Dear Fam and Friends,

   ... but I hate it here. Let's clarify first. I love "being" in class- I like learning and reviewing grammar, getting new vocab for lessons, being able to formulate sentences for my investigators but also to insult my friends. I love learning about the gospel and how to teach it. My teachers are incredible. I wish I could explain it in words, or that you could sit in with them for an hour. They're very good at Armenian but they're so much better at teaching about the gospel, and how to teach it to the Armenians, who know basically nothing about it. I love the devotionals, with all the speakers and the choir.

   But I hate it here. I hate the food, which is doing numbers on digestion- I was really annoyed one day last week so I ate some ice cream, but I'm hopping back on the wagon. It's delish magish but I already eat unhealthily anyway. I hate the elders who think being here 3, 6, or 9 weeks makes you hot stuff. A sister in my district called the new elders greenies. You've got to be kidding me. We've been here a month longer. We all collectively know nothing about what being a missionary is actually like. No one cares if you say gracias or merci or shnorhakalem. I hate that my companions, now zone leaders, think that 1. this defaulted title, of a leader of a tiny zone in the MTC, demands some instant glory and respect. and 2. that new missionaries are little balls of playdoh to be either molded into greatness or dashed to pieces based solely on what I do for the hour a day I interact with them. They vaccuumed my bed to make it presentable for when the new elders see what a room is "supposed to look like". And they made Elder Mills, the sacrament coordinator, explain what they were supposed to do when passing the sacrament 6 days in advance. These elders are 18 at the very least, I think they already have a decent idea of how they're going to keep their room and probabaly a decenter(?) idea of how to pass the sacrament. As for the respect, I'll listen to you when you actually have a lot more field experience than I do, aka in Armenia. As for now if you want my respect you should act like a normal person to me and not yell at me for laughing as I read the new British elders the bit in 1 Nephi about the wrath of God being upon their nation during the revolutionary war. That crap is funny and that's a fact, and anyone who doesn't realize I'm kidding needs to lighten up.

  Now, that was a lot of strong emotion. My companions are not bad guys. One of them is the most awk person I've known but neither are bad guys. We usually enjoy each others company and have some laughs.  They just don't know much about being a leader to people the same age/experience as you (neither do I, but its not that). Pday makes everything better, so today has been fine and relaxing, but I'd be lying if I said I was happy during this week, so there's that.

  It will not stop snowing. Okay it stopped today, but it literally snowed like the past three days. There's a foot and a half outside. But I don't hate this snow. Its powdery and easy to walk on, and makes incredible snowballs. Guess who I throw them at? Guess how much they love it? Haha I throw them at everyone actually, Elder Mills and Elder Shields and I have daily duels. And sometimes we lob a few to spook the sisters, but we havent hit one yet thankfully. Today Elder Mills and I made snow angels, Im going to try to send pictures and a video but I might not have time

  There's really not that much else to report. I got Aunt Katherine's second package, even though we hadnt finished eating all the first one. That bread is really really good, and I love the picture from Nick. Same to you, friend. As for meeting, I don't want to make you drive to Salt Lake and wait around hoping to see me, esp since I don't have a cell. The temples probably the best bet, and that will be chaotic. There's tons of missionaries there. But we go up after our district meeting which is suposed to end at 3. As for mac and cheese, right now I'd love some easy mac that I can make in the microwave, just the single serve plastic bowl stuff. But for Armenia I'd just like the basic box of store brand stuff. Should be like 50 cents haha. That would be awesome. 

 Sister Bleyl sent a very nice valentines package, and I got mail from Sis Anderson and Uncle Matt, all very much appreciated. Return letters going out today. Nothin else came.

  Crazy to think I've been here a month. Feels like a long time and an instant, strange how that always happens.

About the water- it comes through the pipes. The boxes people have is enough to fit all the water they'll get, they cant get more with a bigger box. They have electric water heaters but they dont work that well. This is all in some of the country at least, closer to the city we'd prob have running hot water. Brother Carlson, my teacher, said there was a 3 month period where he didnt take a shower in the winter. voch inch (oh well) Im excited to get out there and see what its live, learn to live in lesser conditions with these people. We take too much for granted here. That was a big reason behind the cold showers, it makes you go fast (some of the elders sit in the cold water for 15 min, which is just stupid) the point is your going to cherish the water you get so you should learn that a shower really only takes 30 sec. Im not saying I'm not going to take a 2 hour hot shower when I do get home, just that there's a lot to be learned about what we take for granted.

