Poltava

Week 79

Hey! I am in Poltava right now because I want to continue to live in Ukraine! Registration happens at Poltava because Kremenchuk is in the Poltava Oblast, Elder Bates and I rode up this morning and they played a strange Russian Back to the future movie on the marshrutka.  

Everything is well, we are starting to find some people to work with, we hope to complete 2 families in the chruch this next transfer or two. 

No time today, sorry bus leaves in 45 minutes to take us back to work.

Love you all!

Hey buddy,

I can't believe we are down to 6 more months!  That is awesome, I plan for it to fly by!  At the same time, I say to you to enjoy every minute you have left of the mission life.  You will never get this time back to solely focus on the Lord.  It is a blessing in your life.  I am so excited to see the changes in you and hear your testimony and all the experiences you have had.

As for the beans that tasted like eating cereal with ketchup on it!!!!  I would like to point out that you didn't eat beans, ketchup, or cereal before you left!!!  Haha.  So funny.  Plus ewwww that they were full of bugs and I bet the bugs were living in the beans.  please don't eat beans with bugs in them anymore!  That sounds horrible.  Your poor comp eating them to spare your feelings!  You can tell him you wouldn't eat my taco soup with beans to spare my feelings;).  I would like to ask, do you plan on eating taco soup when you get home?  At least the bean in them were fully cooked and didn't have bugs!

Our week was good.  

Cam had some of his appointments, he has been having headaches and dizzy spells.  They did some blood work but the Doc hasn't called to explain the results.  His White Blood Cells were really low so I'm not sure what that means, and if that could be the cause of his headaches.  

I had my piano recital which was funny.  It was just for the adults that take piano and 1 guest.  Curtis came with me as my guest.  I played Gethsemane.  It went good, it felt a little embarrassing, but was good to perform in front of other people.  I really enjoy the lessons and do feel like I am improving.

The weather has been super cold this week with tons of snow!  We tried to go to the park on Monday but didn't last long and ended up at the McDonald's for the kids to play.  I am soo ready for spring!

The boys had ward ball yesterday and Josh actually made a couple baskets including a 3 pointer...he was so excited.  

Curtis and I went to dinner with Ethan and his girlfriend Holly on Thursday.  She actually seems really nice.  She isn't what I would picture him dating.  She is a good girl and really smart.  They are going to mission prep together every week now so that is good.  He is talking about getting his papers in soon, so we need to keep him going on that.  He is also considering doing a semester in college and then going.  I think he plans to go to UVU now...because that is where Holly is going.  We shall see...He did mention finishing his associates at UVU and then going to BYU as a transfer student. 

Josh takes the ACT on Tuesday so send some prayers his way for that.  Curtis is taking the TBoys this week to Vegas for the Conference tournament.  I think they leave thursday and come home Monday.  They are excited...it is their trip instead of the Fiji trip that the other kids are going on.  

Mikey blesses the baby on Sunday so that will be nice.  We will have the lunch here afterwards.  It's a bummer that Curtis will miss that though.

So questions/discussions this week...

1-How are things with your comp?  Do you guys get along great or is it just good?  Do you do much with your district?  Any district activities?  

2-Do you like Kremenchuk?  

3-What is your hopes for the last 6 months of your mission?  Do you hope to move around a lot to see more of Ukraine?  Do you hope to go back to any area? Any people you want to be comps with or any assignments you haven't had that you hope to have?

4-Are you sure about your Aug. 29 release date?  you are supposed to move into BYU housing on Aug. 30?!?  We can move you in over the weekend of course, but it's not much time to spend together:(

5-How are you feeling about BYU housing/ ROTC stuff?  I haven't heard from the FLH so I'm not sure if that means you were not selected.  If you are selected will you want  to do it or not?

6-Do you still get mail in Kremenchuk and how do you get it?

7-What is your favorite thing about being a missionary?

8-What is your favorite missionary experience?

9-What are you NOT telling me about living in Ukraine?

10-pics

11- Recordings...I love them even when they are short!!!  The kids died laughing last week when you told the story about your gas in the gym;)

12-Are you happy and positive?  Is it hard to remain happy and positive?

13-Is there any trip you want to do next fall when you are back if we can pull something off?

