. I am overwhelmingly stoked to work hard, to struggle with whatever obstacles I've got coming, to learn so much about myself, God, and others. I am confident that it will be the greatest experience of my life.

Argentina. Man. How awesome is that?

The Mission Call.

My Call, from the Office of the First Presidency of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints:

"Dear Elder Garrett:

You are hereby called to serve as a missionary of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. You are assigned to labor in the Argentina Buenos Aires North Mission. It is anticipated that you will serve for a period of 24 months.

You should report to the Missionary Training Center at Provo, Utah on Wednesday, 12 December 2007. You will prepare to preach the gospel in the Spanish language. Your Mission President may modify your specific assignment according to the needs of the mission.

You have been recommended as one worthy to represent the Lord as a minister of the restored gospel. You will be an official representative of the Church. As such, you will be expected to maintain the highest standards of conduct and appearance by keeping the commandments, living mission rules, and following the counsel of your mission president. As you devote your time and attention to serving the Lord, leaving behind all other personal affairs, the Lord will bless you with increased knowledge and testimony of the Restoration and of the truths of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Your purpose will be to invite others to come unto Christ by helping them receive the restored gospel through faith in Jesus Christ and His Atonement, repentance, baptism, receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost, and enduring to the end. As you serve with all your heart, might, mind, and strength, the Lord will lead you to those who are prepared to be baptized.

The Lord will reward you for the goodness of your life. Greater blessings and more happiness than you have yet experienced await you as you humbly and prayerfully serve the Lord in this labor of love among His children. We place in you our confidence and pray that the Lord will help you become an effective missionary.

You will be set apart by your stake president. Please send your written acceptance promptly, endorsed by your bishop.

Sincerly,
Gordon B. Hinckley, President."

Buenos Aires! How cool is that?! I am unbelievably stoked.

"My Soul Has Never Had this Feeling and it Feels Like Gold."

Wow.

It's been forever since I posted. I can't believe that I used to update daily. That's absurd; I never have any time any more.

Last week I went to Virginia and saw CHELSEA DODD. It was the best trip I have ever taken in my life. It was so fun. Looking back, we did nothing truly extraordinary, just a lot of hanging out, but it was so real and so pure and so fun. And life is all about fun.

It was my first time on an aeroplane. I lovelovelove riding on a plane. It's mega fun. I got to fly FIRST CLASS into and out of Atlanta. First Class is niiiiiiiiice.

We spent a couple days in Richmond, near Virginia Commonwealth University. I love that town. So old and so city-like. Everyone there rides bikes. It was three in the morning, and there people were, riding down the road on their bikes. Three seems too late to me. Not in Richmond though.

In Richmond we stayed with Stephen, Chelsea's sister Katie's boyfriend. I'll give you a second to make sense of that previous sentence. Katie and Stephen are so radical. Stephen and I got along super well, and there were so many times that he had me weak with laughter. He reminds me a lot of my brother Reed, it's sort of nuts.

Chels and I went to the beach. I love the ocean. I love the little crabs that will pop out of the sand and look at you funny and if you make any sudden movements, they scoot real quick. I like seagulls because they are so awkward looking. I like seeing dolphins because dolphins are seriously radical. I like little kids in the ocean because they are overwhelmed by fun and surf. The sounds are soft and the air is nice.

The ocean at night is vastly different than the daytime version, and a brand of beauty and magic all its own. It is dark, but I have never felt so bright and happy. I like having my big feet in the cool water and feeling the foam and the sand. Being at the beach was very probably the best day of my life.

We went to Busch Gardens and I rode SO MANY ROLLERCOASTERS. Roller coasters feel like flying. And they are huge and terrifying. I love riding them so much. I always, always say a secret prayer on the bigger ones that we will not die. My prayers were answered that day.

There is a place in Williamsburg called Sno to GO and it is just like Jerry's. I felt like home.

Chelsea's family is so great. Her dad was so cool. He was not frightening like so many dads are. He was easy to talk to and easy to like. Her mom is, I'm pretty sure, my mom in some random body. Obviously, I liked her. It all made sense being there.

I like Chelsea so much. She gets me and I, her. We laugh a lot and joke on each other a lot. It was so great being with her. It feels like being home is the vacation and my real life is in Virginia.

I love that place. I am unsatisfied with this place.

* * * * *

In other news entirely, I am done with my mission papers and will see the Stake President Wednesday. They will then go to Salt Lake and I'll get a call. Absolute Craziness.

Reed Michael Garrett, mi primo favorito, leaves for school on Wednesday.

