Weeks 1-6

Here are some updates from Trav week by week:

WEEK 1

Sadly I can't find the email in my overly jammed inbox, but Travis got dropped off at the MTC by Jena and her family.

He sounded good and strong, and was totally filled with nerves like every other missionary!

WEEK 2

"I've been playing soccer a lot lately and I'm always on the ground because I'll try to make a hard cut and I always slip without cleats on. Anyways, yesterday I was playing outside mid and the ball was near the goal I was trying to score on and so I sprinted to block the elder from clearing it, stuck out my foot and blocked it just as he kicked it... only problem was that I wasn't in a good position to withstand the kick and so I went down hard core and skinned my arm by my elbow up and everything! Crazy awesome!

"It makes my night being able to get mail and read it that night when we get back to the room. It's funny that you mentioned getting locked out mom because the other day my companionship left the room and the other companionship was taking showers and we ended up locking them out on accident. ha thankfully they could just page the front desk and ask them to bring them a key. I've been asked to play the piano a lot lately! It's been a lot of fun but I feel bad that I only know a few songs and fewer of them are actually in french! It makes it hard to play when they sing in french but it is ok!"

WEEK 3

"So I want to start off this week's letter with a phrase that I really like in French - "J'irai et je ferai" otherwise known as "I will go and do" Just thought it sounded really cool and I was thinking that maybe it would be a cool phrase for the nephews and nieces to learn and have it guide their lives ... in french!

"So classes are going well here! Soeur Pace is a fantastic teacher as is Frere Wilcox. We are definitely comprehending more French than we used to and can speak it better as well, now the next step is to speak it more frequently than we now do! But classes are great. The food is pretty good too! It's about par with the cannon, maybe a step lower but it is really nice to not have to fix anything to eat! The worst part about this week is that I have been sick and didn't really feel like eating until like Saturday. But now the sickness is pretty much gone. However, I did have a major bloody nose last night at about 5:30 am! It was ridiculous. Not too fun, but it stopped. However later on the other nostril had a bloody nose. Hopefully I will be able to stay bloody nose free for awhile.

"I was able to see Josh on Wednesday by chance, but it was way cool! I totally went to leave the items for Jena at the front desk before breakfast, but after a long confirmation process, they told me I couldn't do that. So then at dinner I get called down to the frontdesk and they tell me that Josh came for them and to go grab them and they would call him back and give them to him. Well as I went to go grab them, Josh spotted me as he was leaving, and so I was able to chat with him for a few minutes! It was way cool to be able to do that. Unfortunately my companions wanted to go eat and so I couldn't stay long.

"So tomorrow I am going to be the senior companion. Kind of cool, kind of weird."

WEEK 4

"My companionship is working well. There are definitely difficulties coordinating schedules... especially bathroom times throughout the day, but we're making it work and we're trying our hardest to be obedient and do all the things we need to do to have success while we are out on our missions! It's crazy that we have been out for almost half our stay here at the MTC!

"This past week I have been the senior companion. I'm just trying to love and serve my companions and make sure we are doing what we can to prepare for our investigators and whatnot. I have 2 more weeks as the Senior companion.

"We had a really really neat companion study this week where we really deciphered where we wanted the lesson to go and then what scriptures we wanted to challenge them to read. It was awesome! The lesson that resulted from that study with Jean went really well. It was one of the best lessons we have taught so far. But the lesson with Daphney was a little less than triumphant cause she just threw a tough question at us and it just is breaking our hearts that she isn't just jumping on board with the gospel. I learned that in those events, the best thing you can do is just bear pure testimony! We're gonna try to do all we can to help her though.

"I've been playing basketball this week and it has been some of the best basketball of my life. The best game was when I helped us win like 9-7. It was a really intense game that was really drawn out, but we finished her off and it was such a great feeling!

"Going to the temple is great. I love doing that on P-days and our temple walks on Sundays."

WEEK 5

"Elliott [Wedam] did arrive last Wednesday and I was so excited to see him right as he got here that I gave him a huge hug and then told him I would talk to him later because his host was taking him on a tour. I've been able to see him twice now at meals and it is always way fun to see him. It's hard to call him "elder wedam" rather than elliott.