14-message for me:)

Thanks for telling me that you don't resent me.  I had been getting worked up about that the last couple months.  You really are the best kid in the world.  I'm so lucky to be your mom!  

I hope you are happy and doing well.  I think about you and pray for you always.  I miss you and am so excited to have you home again!

I love you so much!!!

Love

Mom

1 Way good we get along really well. Yeah we are together alot we do things together all the time.

2 Yes

3  I hope to stay here actually, I am used to being in one place for a long time and I like it that way.  I would love to be comps with Elder Olson, Or any of the Elders that came with me.

4  It is either that or August 15, President I am gussing president didnt know about the housing situation, you could write sister Sullivan and ask about it, if it will be a problem I can request to go home the 15.  

5 I feel good about it, I am thinking no to the FLH just because of how much it controls my schedule.

6 Yes I get it, they send it through NOVA POSHTA

7 I love serving the people and developing relationships with them, especially here whre we are still building the foundations of zion.

8 Tamaras baptism was really amazing and made me really happy.

9 I dont know... There are probably a lot of things that would make you uncomfortable if you were here, but I am just used to.

10Today is so hard on time that I wont have time to send Recordings or pics, but I have them ready for next week. I am glad that the kids liked the story.

12yes i am happy and positive.  for many missionaries it is hard, but for me it is not.  Ukraine/bad companions barely scratches the surface of what it takes to make me truly upset or sad. 

13 I cant think of any right now, probably nothing immediate, I will want to just be home in Utah for a while.

Love you so much, you are the best! I am so happy that everything is going well, I am so grateful for everything you do, and everyone is still jealous of how much you send me.

Game night

Week 78

This week went quite well.  We got a gym membership with mission Presidents permission, and are currently in some moderate level of good pain.  

Funniest thing that happened this week: BAD BEANS

So, I enjoy cooking. You could even count it as one of my talents if you so wished.  I found a bag of beans and after buying a gym membership I thought "Protein".  SO I cooked this bag of beans (my first time cooking beans mind you) and bugs started to float up to the top of the water while they were soaking. I was disturbed by this but just spooned it out and figured they had probably just been living among the beans, and not in them.  So after drowning a colony of bean beetles, I risned the beans and started them a boiling.  After boiling, it was about time to start eating if we wanted to leave on time. but there were a lot of beans, and unfortunatly they did not get fully cooked to the soft point.  It was like trying to eat cereal covered in ketchup. Elder Larsen didnt want to offend me so he ate ALOT of it.  Lets just say we both have had... problems... ever since.  Not the kind of problems we need to call Sister Sullivan for, just the kind of problems that need to take their course. We both feel better now.

Other than that we had a good game night and were able to find some Potential Investigators. WE played Dominion which is like a mix between monopoly and Yugio.  There were three other Americans that were there as Peace Corps Volunteers, they thought. It was also good becasue it built a little bit more of a kind friendly fun image of missionaries.  Hopefully people will change their views, and let the Holy Ghost change their hearts.

Love you all!

Hey Jax,

Your package arrived...and you were right, Kaestli looks darling in her outfit!  Thank you so much for sending all that fun stuff!  We loved it!

Good job on the Scholarship entry!  It was great.  I had Grandma edit it and we were able to send it in.  We won't find out until June probably.

I looked more into your housing and found out that in the room with all the elders, warner, mccleary, olsen and montgumery is going to be Jacob Mika and his cousin Paul Mika...  Jacob is Ron Mika's son and went to Lake Powell with us that one year.  Dad used to work with Ron at Sorenson, he was one of the Partners...they also worked together at Bain Capitol in Boston.  So small world:)  I guess Jacob Mika was friends with Elder Warner at Waterford private school.  The room you are in still has an open bed with you in room 3, if you think of someone I should ask.  There are 2 other people in your apartment at this point and one of the names seems kind of familiar to me...Dallin Joseph Fairbanks.  Does that sound familiar to you?  Still no word from the FLH.

Our week was good.  We had school Valentine parties for all the kids.  I did Kaestli's party in her class.  It was Kate's birthday on Wednesday, Grandma's birthday on Friday and Allie's birthday on Sunday and it is Grandpa's birthday this friday, so maybe give a birthday shout out to all those people.  

