Elder Montague's Mission

Day 1 May 24, 2017 Wed Provo, UT  I've finally arrived at the Missionary Training Center (MTC), my home for the next two months. My flight over was lovely- I sat next to a nice lady who texted you a picture of me when I asked. The flight was smooth, and I think I napped some on the way over. When I got to SLC, it was pretty easy to pick out the missionaries. I went out front to wait for my shuttle with a sister missionary I found. During our 2 hour wait period, we cycled through about 7 other missionaries who had family pick them up. It was a little stressful, because I couldn't use my phone to pass the time, so it seemed like it went on even longer than it probably did, but also because the MTC didn't actually give us any information about the shuttle, other than that we were scheduled for it. 2 other vans for the company we were waiting on passed by us and we were afraid we were skipped over. It finally came just as we had given up hope (our group had grown up to...

First, I'd like to thank everybody that has given support, encouragement, love, and attention before I left. I appreciate everyone making me feel special in church, on social media, in person, and through their actions. It has helped me and my family as I finished my preparation to leave for my church service. Getting ready to leave has been tough, and not just because I pushed just about everything to the last minute. This mission has been a long time in the works (19 years actually), and I have been nurtured and shaped to be who I am from my parents, siblings, friends, peers, teachers, advisers, fellow committee members, officers, thespians, soccer players, young men and women in the ward, the kids I babysat, the lawns I mowed, the time I spent at camp, my year at BYU, my callings, my hobbies and interests- literally everything. I could not be who I am, doing what I am about to embark on, were it not for all the good times and the bad ones that I've been blessed to sha...