 Random note- this place is covered in church paintings. Most are the basic ones you would recognize, but a lot of them I have never seen ever in my life, and there incredible ones too. idk if I should take pics of them but I might. Some are really strange too.

  Anyway thats all I've got- again don't get me wrong, i really love being a missionary. Unfortunately God somehowwww knew that I needed a big ol lesson in patience, so that's what we're working on together. He's helpin me out every day though. The fact is, I could easily end up with either one of these elders as a comp in the field, and in Armenia its only one pair of elders per area/apartment.

 Anyway, I love most of you (those that write me. the others can go get theirselves a letter from a monkey) and I hope to hear from you this week

Astvatst dzez het

jerm

100 weeks left!

Ive only been here 3 weeks but my ministerial certificate (the one that keeps me out of jail basically) also ends on dec 17, so i'm gunna say i only have 23 months left. 

Quick! Whats the difference between the MTC and prison? In prison you get visitors! oh ho ho, is funny. Altho, it is true (think Despicable Me)

Its currently freezing rain here. I think thats the most dangerous. It just looks wet, and then you realize its all ice. Two sisters ATE IT hard, so they made an announcement to watch out haha. 

Anyway didnt get any email from the fam today, but whatevs. My p day is Thurs and I usually get to email at about 9am my time. But again just send a dearelder with the stuff, i can read it over and over then anyway. 
This week i got some awesome stuff. My CTR ring came! Thanks to Sandy, very very cool. its two Armenian letters, which basically read "cheeshtuh entrir" thats really rough phonetics. Chishtuh means the right, entrir is the command form of choose. Very cool. The dials sent an awesome package, the banana bars were muchhh appreciated. maybe it was the fact that they were a little mushed, but no one wanted them so I enjoyed them all solooo. I also got an awesome letter from uncle Matt. Very thoughtful. And uncle Jed sent a great dearelder that brought me back to earth a bit, def needed that. And Chris Clar Cody and Lizzie all came through with great letters. I love my friends. 

So this week was really slow. I feel like I plateaued a bit. But my teaching companion got sick, and so did two of my teachers, so it was hard to learn solo the whole week. Things are definitely going better, the lessons are running a lot better (for me, my comp is struggling a bit, but we manage) the grammar is still going well but we added a new tense, stem, and mood this week so i have a lot of studying to do. my DL, in his very small wisdom, told us to SYL (speak your language) during breakfast. Basically we all sit there in silence, except for him who struggles to talk about the same things we talk about in class- gospel stuff. Blegh. But im doing a lot better of staying patient. Plus the Greeks are leaving this week, and the only other districts in the zone are us and the Latvians/Lithuanians who have been here one week, so the new zone leaders are coming from us 5. well see what happens. I dont want to be a ZL much, I wouldnt mind DL but id rather just not have to worry about all that stuff. 

One of the ZLs is Elder Ferraz. He's from Austria. His parents are South American that moved to Austria, so he speaks Spanish and German fluently. He learned English for 8 years, he's basically fluent. So naturally, theyre sending him to Greece. Haha his brain is running out of room. He's really awesome though. And apparently Europeans have never had Beef Jerky cause when I got some they devoured it all haha. 

My British friend, Elder Mills, is officially my favorite. We have patriotism wars- I showed him the verses in 2 Ne about the Revolution, and how God was with the Americans and His wrath was against the Brits. Rofl. He basically says that we steal everything from other countries and make it worse (fair point). I said if Gordon B Hinckley, the future prophet, hated his mission for the first bit and needed to be put in place by his father, that place must have reallyyy sucked (it was London). And every now and then we'll just sing (shout) as loud as we can, me trying to drown out his "God Save the Queen" with "Star Spangled Banner" and vise versa. Its a great time. Also, idk if its because we're always wearing suits or something, and learning a middle eastern language, but we feel like FBI agents and so we always "clear" buildings and shoot tangos on our way to class. Followed by an argument over whether the Navy Seals are better that the British best (I think its SAS?) 