"This past sunday we watched the Joseph Smith movie in French! It was way cool and I could understand a fair amount of what was being said. I just remember thinking of how both William Young and Clara Black (I think that was her name) both testified that they saw Joseph and that they both knew that he was a divine prophet of God. It was just a neat perspective to have as I watched the things that happened to our first prophet - knowing that my ancestors were right there being true and faithful.

"Since it is over halfway here I just can't wait to get out in the field! It's crazy how this month has flown by and yet the days have felt long! I'm just ready to preach the gospel and to work hard with tracting and finding and just being a solid missionary. But I am also trying to work hard here to invite the spirit, to be obedient, and to learn French.

"I'm so happy to welcome Leah into the family! I'm way excited for another neice!

"I have pictures of me and Oaklie and I always say to other elders that are my friend "hey, you want to see a picture of my girl?" Then I show them me and Oaks and it is just really funny! And then I love the one of me and Shaff and Logan in front of the temple, I look at it frequently!

"My congrats goes out to Brad for finishing Dental School! Congrats my bro! You better be in klamath when I get back! "

WEEK 6

"The MTC is a blur - things that happen days ago happened today and things that seem like they happened today happened several days ago. Days are like weeks and weeks are like days. But nevertheless I am on my 7th week in the MTC and only have 3 remaining! Amazing! We leave on the 11th of september and there are 6 of us in my district going to Montreal with me and more in our zone. This being the 7th week, my time as senior companion is now over and it is Elder Ritchie's turn to finish us out at the MTC. We are all ready to go. We (all 3 in the companionship) made that comment after Sunday night's devotional! It's crazy. But we can endure 3 more weeks.

"All your stories of rafting are killing me! I wish I could go with you, but it's ok. I need to be here doing this work. That's one of the things that stuck out to me during the temple time we had today. It's been amazing being able to do a session every week the past few weeks. I read in 2 Ne 32 and it was a marvelous answer to prayer. The book of mormon is amazing. As I have come to hear more of the teachings from elder bednar, the more I love, admire, and respect him. "In the strength of the lord" is a marvelous talk from him. I'm now trying to read the rest of the BOfM before I leave the MTC (I'm on Alma 36... I started a couple weeks ago on Mosiah 18 or so). Also, I'm taking Elder Bednar's advice and bought a cheapo bofm and now I'm marking all the phrases that are related to "and the Lord did strengthen us." Hopefully I can get through both of these goals quickly enough that it can be of mighty inpsiration to me.

"I love the stories of my nephews and nieces. When I heard of Shaff and his teeth, I cringed and was weeping with you and then when I heard of Logan saying "We're gonna buy uncle travis LOTS AND LOTS of presents" that made me so happy. I love them so much and they really do inspire me to be and become better. I have them in my scriptures constantly and whenever I need a pick-me-up I look at them! So I definitely need some pictures of Saige and Will."


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These are just a few excerpts from Elder Mortenson's emails. Every week when Tuesday rolls around I find myself anxiously awaiting his emails to pop in my inbox. It's comforting to hear that my brother is doing well, and to hear of the experiences he is having. Because I am the mother of a boy now, when I hear from Travis and see the sacrifices he's making, I can't help but become teary as I think of the tremendous example he is to my sweet William. I picture William being in his place and realize the deep sacrifice it is for these missionaries and their families to serve for two whole years with little communication.

In then end of Mosiah and beginning of Alma, it talks about how the Lord promised Mosiah to keep his sons safe while they serve the Lord on their missions. "Let them go up, for many shall believe on their words, and they shall have eternal life; and I will deliver thy sons out of the hands of the Lamanites" (Mosiah 28:7). It then explains life threatening or spiritually burdening experiences the sons of Mosiah went through and how they were delivered from such terrible situations because of the Lord's promise to their father.

I apply this to my brother, and hold on to it as a promise for the future when I send my own son out to the mission field. I am thankful for the tremendous comfort it is knowing that while Travis is in the Lord's service he is also under His protection and care.

-Jessi