I had Jordy's parent teacher conference with his new teachers at Oqquirh middle.  He is doing so good!!!  It has been a real blessing.  I'm counting it as a mission blessing totally.  Last year was so hard and he was going nowhere at the other school.  He is doing so well now.  The teachers love him.  He is one of the higher kids so he is able to have some responsibility and helps with some of the syndrome kids and seizure kids.  He is able to be in choir and next year will be in choir, partner dance classes and seminary.  He is getting good grades, they are finally adapting to what he can learn and he even has an H in choir, where there is no aide in the class with him.  It's a huge turn around!

Cam has his infected Salivary gland again, so that is too bad.  It hurts him really bad.  This is 6 times in 6 months now.  It is so frustrating.  He starts his annual appts. this week starting with his Renal U/S.  So I'll keep you posted on that.

The weather has been nice and the kids have spent a ton of time outside which is great.  The puppy is really growing and getting big.  She is a good dog.

We did a girls lunch with my sisters on Friday for Galentines day for Traci...(Galentines for girls with out a valentine).  Yesterday I took allie, Kate and Kaestli to get pedicures for their birthday's.  Lyndsee came too.  Kate and Kaes got matching toes and so did I and Lynds.  

Dad and I went to the last BYU home game last night.  We lost and played pretty terrible.  Dad isn't sure if he will get tickets again next year.  We shared them with a guy he works with which worked out nice because we didn't have to go to every game.  So I won't mind if he does it again.

Josh had to speak in church today but was taking a nap on Monday when he actually got the phone call and agreed to speak.  So he wasn't prepared at all.  I saw his name on the program and me and Dad were texting him.  He said, he wasn't asked but to find out what his topic was.  I went and sat by Alan Lord who then told me it was Hadley Bennet that would know so I asked him.  We texted him his topic, Music, and Curtis texted a couple scriptures.  It was 6 youth speakers.  He killed it...seriously.  He told everyone how he had slept through agreeing to speak so everyone knew he hadn't prepared at all.  He did so well.  He was the best of all 6 by far.  It was awesome.  HE will be a great missionary and a great public speaker one day!

Jacob came out of deacons today crying.  HE said they talked about the plan of salvation and had everyone share.  He talked about Daddy Jake dying and how he will be able to see him again.  It made him super emotional and sad. 

That is about it for our week.  I am off to book club tonight.  It is our 9 year anniversary of starting it.  

So discussion topics.

1-packages...Did you get my package yet?  Details about how great it was and what your favorite thing in it is?  Also thank  for the package you sent us.  I would love to get a  couple more eggs when it is Easter.  Josh really wants to read the book you sent and wants to know if you read it for "language practice".

2-How are you doing?  How is your comp, area, district, branch?  Are you guys making any progress?  

3-How are the English classes there?  I know you  really built up the English practice in Sumy, will this one take some work to get it like that.  The website is awesome that they made.  I have to really keep myself from clicking on the phone number listed for the Kremenchuk lessons;)

4-Is there anything you need or I can help you with?  

5-Are you happy and positive?  Are things going a lot better where you are?

6-pics

7-recording...I liked last week.  I am glad you mentioned the gym membership or I would have wondered about that on your banking.  You are down to around $40. so let me know when you need more added.

8-This is more personal.  I have been wondering lately.  Do you resent me for having to grow up too fast or do more than most kids/teens had to do?  When you were growing up I was always so impressed with how natural it came to you to help me.  Honestly you are one of my biggest compensatory blessings.  I don't think I would have survived with out you.  I think it shaped you into an amazing person.  I think it helped you get accepted to BYU.  I think it will help you be an amazing father and husband.  But reading your Scholarship entry made me wonder if you see all those benefits and blessings and are grateful for it, or if you resent it/or me...or maybe a little of both.  I hope you don't resent me, but I am sorry if you do.  I am sorry it is the way you had to grow up.  I am sorry I needed so much help.  I am sorry it was so hard with Curtis for so long (I can't wait for you to see the person he has become though, it's so much better and we are really happy).  I am sorry you had to grow up too fast, and take on responsibility that never should have been yours.  But, from the bottom of my heart thank you for being my rock, for rescuing me over and over, for accepting me, for loving me, for helping me, for serving me, for cheering me up when I was down, for caring always, and for forgiving me.  You truly are the best son and I am so grateful I have you.  So if you do resent me, please forgive me and try to see the blessings that have and will come to you from heavenly Father.  Also know that Daddy Jake will never forget it, and you hold a special place in my heart but also his heart for doing it.

