Well, folks, this is it. This blog has been really fun. Thanks if you read this. I hope you've enjoyed peeking in on my life.
I suppose I'll see you in two years.
And now I leave you with some Christmas love in the form of David Bowie and Bing Crosby.
Love,
ktg.
Woah!
Life here lately has been an unbelievable adventure lately. A crazed, wild adventure. But it will pale in comparison to the Mission, which will be the greatest Adventure yet, methinks.
Anyway, what is going on in my life? Oh, just everything.
I leave for Utah a week from TODAY! Yes, Monday December 10, I will leave my home for two years. Everything I will need must fit into two suitcases. Because I'm leaving, I'm kind of scrambling to get everything together. Or rather, Mom is scrambling to get everything together while I complain about it. Thank God for my wonderful mother.
But there is still so much to do. From calling all of my out-of-town friends for one last time to going to the optometrist, I've got a full plate this week.
All I do is live/breathe/sleep/think MISSION. Speaking of which, my two childhood best friends, Caleb and Jon Trujillo got their mission calls. Well wait, I'm jumping too far ahead in this story. So there are three missions based in Buenos Aires, Argentina: Argentina Buenos Aires North, Argentina Buenos Aires South, and Argentina Buenos Aires West. So anyway Caleb and Jon are these twins I used to pal around with from about age 7 to 12. Then they moved to Colorado. I've seen them a couple times since and talked to them a few times. Anyway, so they called me on Tuesday and Jon is going South and Caleb West. Weirdness, right?
More mission-related weirdness: one of the guys in The Scene Aesthetic is Mormon. As if that's not weird enough, he's serving a mission in the Argentina Rosario Mission. This isn't just a rumor. Check the site, man, it's there.
Anyway, my last day of work was the Tuesday before Thanksgiving. You have no idea how sweet thinking about not going to work is. That night I spent the night at my cousin Reed's house (for clarification I have a brother Reed AND a cousin Reed) and stayed up way too late and got up way too early. But it was very worth it.
The next morning, I went with my sister Marlena and her fam to our sister LeAndrea's house in order to Give Thanks. I really love Thanksgiving. We hung around there for a while and my cousin Ami came up. Then I drove down with my cousin Matt to Disney World.
Man, Disney world was beyond radical. I could start a whole different blog (kirksultradisneyworldtripexplosivehiiyavacation2007.blogspot.com, maybe?) but that would just be unnecessary. Suffice it to say, Disney World rules so hard. Except for Epcot. If you're planning a Disney trip, remove Epcot from your itinerary. It blows. Animal Kingdom is my favorite park down there. The animals really rule so hard. And that Expedition Everest ride they got sporting down there is fun. Disney is just so expensive. You save up and watch it all quickly disappear.
The only drawback to being down there is the warmth...It was November. And there were all these Christmas decorations, but it definitely did not feel like Christmas. In fact it didn't feel like Christmas until I got home and the house was decorated. I'm glad I didn't have to participate in the decorating like last year.
So one of my (if not my absolute most) favorite bands, Anberlin came out with a B-Sides/unreleased album called Lost Songs. This is not really relevant nor is it pertinent but I'm all about the musick.
Okay, I think I'm FINALLY done.
Merry Christmas.
So my sister Marlena put this together for me. Don't make fun of my crying. I'm kind of an emotional wreck.
I feel like there is nothing left for me to do before I leave. This summer was kind of rad, so I'm satisfied.
However, I've still got some things to do.
The Starting Line is playing here next weekend, the 28th. Also, hopefully Across the Universe will actually be released here sometime. Since it is apparently not being shown here on the 21st.
The first weekend of October, my sister LeAndrea and her family are coming up to visit. Sometime after that, all of my family is supposed to go to Chattanooga for a mountain retreat of sorts, so we can all be together once more before I leave. Also in October, The Academy Is... is playing here. Should be pretty boss.
In November, my brothers Wade and Reed, their families and I are going to DISNEY WORLD the week after Thanksgiving. We're spending Thanksgiving at Le's house. Then we're off to the happiest place on earth. Our cousin Matt will be joining us, which will be rad. And Cartel is playing here! I just saw them last month in Nashville and I saw them another time here in town. They are probably the best band I've seen live.
In December, I go to be a missionary.
Also between now and then, I have to buy a whole lot of crap for my mission: 2 suits, dress pants, dress shoes, WINTER BOOTS, 15-20 (!) pairs of socks, a winter coat, and a slew of other necessities. One thing about being a missionary is that this will be the easiest packing list of my life. I'll basically wear the same thing every day, so it's no biggie.
And then after the mission, I'll spend Christmas here with my family. My best pal, Matt is in the MTC right now, headed for Toronto, Canada. He's also speaking Spanish, so will be communicating nonstop in la lengua de nuestras misiones. Which should be pretty buck.
Then I'm off to BYU in Provo.
Holy cow. Life is finally happening to me. And it's really, really terrific.
::// 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?
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.
