Ignore My Last Letter About Transfers -- I LIED!

Please note before reading: The picture of the empty PO Box is not serious, and should be taken entirely in jest. Just this week, I have received a letter from my sister, as well as packages from the Atkinsons and Grandma Pat. Thank you for the all great thoughts and emails as well. And Grandma Pat, thanks for the thoughts and the Reeses. They make me absurdly happy.

This week as gotten a little crazy, and it's only going to get worse. We spent the latter half of this week bidding farewell to the people we've been meeting with. Then comes Sunday, and we bear our testimonies, Elder Ivan bearing his under the impression that it was his last one in Alaska, me just bearing mine because I could.


Along comes a phone call from President. They want to meet with us immediately following Church. We meet, and President takes me aside for a personal interview. I'll just lay it straight: The Lord needs me in Craig, and I'm leaving on Thursday.

Craig, by the way, is on The Prince of Wales Island, west of Ketchikan. Population: about 1300. Area: about 9 miles square, including water. By comparison, Kamas (Utah) is about 1.6 miles square, with a population of 1200. I'm going to the bush.

Not much else to say, except that we don't know yet what's going to happen to Bear Mountain. Most of the Ward doesn't even know that I'm leaving, so it will come as a surprise to them.

Anyway, this ward has been amazing with taking care of me and feeding me and stuff like that. If any of the Bear Mountain ward is reading this, know that I love you and wish you and the area my best.

The weather in Craig is hovering in the 40s, and it's technically a rain forest area, so it will be fun to adjust from nonstop snow to nonstop rain. I've picked up a lot more than I thought in Chugiak as well, so it will be fun packing it all up for a plane ride.

By the Way, Dad, for your info, I'm flying out of Anchorage to Ketchikan, where I'll take a ferry to Craig. Total time will be about 10 hours. Craig is actually next to Whitehorse, the hardest/longest place to get to in the mission.

Dad, I really enjoyed Romans 5:19. In my life, I've found the following to be really true. If the Lord trusts you, he puts you in some pretty weird places to do some pretty wild things in life.

President has really emphasized that if we want to go to all the crazy places in Alaska, we need to be responsible. It makes me happy how quickly the Lord rewards.

So, in conclusion: Be reliable, work hard and you too can get sent to Craig.

Elder Darcey