I love you more than you will ever understand.

Stay strong, work hard, do your best and pray always.  

I love you!!!

Mom

1  Yes I got it and it was great! I loved the package so much, so far my favorite thing has to be the Chocolate milk, it is a constant delicious reminder of good tasting chocolate drinks. Tell him he can read it and that I did not use it for language practice yet, so it better not be ruined by the time I get back!

2 Doing really well, we are making some progress with finding, we hope to get them interested in the church a bit more, but right now we are in the friend phase, but everything is good.  

3 We need to get them rolling, we are still "Trouble shooting" everything, the problem is that there seems to be a plethora of free English classes in this city, so we are not that special.  We need to do things that the other practices just cant match.  

4 You already sent my favorite package so far, so I cant think of anything else. 

5 Yes I am happy and positive. And yes things are going better.

8 no, I dont resent you, it has definitely given me a little bit of an edge on a lot of other people.  It may be one of the reasons that I have been a Senior Comp my whole mission.  YOu would be even more surprised that if I had the skills I have now back then, Josh and I would never have fought, and your kitchen would always have been 100% spotless.  I love you so much and you are the best, I definitely have 0 resentment for it. 

Week 1 of ProActiv

College week...

Week 77

Yeah! I am in my new area and I love it. The branch here is amazing and we are already seeing miracles! I dont have tons of time to write today, because I have other concerns but I love all of you and I know the church is true!

Hey Jax,

How are you going?  I hope you have had a great week in your new area!  I can't wait to hear all about it!!  I am going to make this short, because I have sent so many other emails that are more important for you to go through!!!

This week was big things for lots of kids.  I spent all of Tuesday figuring out school stuff for you at BYU!  I also spent time Wednesday and Thursday on that.  

I had to make all of Cam's Doctor appt. for his routine followups.  Heart, Kidney etc.

I had Parent teacher conference for Kaestli and she is doing so well in school.  She is really smart and works hard.  I also attended the Portuguese immersion parent meeting for her.  She will be in that program next year.  They stay in the program hopefully until they graduate.  They end up graduating high school with 9 credit hours toward a Minor in the language.  They teach half the day in english and half the day in portuguese from 1st grade to 6th grade.  Then in middle and high school they are put in Ap and college language courses.  It's a big commitment, but studies are coming in on it that it really does help them in the long run.  I'm excited for her.

I also had to go to the middle school this week to get ready to register JACOB for 7th grade?!?  I can't believe that.  It should be you starting 7th grade and jacob starting 1st grade!

I had a meeting at the high school with Josh's counselor so that we can go over college goals and scholarship options.  That has helped me find scholarship options for you too:)

I also volunteered in Kaestli's kindergarten class twice this week, had 2 puppy training sessions, birthday lunch for Kate, birthday dinner for Casey, and babysat Lyndsee's kids when she was sick.  Also a relief society dinner and meeting.  So it was a very full week!  This week should be less demanding:)

I miss you and love you.  Please go through all the stuff I sent you and respond to each email so I don't mix up what you are talking about.  It has been tough going through this with out you here to talk too.  And not being able to talk back and forth makes it hard to go another week before we can clear up questions.  

So..

1-Go through each email and respond to each email separately.

2-I want more info about your companion.  I would love to know who his mom is so I can contact her.  Also, do you like him?  Are you getting along?  Will it be a good companionship?  How is his russian?  Will this be a good transfer?

3-What zone are you in? Who is your zone leader?  Who is your district leader?  Elder Jeffery's mom keeps a current map with where people are and all the zones and districts.  But we don't know where Kremenchuk belongs.  

4-How do you pronounce Krenenchuk?

5-How far away are you from the other Elder's in your area?  Is it fun to be with Elder Bates again?

6-Tell us more about the area, pretty? city or country? branch size/activity rate?

7-working with any investigators?

8-pics/recordings

9-Are you happy and positive?