Today, we 5 decided that to become closer to the people of Armenia, and get used to the inevitable fate, took cold showers. Like 25 degrees cold. Ive never shivered and screamed so much in my life. It was terrible to say the least. But a lot of Armenians only get water for 2 hours a day and its cold, so better get used to it. 

Okay so I think I've compiled a final list of the things Id like sent here/early bday gifts to get before I leave the MTC:
gray sweater, pj pants, black zip up hoodie
pics I forgot, letter from Tom
I also want pics of Mom (dont bother with ones of me and her, unless there really old)
bubble bath- there are bathtubs here and Im gunna wake up an hour early and take a bubble bath. 
boots and ice grippers
a watch, with the face of it being the Eagle Scout logo. I saw a kid with one and I WANT IT. I almost killed him for it. 
Armenian themed socks. I realize this is nigh impossible, but the colors are red blue and ORANGE (not yellow), so look hard pleease. 
a cd player with some crappy speakers. I want Tyler to make me mixes of Mo Tab, David Lanz, and Disney Music 
I think thats it. Sorry to dump all these requests

Im pretty sure thats all ive got. If not then next week! 
k now a funnier joke. What does a nosy pepper do?
Gets jal ep en yo business! 

ies seeroom em dzez

Jeremy 

Later that day, Jerm emailed this .... Armenian info and stuff.

Later Jerm wrote this:

Not sure if you read my email yet, I explained the CTR ring. my district and teachers loooove it. I have a pic Ill send next week. The Armenians have a kuh, hard c. They also have a suh for soft and a chuh. they rarely have letters combine sounds (its called a dipthong) but usually they just have a letter for the sound. the hymnbook has about 60 hymns, idk about Child of God. Were going to sing I need thee every hour in sacrament. 
  Treats are all good regardless. I love Reeses, 3 muskateers, snickers, and M&Ms. But I have so much candy right now. Im gainin weight, even though I refuse to eat ice cream here. 
The knee and ankle are both doing fine. Yesterday was the best day of bball by far. First I trashed some poor kids (i almost felt bad) then i had the hardest, most drawn out loss, followed by the greatest win against some good kids with too much swag. my toes doing really well too. 
About the emails- let them read my shots on Utah. Bring it. Haha uncle jed said he couldnt argue after living outside. But whatever Alex decides is fine with me. Ive had people say they like the honesty though. 
  I have a bunch of stuff about Armenia to report, but it will all have to wait im afraid. 
 I did get the dear elders, and prefer it during the week, so have the girls do that again. 
Love you much
Jerm

and later still:

Got a few extra minutes so I figured Id share what I know so far about Armenians from my teachers. I was just going to save it all till I got to country but ima forget it all

 

Armenians that live outside yerevan get water for about two hours a day, and its cold. Everyone has a big tank above the shower that fills in the morning, they use that for showering, purify it for cooking, and buy drinking water. Apparently once a year they have a holiday called Water Day, where the entire country basically gets into a giant water fight. Apparently missionaries in nice suits are prime targets. Bro carlson said the hottest day he ever remembered, it was 127 (WHAT?) and it happened to be water day. A kid doused him completely with a bucket of water, and he was dry ten min later haha.

 

Things I learned while teaching- Armenians require a lot of explanation. They arent stupid, but their religion consists of lighting a candle and saying the Lords prayer, so theres a lot they dont know. if you read the first vision in its entirety, apparently all they want to talk about is the presence of Satan. if you point the bottom of your foot (the dirtiest body part you have) at someone its incredibly insulting, so i have to learn not to cross my legs since I cant sit lady like. its also bad luck to shake hands udner a doorway?

the funniest thing is that if you run into someone, then leave, then see them again, you arent supposed to greet them the second time. Apparently their form of second greeting is just by blinking at each other, which is really awk.

 

these people are poor as all, but most of them dont work. they live off pension from the government. over half the country is unemployed, they just hang out all day. discussions can go on for hours unless you force tyour way out of the house. Since theyre so poor we're told not to eat with them, but they'll make food anyway. They go into debt to feed you, so if you dont eat its a huge insult.