Everything is ending. It feels right, though, for the first time. Weird.

I'm going Skydiving on Saturday(!) and I might see Cartel on Saturday. Woohoo.

These are the Things I Think about.

I am in Atlanta visiting my cousins.

It is safe to say that I love my family more than most everything on planet earth.

I miss Matty. I would be hanging with him at Warped Tour right now, but those plans fell through. I have to go to the cardiologist on Monday.

See, I have an abnormal aortic valve. More to come on this subject at a later date. At this time is is sufficient to say that said valve is interrupting my mission paper process. Bummer.

I am too excited for the future--mission, Virginia, Harry Potter.

Life is really wonderful.

A Nice Mix.

I don't really know where to start. I'm pretty sick and, as a result, am highly medicated. Therefore, I am unsure if this will come out as incoherence or not.

This past weekend I hung out with Matt and Kelly. They got sushi and we played laser tag (I dominate at laser tag) and then Paige from my English class came over and we watched The Departed, which was not as great as I'd thought it'd be. Saturday night nothing really happened but I was so chill it was unreal.

Sunday I went to Mass with my friend Jody. Being Catholic is hard, man. You gotta stand up, sit down, recite some stuff, stand up, sit down, kneel, sit down, stand up, kneel, stand up, pray, and all the while, you gotta make sure that you're on the right page in the hymnal. Seriously, it's hard. I really enjoyed it. I'm not going to convert or anything, but it's nice to see Christianity from a different angle.

Anyway, I have a sad sort of feeling in the bottom of my gut right now. I just feel like the end of my youth is approaching fast, and it is. I am going to start on my mission papers this week. I will leave on a mission a boy and then come back a man. Crazy talk, man.



You know what's weird to me? The kid who plays Augusten in Running with Scissors also is in Flags of Our Fathers. Surprisingly, he fits both roles very well.

I am done here. I assume you are too.

"To the Well Organized Mind, Death is but the Next Great Adventure."

My first phone call of the day came at 2:06 PM. It was Matthew. He informed me that he was coming over and we were to go get lunch. Also, a kid with whom we go to church died in a car wreck this morning. Apparently he was on 385, hydroplaned, and went into oncoming traffic. I don't know all the details, but I have pretty much gathered that he died right on the spot. He was only 17 years old. How young.

Although I only vaguely knew him, this has had a sort of profound impact on me. Many of my friends were very close to him. I sympathize with so much with so many people right now.

I think of all of the things in life that I am to do. Go to school. Get some degrees. Have a career. Get married. Make babies. I have anticipated doing those things my entire life. I think of the plans I have (and I have many plans) and the things that I am wanting to be doing years from now. I think of how it would be if I could not do the things that I have been planning on doing for so long now. I think of what impact would be lost if none of my plans ever get executed. I think that it is not for me to decide.

I think that God understands everything. I think that trials, even the hardest ones, like death, are lovingly given to us by our Father in Heaven. I think He loves us more than we will be able to comprehend in this life. I think it is not ours to understand death, rather it is ours to deal with it.

In the Bible when Christ was on His way to heal the man Lazarus, he met Lazarus's sister. She wept, saying that Lazarus had died and had Christ been there earlier, she knows that He could have saved him. Although Christ later raises Lazarus from the dead, and He knew this, He weeps with her. He felt her pain along with her. That is what our God does. He sees the end from the beginning. He understands how everything will work out. And while it is hard for us, He will weep with us. He will feel our pain and will comfort us.

In a more non-religious sense, I have a deeper respect for the fragility of life. Our bodies can only take so much before they give out on us. We must be ready to take the plunge, even when we don't anticipate our diving in. Be ready for it. Love and live to the fullest.

My condolences go out to Corbin Chrisitensen's family. God bless you. I hope this time is made easier.

Theme and Variation.

I am in over my head. That Fray song came on in the car on the radio as I pulled into the drive just now. I was sort of blown away at how overwhelmed I feel at this point. I thought I was adjusting somewhat well into "adulthood," what with college and everything, but I just feel like life is too much. I am supposed to get a job and study hard and be responsible.

But I just want to be me. And I do not like working and I hate studying. I will have to work for the rest of my life and I want to have this time to be me. But this is not realistic nor is it appropriate.

But then I listened to "Indestructible" by Matisyahu. In it it says, "Fear nobody but his Majesty." I have no need to fear or to worry. All I need to know is that my God is on my side and that I can get through this. I can be me and grow up all at the same time. Now this is what I have. Years from now, what I have will be work and a family.

But forever I will be Indestructible.