10-message for me:)

I love you so much!  Connor Hansen came home this week and gave his homecoming talk today.  It was really good, he has grown so much!  It also makes me happy because it just shows how soon you will be home!  Cami Brown is next in May, then Sarah, Keaton and then you!!!  So awesome!  

I hope you are doing well and going to love your comp and area...but tell me the truth if not;)

Love you so much!!!

Mom

He is Elder Trevor William Larsen. He is from Sugarhouse.  Yeah I really like him, we will get along well.  It will be a good companionship, his Russian is descent, better than Elder Vs.  

We are in the Dnepr Zone.  It was hard for us to figure out what zone it was.  YOu pronounce it Kree-men-chook. We are like 40 minutes away, depending on where we are going.  Yeah it is good to be with him again, he is very different now.  It is a city, it is grey, it actually feels a lot like Sumy sometimes.  The branch has about 25 active members, and 60 total.  we dont have any right now, but that should change this week.  Yes I am happy and positive.

I love you so much! You are the best mom ever, it is so helpful to have you assist me with college stuff, I would have no clue where to start. I miss you a lot and cant wait to see you all again! I am sorry that college has been such a big headache, but one day I will be able to handle it all!  Love you so much!

I applied for you.  Once they decide you have a week to select your bed.  If you select a bed you commit to living there and they will set up payment info.  I have to send you the agreement that you are agreeing to live by..Here it is.  It is pretty specific in rules and guidelines so you should pray about it.  If you don't want to do it and they select you then we will let them know and they can give your spot to someone else.  

Please read the FLSR Language Pledge and check the box at the bottom.

1 I understand the following course enrollment (not audit) requirements for language majors and non-majors: 

a Language Majors: I will enroll in a target language course taught on campus to fulfill my major requirements and/or 311R. However, if I do not need 311R, I understand that I will participate in the one-hour weekly discussion in my respective language house.

b Non-language Majors: I will enroll in 311R each semester that I live at the FLSR.

c Courses like choir, language labs, or individual studies do not apply, although they may be taken in conjunction with 311R or a target language course taught on campus.

2 Completion of the following prerequisites is recommended: 102 for Hebrew, Spanish, Portuguese, French, Italian, Russian, and German; 201 for Chinese; and 202 for Japanese and Korean. Faculty Coordinators will discuss course requirements with returned missionaries.

3 In the apartment, I will speak the target language and incorporate the linguistic corrections and suggestions of my Language Facilitator. I understand that non-target language conversations with visitors may take place, but in the commons room. I will avoid speaking English on the phone or on video chat, e.g., Skype, in the kitchen or living room areas.

4 I will watch only target language media in the apartment. I understand that the TV in the commons room is for viewing English TV; however DVDs and videos may not be viewed in the commons areas.

5 I will support the particular aspects of the target language program as defined by the Faculty Coordinator.

6 I understand that the success of the language immersion program in the Foreign Language Student Residence depends on effective teamwork and agree to function as an integral part of my Language House team, doing my share whenever necessary.

7 I will maintain the cleanliness and order of the apartment and agree to do my part in a timely fashion for cleaning inspections. I understand that this impacts the academic goals of the program.

8 I understand that a positive spiritual atmosphere in the apartment greatly benefits linguistic progress and I will do my part to promote good feelings and cooperation among residents.

9 I will eat dinner with fellow house residents Monday-Thursday evenings. Dinners run in the evening from 6:00-7:00, or as agreed upon with the Faculty Coordinator. This commitment spans the duration of the contract period. I will discuss any food allergies / restrictions with your Faculty Coordinator.

10 I agree to work as part of a cooking team. I understand that on my night to cook, I will arrive ahead of time to prepare the meal.

11 I will cooperate with the Language Facilitator and do what I can to make this a positive learning experience for all concerned and will try to be an example of tolerance, patience and magnanimity.

12 If I do not abide by these rules, I may be asked to leave the program even during the semester/term.

13 If for any reason I cancel my participation in the FLSR program, I will be charged a cancellation fee of $50.00.

So that is it.  I will let you know as soon as I hear from them.  You can also log in to the BYU site and put in your info and it will show you the messages and info that they have sent.  I put my phone number as the contact info.  I also had to create a "Housing Identifier" that you have to use to make changes.  It is.....   ukra1ne   I had to put in at least one number.