 

Other things... most Armenians are trying to learn English. Idk why. But a lot of them know the alphabet and can text and type rough phonetics. Which is cool. And for some reason kids love to run up and yell 'I am a table!" hmm.

 

I think thats all I can remember

103 weeks left

Hmm well I didnt get anything from the girls so TELL THEM TO SEND ME DEARELDERS. I know it doesnt make its way into the sched easy but do it anyway. I demand it. people dont realize how slowly the week between email can move without intermittent news from the real world. Ill send Tyler my fbook stuff.

   if God loves His missionaries then WHY DOES IT KEEP SNOWING. I hate it so much. Dont get me wrong, I love snow. But here the only thing it does is make us slip and fall and make it bitter cold. We arent allowed to play with it (we usually do anyway) so its just a nuisance. Plus all 4 sisters in my district are Utahns and I get tired of hearing how much they love it.

  Got a sweet package from Sister Hoffmanns mom this week, Sister H told her to send me some brownies, which were delsih magish. Kelsey sent me a nice letter, i havent seen her yet though. And Sister Andersmon sent me an awesome notebook with a really nice note. Im glad I told people not to get me mission journals just because. The 2 Ive gotten since from her and Tyler have been very special to me.  

  Okay so the knees are doing fine, the advil really really helped. After a day without bball I felt good and was super bored so I played anyway and karma struck. I landed on a guys foot and sprained my ankle pretty good. I hobbled for a few days but Im back to playing. That pic of the bruise is the result of that.

  I get to leave the MTC again to go to a doctor. Need to have an ingrown toenail fixed, its killin me. Theres no way Im walkin around with that for two years. Im sure itll be fine though.

 fun facts from this week- Apparently the popular Pitbull song ' i know you want me" has an Armenian version counterpart. you should look that up, it should go "kee tem oozoom inz" ALSO- with all the Armenian i send home Im sure dad will want to attempt to speak it to people in the ward when they ask how I am. DO NOT LET HIM. He'll only insult the Armenian people and myself as well. Language study is going well but I have such a hold on the grammar that all I can do for now is memorize vocab and i hate that more than anything in the world. Well see if I can get motivated.

  Other things I remembered I want- Tom's note, the picture of us at the temple, and the wallet photos of me and Lauren and me and kellie. About the ice grippers- those ones Sis A got me local arent gunna cut it unfortunately. the teachers said it wasnt that bad but the ice here is nasty and if thats all over in Armenia Im gunna want spikes. Basically I need some that arent just screws on the bottom and arent just chain links. They need to be spikes. For boots, I want some that only go up to the ankle. I think we should try a size 11 but thats my opinion. Also I found out that in Armenia they dont have Mac and Cheese, So im gunna want you to send me a couple dozen boxes or so. my thought is that Ill just ask for stuff for my bday. everyone tells us if we need something for Arm to be sure to get it before we leave the MTC. Also I want my black zip up hoodie. Also not sure where it is. I think you'll just need to go through my clothes boxes unfortunately. But thats okay. And anytime your ever at the airport or see more RVA stuff get me some haha. I love reppin the 804 with my shirt. people mistake it for those stupid RVCA shirts and I laugh at them.

 Okay so the grand finale for this week. on tuesday we were at choir practice before the devotional and we knew it was gunna be someone big because 1) our director was demanding as close to perfect as we could get and 2) there was a dude sweeping for bombs hahah. Anyway we practice, go get dinner, come back, sit down and IN WALKS ELDER FREAKING HOLLAND. holy crap he's amazing. I love him. Even though we've already seen him speak and I like to cross others off the list it was incredible. We sang beautifully, if I do say. Precious Savior Dear Redeemer instantly made my top 5 after we sang it. Elder Holland was great. He was more relaxed since it wasnt conference, and he made a ton of funny jokes about wanting to take away free agency, and murdering us in a dark alley if we ever go inactive after being a missionary. it was a good message though. He talked about why PMG was written, how RMs going inactive makes zero sense and cant happen, how we should continue being missionaries always. He ended with an incredible dedicatory prayer over 3 renovated buildings on campus. It was seriously amazing. i kept wanting to peek up and see if angels were attending or something haha it was powerful.

