We're back !

We had a wonderful time, saw so many inspirational sights, and met WONDERFUL people. Landon and Christian Larsen (West Bountiful) were the youngest on the tour, and were treated so well by everyone. Christian has been called to Brazil for his mission, and will leave a month after Landon.

Landon also spoke in his singles ward today. He did a great job. Only 2 weeks.....time is short now.

Off to Nauvoo

Landon and Gwen are heading East to Missouri, Illinois, Iowa, and Nebraska on an LDS church history tour. We promise to take lots of pictures, and will report when we get back. We are both really really excited.

Now we can relax......

It was a great day ! Everything went as planned. The talks by Landon and his good friend Mike Rose, and Bishop Birt were excellent. The music was beautiful, and the dinner afterwards was good. There was enough food (thank goodness), thanks to everyone helping out. Thank you all so much for supporting Landon and our family. Family and friends, co-workers and team mates, those who traveled from FAR and near. We love you all ! <

Time is getting short !!

Landon's farewell in his old ward is this Sunday at 10:50 a.m. in the Morgan 6th Ward (Porterville Chapel) located at approx. 2700 S. Morgan Valley Drive. We will have a luncheon afterwards at the Morgan County Courthouse, and would love to have everyone come and join us.

Zone Conference in Helena Montana

Landon and Gwen drove up to Helena on Sunday afternoon, arriving about 9:30pm. They visited with President Fisher at the hotel, and the next morning traveled to a church where the conference was held. There were approximately 18 Elders, 2 Sister missionaries, and one couple missionary. It was interesting to note all of the "practical" matters which were discussed, i.e. having $20 on you at all times (for emergencies), clean and trimmed neckline, insurance(medical) cards in order, watching a safety video (they had 5 wrecks in the past week),etc. There were missionaries of all shapes and sizes, tall, short, outgoing, shy, greenies (only in the field for 3 weeks) and one who only had 2 weeks left. It was great to share in the spirit that was there. We were treated so graciously, and were able to eat lunch with them, sing with them, pray with them, and share our testimonies with them. It was a great preview to what Landon will be experiencing soon. We left for home about 5:30 pm on Monday. Thanks again President and Sister Fisher - we love you !!

From California to Montana

Landon is off to Cali with friends. They flew out last night, will attend the Angels/Cleveland game today, and the BYU/UCLA Bruins game on Saturday. They will fly home early Sunday morning, and then he and Gwen will drive to Helena, Montana for a zone conference with President Fisher (Landon's former bishop), and the missionaries of the Billings Montana Mission on Monday.

Remembering a Friend

In the fall of 2001, four boys from Coalville joined the Morgan Midget (Little League) Football team because North Summit did not have a program. Colton "Duke" Potter fit right in, and became good friends with Landon and the boys. Roger was one of the coaches on the team, and knew Duke's dad, Rene very well from his old wrestling days. Throughout high school, it was always great to see the Potters at both football and wrestling. We received news the other day that Duke was tragically killed in a car accident. He was a great young man who's life ended much too soon. We will miss him. Read Obituary here

More news about the Earthquake.....

I talked with Tammy Bullock this morning, and she said that they had let all of the missionaries in Peru call their parents to reassure them. Lawson told her that they were without power for two days, but everything is back on and back to normal. He said the scariest/wildest part was seeing all of the electric transformers blowing up and sparking everywhere. The missionaries in the Lima Peru North Mission have not been called on to help in the southern part of the country. They are tracting and teaching as normal. Lawson also said that he LOVES his new mission president, President Carlos A. Perez Basso, who is a native of Uruguay.

Earthquake in Peru

Jose' Garcia, Landon's friend from TVCC, texted him last night, to tell him about this. He had heard it on a Spanish radio station. We looked for it on the internet and local news stations here, but didn't find any news until this morning.Check out this article

More Fun in the Sun

The Singles Ward (Morgan 10th) will be traveling to Jackson Hole, Wyoming for some fun filled days of floating the Snake River, and enjoying the
Bar J Wranglers. They left Thursday the 9th at 11am, and will return Saturday afternoon.

Peru Info

This is information from a missionary who served in the Peru, Lima North Mission from 1998 to 2000:

Wish List: A little photo album that I could show pictures of my family.

Never Used: Iron, Sewing Kit, Rain Coat, Cooking supplies (I didn't need a sewing kit because there was always people who would sew whatever I needed for real cheap)

Preparation: I wished I would have read more of the books from the Missionary Series (Jesus the Christ, Articles of Faith, etc)

Living Conditions: A one room apartment was the norm.

Weather: In the jungle you will experience a lot of flooding due to much rain. The rain coat from home didn't do the job, and it never rained hard enough in Lima to need a raincoat.