Let me know what you think of all this...

Love you,

Mom

Yeah that is a lot of rules... I am not sure what to think, I will definitely pray about it.

Ok, here are the 2 emails from the ROTC dept. at BYU.  I called them and they sent me this info.  If you have time, go through it.  President Sullivan did say that you could use whatever time you need to prepare for college.  You may need to get permission for more computer time in the next few weeks while we work out all these details.  Here is how I would sum up the info I got on the phone about the AFROTC...

--Registration for this and other classes is open June 1, 2017

--The first year it will only be an additional 5 hours a week of ROTC classes that are required, then it moves to 7 extra hours.  Those hours are in the early part of the day and would not conflict with the FLSHousing dinner.

--You don't have to commit until your Junior year, ***Unless you accept a scholarship!  If you take a scholarship you have to sign the commitment with the receipt of scholarship.  

--You apply for the scholarships when you start next year, you can apply your freshman year and if you don't get that you can apply your sophomore year as well.  She said about 50% of the people that apply for the scholarship end up getting it.  I think you would have a good chance with your mission history and russian language.

--If you don't get a scholarship, you pay for your schooling, but if you commit your junior year you get a $450 a month stipend and your senior year a $500. a month stipend.

She said if you are serious about considering it, we should sign you up for the classes and you can drop anytime.  You may just end up taking extra classes to finish in a different major.

Please respond and let me know what you are thinking on this and if you have any other questions.

Love you,

Mom

I looked at some of the careers, and they look interesting, Especially the Developmental Engineering.  I feel like I would be good at that.  I feel that the program will also help me. How do you honestly feel about it. Can you see yourself having a son in the AirForce?  The way I see it is +Education+Money+Skills+Guaranteed Job+(other miscellaneous benefits)             -Commitment-Time-Complete freedom to do exactly what I want to do. 

Hey bud,

Wow this has been a whirlwind figuring everything out for you!  So here is more info.  Student housing for next fall opened up on Tuesday the 7th.  Elder Montgomery's mom and I talked.  She had reserved a room for Elder Montgomery and Elder Olsen,  Also Elder Warner and Elder McCleary got a room together.  They were able to get in the same room in Heritage Halls building 9 Room number 3204.  The dorm room next to them was still open so I reserved you a bed in that room.  Heritage Halls, building 9 room 3206 Bed 3A (I got you the best bed in the room away from the family room and kitchen but on the inside wall so you won't hear the stuff in the hallway either).  As of Tuesday there were more beds in that apartment available if you know about anyone else going to BYU that you may want to room with.  Linda thought there was a Ukrainian heading to BYU next fall too...so you could give them your room info.

I paid for the deposit and hold fee or something...$150.00 so that is taken care of and will transfer to the FLSH if you decide to do that instead.

Heritage Halls does have kitchens and you won't need a meal plan, which will save a ton of money!

I applied you for the foreign Language housing, but you should really think about that one...read the info I sent you and the requirements.  I didn't realize you wouldn't be able to speak english in your apartment at all...not even on the phone or watch TV etc.  So read through that clearly.  If they accept you then you can make your final decision of which room.  If not you are secured in the apartment next to all your missionary buddies.  Sadly not in the same room, because the middle room was just 1 bed and a lot more money for the single room.

So what I need to know-

1-How do you feel about the room selection I made for you?

2-What are your thoughts on the FLSHousing now with the new information?

3-Was there someone else you may want to room with that I should contact?

You can go on to the BYU student website put your info in

Net ID jaxonhj

pass 1byucougars1

Go to my housing and you will see messages and info right there.  It will list all your room info there too.  Your housing identifier to make changes is  ukra1ne   the security question is your father's middle name which is Gale.  

4-Does all of this make sense?

5- Any questions?

Love you

Mom

I feel good about it, I think that is really good. I dont know if I will do FLH so I feel good about it.  I feel a little bit more hesitant.  I think that Heritage Halls sounds better, how much more expensive is it?  Not that I can think of. Cayson isnt going to go to college this year. And as far as I know Kade is not going to BYU. Yes it makes sense. You are the best mom ever!