  Anyway that was my week. its been better. Im getting tired of some of the peoplein my district though. But well see. About the pics- I think theyre self explanatory. the one of the 3 of us is my companionship. the guy that looks like a fool in front of the temple is the Englishman Elder Mills. I love him. the big Tongan is Elder Bloomfield, hes headed to Vegas. He cracks me up, and I have to guard him in bball a lot (eesh) the group is my district.

 Love you all, miss you all. WRITE ME. 

We got a letter from Elder Moore!

Oh SNAP ....

HAY everybody I just finished the second longest week of my lifeeee (first should be obvious) it was terrible! And yet, not so bad.

   We started teaching Artak. My least fav phrase is now (chick ee tem) which means I dont know. Anything we told him, he said he didnt know (God loves you, JC is our savior etc) and just said that only we knew that stuff. Funalyl we told him he had to feel it by praying, that went well. He said he'd already been baptized but when we explained the difference with ours he said he would if we continued to teach him and he liked it all. We're supposed to meet the real Artak (his names Elder White) tonight to see how we've been doing.

  The language comes along. Like I said I can read, thats getting better daily. Two fun facts- if I mispronounce the word sins it means naked, and covenant said just the wrong way means camel (eg- will you make a new camel with God? hmmm)

  Im so thankful for Mrs Bagby and Ward, and Mrs Bruner and Roscoe making sure what I learned doesnt go anywhere. They ensured I dont sound like a hillbilly speaking English and now Im ahaead in Arm grammar. Its coming pretty easy. But now its just going to be a memorize fest which Im not psyched for.

   The knee is doing fine. I was angry when the woman called Dad and took like 30 whole sec to say why she was calling. I get that she cant say Im fine for liability, but still. Eesh. I went the doc, got xrayed (nothing torn) and got a new knee strap and got banned from bball for 2 weeks. Which sucks because the reign of terror had begun. I had my shot and confidence back and kids were just basking in my glory. So slow! All they do is shoot and use 1 or 2 of the same moves. Yikes. Anyway im also instructed to eat advil like its candy.

   What else is new? Not a whole lot. At first our district leader (whos one of my comps and from Utah) was up our butts the whole first few days. We hated him. Elder Mills and I atleast, and the girls knew he was too uptight. But he loosened up, realized we're super funny but that we can also work really really hard when its time. So now he's just awkward, but not terrible.

  We went to the temple today- the second time was much better.

  I sang in the choir on tues. We didnt have enough time or people to make the arrangement of Nearer to Thee as good as it should have, but it was still solid. The firesides here are great. I just wish I could stay alert through them all. Hopefully in time.

  I got grandmas clock today. I forgot to tell her my watch was waking me up just fine but its still very appreciated. I also got my recommend and blessing. I had the blessing shrunk and laminated and now its in my sciprtures. Love it. I've gotten a bunch of other random things from the bookstore to make life easier. My teachers say Ill def need boots, they didnt mention ice grippers but I think I want them anyway. We have 9 weeks to do all that but we shouldnt procrastinate.

.

 I officially dont support the age change hahah. This place is already crowded and got worse when the new ones came yesterday. Plus there are a lot of attractive sisters that I cant ignore for being ancient, which only makes it harder to focus. Haha jk I love that sisters are realizing the only real excuse not to go now is "I dont feel like it" and theyre joinin us lads.

  Im pretty sure Livvie forgets who we are every night and just loves us anyway the next day, so Im not worried about her liking me in two. Make sure Linus gets enough love and show him my picutre everyday. Big Al, you should write me dearelders of badlipreading quotes and other funny stuff. You ma boo, and I be missin you yo. Keep the house up to shape now that its just you girls again! Tell Lanie to stop throwing up. Do it. She cant avoid speaking in church that way forever :P

  you got the pic, I like the one of me in the snow. Im thinking about making you change it with one of me in Armenia with a big coat and a funny hat, but well see. My mish scrip is Alma 29 9 and 10. Sil vous plait.