Natives: Never tell them how much you make at home or how wealthy you are as an American, always respect their country and customs. Learn about their traditions and respect them.

Problems: Diarrhea, I was able to get a bottle of a drug called Bactrim that really helped to make me feel better when I got diahrrea.

Culture Hints: I really got a Peruvian companion mad when I walked in between him and a guy he was talking to without saying "disculpe". It seems really silly, but it was very important to him. Also when someone "invites" you to eat something it is very important to accept it and eat it all. Always share your goodies with your companions. If you buy a snack, be prepared to share it.

Missionary Secret: My first companion told me "Know why you're really here, and the rest will take care of itself." That was really good advice for me.

Other Advice: You never remember the rejections, but you always treasure those who accept your message

Nothing Much going on

All of us (Landon, Roger, Gwen) are working...... Still need to get a lot of shopping done for the mission, but haven't made it back to Missionary Mall in Orem, which is where we will probably pick up most of the stuff. It's expensive ! Who knew?? Missionary photo shoot is scheduled for Wednesday, so hopefully we'll get a new photo of Landon up soon. The days are counting down.

Finally !!

Passport arrived today - Visa application will be sent off tomorrow - Yahoo !
Landon will be attending MTM (Mountain Top Mission), Wednesday through Saturday of this week. This is....."a unique experience with good food, physical challenges, mission games, stimulating discussions, and important instruction". This is for all 17-18-19 year old boys in the Morgan Stake. Landon is looking forward to it - it should be GREAT !

Where is the Passport?

In two more days, Landon's passport application will have been in for 4 weeks. We did expedite it, and they SAID it should take 2-3 weeks. We have his visa application all ready to go, just need the passport to finish it up. Apparently it's the visa that takes so much time, which is why Landon's report date isn't until October. We are now down to 3 months and 6 days...........

Landon's Day

Today is Landon's 19th birthday. He went to the Ogden Temple to receive his endowments. It was a great day. Thanks to everyone for your love and support.

Letter from Peru

Lawson Bullock is serving in the Peru, Lima North mission at this time. Here is what his mom wrote for the ward newspaper:
In Lawson's last email he said he can't believe he only has 6 months left. He said he had a dream that he was going home and he felt like he couldn't go because there was too much work to do. He had transfers this week but he and his companion are staying together in Comas. He was thrilled. It is a part of the city that he says is very loud and very dirty, but he and his companion have been working very hard and they feel they have made a big impact on the area. They continue to have success with baptisms and are receiving new referrals everyday. They baptized a young man this week and he was so excited to be baptized so that now he can receive the priesthood. They are also trying to activate some of the members that have been baptized and have gone inactive.

He is getting a new Mission President this week and is very sad to see President Morris leave but is excited about the new President.

It is winter there and getting a little cold by Peru standards. Lawson said they had hot chocolate with chocolate marshmallow in it. He said it was just like home. It is hard to think of it being cold there when it is so hot here.

He was excited to hear that Landon Rich will be going to Peru but they will probably only cross paths as Lawson comes home and Landon goes into the field. The North Peru Mission must really like those Morgan boys.

One in One Million

Good article from the Deseret Morning News
Click here to view

Some more info.............

We've talked to a few people, checked out the internet, and read through the mission papers, and our heads are spinning......or I should say MY head is spinning. Landon just smiles and says, "It's going to be great !"

Some things we have learned:

There are 7 missions in Peru alone.

Landon will spend 3 weeks in the Provo MTC, and 6 weeks at the MTC in Peru.

The big city of Lima (pronounced Leema, not like a lima bean) is split up into four areas (North, South, East, Central) and also, as part of each of these missions, there is another area outside of the city. The NORTH mission takes in a big area which includes the rainforests of the Amazon.

Landon will spend 1/3 to 1/2 of his time in the city(Lima)and the other in Iquitos, far to the north, which can only be reached by boat or plane.

Landon might be eating a lot of "interesting" foods - guinea pig, turtle, monkey, lizard and alligator to name a few.

There is not a lot of tracting done in Peru - most contacts are by member referral.

Two Morgan missionaries are in the Peru, Lima North mission now - Lawson Bullock, and Jason Johnson. They will be coming home, just as Landon arrives.

Peru, Lima North Mission

Landon reports to the Provo MTC on October 17th - 4 months away............ We are told we should get working on his passport tomorrow !

He is excited and nervous. He will of course, be learning Spanish !

Click on this link for info about Peru

It's a RED LETTER Day !

Well, the call came at 7 am this morning, it's here ! We plan to open it tonight at 7pm. Check back for more details later tonight or tomorrow morning.