Hey bud,

Ok, I think this is the last bit of info, for this week at least.  

BYU's tuition is about $5500. per year (Aug. to April)

Books are about $800. per year

Housing is $3500. per year, (Aug. to April)

Obviously you will also have food/transportation costs as well.

Your Regence Scholarship will be between $2000-$1500 per semester so $3000-$4000. per year. That leaves $6000-$7000 per year to cover.  You can apply for extra scholarships to help as well.  I have been looking into some for you.  You won't qualify for government grants until you are 24 because you're consider a dependent until then.  You can get student loans, but I would want to keep that at a very minimum level.  You will need to have a job while in school obviously too.  I will be able to help you some as well.

There is a Life Happens scholarship done by a life insurance company for kids who have had a parent die.  They award several scholarships between $2000 up to $15,000. I think they do 6 of the 15 and another 6 at 12500 etc.  I have done all the application for this and need you to write a 500 word essay to finish the application.  This is due at the end of February so write it this week and email it to me next week.  The essay needs to be about the financial and emotional strain you felt as a child having a dad die with out a large amount of Life insurance that was left to fund your college education.  Here are the guidelines-

Life Lesson scholarship

In a 500-word essay OR a 3-minute video, please discuss how the death of your parent or guardian affected your life financially and emotionally. Be sure to describe how the loss of your parent/guardian impacted your college plans (e.g., your ability to afford college, attend the college of your choice, etc). Explain how the lack of adequate life insurance coverage (or no coverage at all) impacted your family’s financial situation. Comment specifically on how things might have turned out differently for you and your family if the person who died had adequate life insurance coverage. Also indicate what you have done to provide for yourself and/or other family members because of financial challenges your family has faced.

So things to include would be the fact that dad and I always assumed there would be a very large pay out if he were to die in the coal mine, but when he died the realization was that it was just a small life insurance policy and we should have had more coverage.  You can include that we sold our house to move in with Grandma and Grandpa for a couple years after the death.  You can talk about the weight you carry as being the oldest child with 9 siblings in a blended family and that there are too many kids for your parents to pay for your college. You can include the fact you have 2 brothers with special needs. Talk about if there had been a large life insurance policy you could have had an education fund, but instead the money was used to support you in your young years.  You can talk about being so young and feeling the stress of wanting to  financially help your mom.  Make it good;)

If you would rather do a 3 minute video that would work too...just don't wear your tag in the video and make sure you can upload it to me.  

I also am looking into a first generation scholarship since me and dad don't have a 4 year degree.  I will keep looking for other angles as well.  On BYU's website there is a link to other scholarships.  We just need to apply for as many as possible.  There should be some for return missionaries as well.  A lot of this stuff is due in the next month, so maybe talk to president about needing some extra time to get these applications done, but it should ease up after that and you will be fully focused on the mission until you are sent home.  You'll need to decide on classes, a direction, and the AFROTC by June 1.  I think that is when we get registered for classes.

Please confirm that you received this email, that you fully understand it.  Do you have any questions about any of this?  Confirm that you will work on the 500 word essay and have it ready next week.

Love you!!!

Mom

I understand and I think the essay could be good.  I will write it, it has been a long time since I had to write Essays haha.

Kremenchuk!

Week 76

Yeah I got transferred to Kremenchuk, THere is some debate to the spelling of this word, either ends in G or K, but we have evidence pointing to both. 

I love my new comp. his name is Elder Larsen, he seems like a really cool kid. He is on his 3rd transfer in country, kind of.  

​He speaks Russian Pretty well, and he has already told me so much.  So funny story, usually we have the privelege of being taken in the Mission Car to our next area, but... Not from Sumy.  So I sent all of my luggage through the in-country mail system, they arrived an hour after I did.​  

Miracle story from today, the other Elders here have no phone. We were separated for a few hours... We eventually went to their apartment and found they were not home, we prayed to see what we should do, and we got the answer, "They will come soon, just wait."  After about 20 minutes they showed up, and we were able to coordinate, their phone will come in the phone tomorrow.

Very excited for this New change, I love you all! 

Hey Elder,

Oh man...it happened again.  I spent an hour on an email for you and then the computer disconnects as I send it and somehow it vanishes.  No where to be found!!!  So frustrating.