  Okay I think thats all i got. Email got screwed up today because my knee appt was during temple time, so we switched temple with laundry/email. I might get to get on again in a little bit but I think I've said everything. Thanks to Old Man Bleyl, Lizzie/Big Mike, Ellen, and Elder Komm for letters this week. I think that was everyone. I keep getting pleasant surprises from people I ddidnt expect to write so soon, which makes up for the people that lied to me. But hey im a missionary its my job to be forgotten. :D

  Love you all. I sent a bunch of letters, mostly replies. Uncle Mike still needs one from me though. I sent you guys some Armenian to look at. Cant wait to get there! Its gunna be a while but I only hear good things and Im stoked.

Love Jerm

oh snap only 103.5 weeks left

Dear Family (including spirit brothers),

  OH HAY itz ya boy Elder Moore reppin the RVA here on the mish. I wrote letters on the first day but haven't mailed them yet. I thought we were going to email the first evening but apparently aint nobody got time for dat here. My pday is Thursday, but they let us email today so y'all know Im alive.

  Where to even begin?? The first day was crazy. Gma and I got Jdawgs with Yup and Hebe as a great last meal. We said goodbye before the curb so I hopped out ready to go. Surprised my host a bit. I got my lang stuff, nametag, etc and got moved in then went to my first Armenian class. Brother Carlson and Sister Crawford are our first teachers, they are awesome. They wouldnt speak english the first day and a half. When i finally heard Bro Carlson speak english it threw me off guard, esp cuz his Armenian accent is so great. Day one he worked mostly on the alphabet. 39 letters, plus they have two forms of each letter, one for writing and the other for print/typing. Plus upper and lower case, and a lotttt of the letters look the same (like Ns, Us, Ys, or Fs) Plus a lot of letters look like english letters. Arm A looks like our W, and a lot of other examples. Super hard stuff, but we kept at it. Its day 3 ish and I can read! Kinda. It takes me a bit, and some of the less commonly used letters trip me up, but I can read a lot of stuff. There are a lot of different sounds you have to make with your mouth, reminds me of Navajo a lot. I can do every sound except rolling Rs and a different softer roll. But Im workin on it.

   On the second day we learned how to teach some basic gospel stuff, testimony stuff. yesterday (2nd official day, but I'll say day 3) we had to teach our first lesson with our new investifaker (we all know he's a member), Artock (rough phonetics there) Even though he's fake he does a great job of not understanding when we try to use english, and also not understanding much about the gospel. We planned a very basic lesson about God and Christ, and I prayed. I used my cheat notebook a couple times, but got through a lot of it. My comps dont really approve of using what we've written down, but idk how they expect the spirit to be there if we cant even get our some mangled Armenian. So i feel fine about it, and Im using it less. Our second lesson is in a few hours. We're going to attempt to teach him to pray, then ask him to do it and prepare to be baptized. At first, I felt that asking about baptism that early was a bad idea- not only could you scare him away, but he could say yes and really not be ready or aware of what he's getting into. But my zone leader had a great point (he's studying greek) he had an investifaker that he'd taught a number of times, but didnt mention baptism until like the 6th lesson. The guy "felt" like he was being tricked, like they were subtly trying to get him to agree by not mentioning it till then. So we're asking if he'll prepare to, not if he will right now. People we teach should be aware that our end goal is baptism, even if we then back off it. They shouldnt just think we're there to satiate their curiosity.

  About my elders. Im in a triumverate (3some sounds iffy to me) Elder Miller is from UT and Elder Davidson from SoCal. Then there's Elder Mills from England (cool right?) and Elder Shields from Oregon. Then we have 4 sisters, one of which is 25 and from provo. And thats it! Theres a whopping 9 of us. Elder Miller is a bit timid and awkward. He's def a cookie cutter Utah kid. Elder Davidson is pretty uptight about stuff, but he's easier to talk to. I think i've been blessed where I am. With either one of them as solo companions I wouldnt be happy, same if i was with Elder Shields. Elder Mills cracks me up, but his heart is still at home, and he has obedience issues. Its def diff coming from London. But we have lots of fun, and we'd def be trouble as comps hahah. So its a good thing im in a tripanionship, I get to keep my sanity. My companions walk super duper fast. Idk if theyre in better shape or its the lack of O2 or the fact that I believe in enjoying the journey, but I walk a good pace just to keep a visual on them. Half the time its because they've forgotten something, which is frustrating.