Well, thanks to the Sumy Facebook page I already know that you are being transferred to Kremencuk!  So yay for a new Comp!!!  I am sure it must feel like a weight has been lifted!  I am also sure you will miss Sumy and all the people there.  You should be so proud of the way you built up the English program there, and the connections you have made for the mission that will last a long time.  Also, the friendships you have made that will last a lifetime.  I am super excited for you to have a new adventure!

We had a good week with the regular things going on.  Tuesday night we had a ward family history night.  We did a bunch of activities and showed people all the things they can do with it.  I put together a display table of some of our family history things.  It went great, we had a good turn out.

We had Cam's IEP this week.  They did all the testing again, they have to redo it every 3 years.  His scores were low or very low, but he is making progress.  They are able to put him in the classroom more often and he is going from 5 resource groups to 3, reading, math and writing.  So that was great news.  They also discovered that his receptive language is very low and his ability to follow directions is extremely low, especially concerning any negations (no, don't, not).  His score was <.1% :(  So that was good to find out, and shows we all need to continue to be more patient when giving directions, and also explains why he isn't responding to "don't do that cam" etc.  He still has zero concept of what that means.  But his reading and math is slowly improving.  He is on a 6 year old level, but is making progress which is what they are really looking for.

Ward ball has started and is going good.  The boys love it.  Jacob's teams are doing really well.  They won their games yesterday by 40 and 30 points.  Their team is getting very good.

I'm still basking in the glow of our fiji trip and so happy that we have another one coming up!  I can't wait to take the kids to Fiji to see G&G.  It will be so awesome!  I am also loving that January is over and spring is right around the corner!

So questions this week-

1-I want all the details of this transfer!  Who is your comp, details...details about the area, branch, zone, leadership etc?? How are you feeling about all of it?  Are you super excited?

2-Will you miss Sumy?  Who is taking your place?  Did they give you a little party or send off?

3-How did things end up with EV?  Did you end on good terms?  You must feel like a huge weight has been lifted!!!  I am so happy that it is finally behind you!  How do you think he and his new comp will get along?

4-I am hoping you were able to send off your package, and that you aren't traveling with it.  I let Julia know I put money in your account so that you knew you could send it.  Did that work out?

5-You will love the package I sent...it has great stuff including your protein powder;).  It should be there anytime now!

6-College-    BYU Net  ID jaxonhj

                     Password 1byucougars1

I'm not thrilled with the idea of AFROTC, but if you decide that is your path I will support you 100% and be proud of you for it.  Dad wants you to talk with him too before making any decisions about majors.  If you do a business or econ type major he will have a very big network he can tap into to help you when you graduate or need internships etc.  Also, remember you have a lot of generals to do, so you don't need to decide right away.  

7-Are you still happy and positive?

8-What are your goals/hopes for the rest of your mission?

9-Are you all aware of the rising unrest in Ukraine again?  Does it affect you at all, is it scary, are you safe etc?  

10-pics and recording

11- Will you be closer to other missionaries now, be able to go to MLC's and things like that?

Please give a ton of full details about this new transfer, I'm just so excited about it!!!  I love you and miss you so much.  You are awesome and I am very proud of the man that you have become!   You are doing great!  I am so impressed with all you have accomplished!

Love you Tons!!!!

Mom 

1 you know it mostly, but I am very excited!

2 Yes I will miss Sumy, they were all so sad. 

3 Kind of, he just bought me tons of stuff and expected things to be okay.  I am really relieved yeah.  He commented that I didnt show emotion around him and that I didnt ever look very happy. I responded, I am actually usually really happy, I just actually wasnt too happy.  They better get along well for his sake.  He asked me for a blessing the other day, and one of the things I blessed him with was just that.

4 Yeah that worked.

5Yeah thank you so much!

7 Yeah, I feel very much more happy and positive now.

8 I hope to achieve a lot of the Lords will, whatever that may be.

9 What is the arising unrest? I have only heard of a few protests.  We are safe.

10 No MLC, but I will travel to Dnepr for Exchanges, and Zone Conference.  

SO I will take tons of Pics and stuff dont worry too much about it, I dont know too much about the area myself so I will let you know ! Love you so much you are the best!