   The food here is okay. The lines are awful, but we manage. Basketball is pretty fun. Chase wasn't lyin, the people here  are slow on the court. Theyre all shooters. Normal that would be my game haha b but when they all shoot I take it hard to the hoop! Kinda. But yeah a quick up fake and they're gone, then theyre impressed I can finish. Once I can breathe again I'll be tearin it upppp.

  Other notes... no one seems to know for sure how long we're gunna be here. My teachers say 12 weeks, that the shortening hasnt happened for us yet. My branch pres thinks 9 but isnt sure. My mailing address says March 18th, which is 10.5 weeks. So who knows. But I know that our teachers and even Artak are speaking real slow for us, so im going to enjoy the relative comfort of living here and work hard till they tell me to split.

   Im superr tired. I always sleep pretty well and feel good in the morning but then I see its 2pm even though it feels like 10. The cold makes my thumbs ache and my knees are super sore. I bought another wrap for my knee and those help a bit. Its ca ca ca crazy cold too. I wear earmuffs every time I step out and sometimes wear a sweater.

  I think that's all I have. How are the dogs? How was the trip South? Hows tyler enjoying my computa? Whens my CTR ring coming? My district is stoked to see it. Haha they all laugh when I show them my fam pics and how much hair I used to have.

  Oh bt dubs shout out to Kellie, Uncle Mike, and Sarah Kemer for the letters and the Bleyls for the postcard. Much much much appreciated. To everyone else from whom I have not heard, friendship revoked.

Cant wait to hear from you guys on thursday. Cant wait to call you in 3 months and show off my new language! haha. Armenian has some rough sounds but it has a really pretty flow to it. I like it. And apparently the Arms. love the fact that people from America come all the way over and try to learn their language and customs. So thats good, hopefully theyll go easy on me. I feel good about learning it, obv theres a long way to go, but Im def up there in my district. Between Mrs Bagby, Ward, and studying French grammar i have some serious advantages.

  This place has an interesting feel to it. I wont say I like it, but I know its the place to be before going to Armenia.

  I miss you guys tons. If someone offered me a flight home itd be a tough call, but Ima stick dis out. its an investment.

 Much love,

 Yeretz Moore

Meanwhile ... we have awakened slowly and with some prodding.  
Jeremy was completely ready and saw our stake president at 9 this morning. We went home for a few moments before heading to Walmart to pick up a camera and then off to the airport. We got a nice moment in the airport ... pictures coming?
Then, there were tearful good byes. To try and describe the positive attitude/impact Jeremy has on this family would be a tough task, we'll certainly miss him!  But there is a quote somewhere that reads "A missionary leaves his family for two years so that others may be with their families for eternity"

Above is the picture that will be displayed in our church building on 2500 Pump road.  There will also be one of Elder Moore's fave scriptures on the plaque (Alma 29:9-10)
Samantha's parents picked Elder Moore up from the airport and he stayed with them overnight, picking up odds and ends (toiletries, etc) that Jeremy didn't want to fly with.  The next day Jeremy entered the MTC!

Well, the Journey begins

Ignore the time of this post, we are up doing our last minute packing and storing the many things that won't be making the trip to Armenia with Elder Moore. I have taken the time to set up the blog that will capture and share the memorable moments and happenings during the two years that Jeremy will serve.

The last few weeks have been full of Jeremy's favorites ... visiting with friends and eating out at his favorite restaurants.

My next order of business is to get a copy of the talk that Jeremy read during our congregational meeting. Lanie was scheduled to speak too, but fear of puking at the podium (she had thrown up a few minutes earlier) kept her away. A wonderful piano musical number performed by his older brother (Tyler)  invited the spirit into that meeting.  It was awesome, many friends from school attended .. along with most of his family that live on the East coast. Afterwards it was heartwarming to enjoy family and a meal after that meeting. We owe a debt of gratitude to the Anderson's for hosting the open house in Jeremy's name, despite having all of their children in town  (and under their roof) for their Holiday vacations.

Well, it's time for a few hours of shut eye ... tomorrow we'll go to President Mullin's to be "set apart" and officially begin life as an LDS missionary. Afterwards we'll head to the airport to send Jeremy on his way.  Oops, I mean Elder Moore.  Not the last time that I slip on that ....

Last time we'll all be together for a couple of years