8/6/04

Dear Family:

Mom, thank you so much for the packages you keep sending me. I love getting those surprises! Those grapefruit candies are especially delicious!

I'm skipping gym right now so I can write. Would you please tell Melissa for me that I am thankful for the letters she writes. I feel bad that I can't write her back, but I really do not have the time.

I really like my black suit; it's holding up just fine. There are three words that accurately describe the quality and condition of my green suit! PIECE OF CRAP!! Both pairs of pants are ripped! Already!! It's ridiculous! So, I took 'em into the place to get sewed.

I can't believe I'm outta here on Wednesday. Oh, I'll be calling from Chicago at...around 1:30 p.m. If you talk to Kate, tell her I'll be there. I write her, but I don't know if she got it.

Joe sounds like he's having a fun summer. Did he take my paintball gun?? He better not have. If you could Mom, please keep him outta that box. Now that I don't have music, I realized how much I love it. So I want it to be there when I get home. OK?

Thank you for sending the pictures. It was funny, when I opened my package,(he names a bunch of Elders) their eyes caught hold of Alison, and Elder Stucky said, "Dang! who is that?" in all seriousness. He really wanted to know!

"That's my sister," I said blandly.

"How old is she?" He said. By this time he and Elder Roberts are transfixed with the picture. Really, I'm not exaggerating.

"She's about twenty-five I think, and her family of four happens to be in the picture."

No more questions after that! Ali should be complimented. I think it's saying something when a bunch of 19 year old kids are curiously asking questions and saying the word, "Dang!"

Mindy's cinnamon rolls weren't so good. But don't tell her that! I told her I loved im'. I enjoyed the nice little letter she wrote a lot more. We'll put it that way. Talk about a surprise! I wouldn't have expected a letter from her in a million years! Anyway.

It's weird. I wanna cut my hair for the first time ever in my whole life. I want a hair cut! I never thought that would happen.

I guess you could say I'm a little burned out in the classrom. I know, I know, it's the first two weeks of a two year deal, but the only break I get from the classroom is to eat. So it's getting old. I'm excited to be heading out.

(He goes on to name guys in a photo he sent and say where they are from.)

I'll tell you what, I think I am guaranteed to end up with Romeo as my comp after a year out there. It's destiny, I know it. I'm really gonna have to bite my tongue to keep from arguing with that goof. I'll send a pic of him too. Really, he's more opinionated than I am, so we're bound to argue constantly. He's from Texas. It was funny, they say that the spirit world after death is here on earth, and we were disscussing it in class one day, and someone said, " I wonder where spirit prison is," and I said the first thing that came to mind. Texas. They all loved it, but Romeo. We are constantly arguing about states. I could write all day about it, so I'll just have to stop now.

Well, I love you all and hope all is well.

David

New Address:

Elder David Clark Carter
Canada Toronto West Mission
197 County Court Blvd. #203
Brampton, Ontario L6W 4P6

postage may be extra

Dear Family: 8-4-04

Dad, I just got your letter. I really enjoyed what you had to say. I'm outta here on the 11th, and I'm getting laid over in Chicago at O'Hare, so maybe I could rendevous with Katie. That would be fun.

Boy, what would I give to be playing poker!! That practically killed me when I read that! I forgot all about poker! No better feeling than taking one on a bluff. And I'd forgot all about it. So thanks dad! Dad, I doubt you"ll get called to the Quorum of the Twelve, but the 70 is a real possibility! How would that be! I read Alma 26 today after I got your letter. That's an awesome chapter. I love before it, when Ammon converts king Lamoni. Ammons willingness to serve really sticks out to me in that one. There is much to be learned from that.

So what's happening in the outside world? Iraq? Bush? Politics? Forest Fires? It was all smokey down here one morning; I didn't hear a thing. Terrorists could invade Salt Lake, and they wouldn't tell us about it.

The bathrooms here continue to disgust me. I decided to shower tonight to avoid all the disgusting people you see in the morning (for I lilke to start my day on a positive note, as you probably know) so I turned on the water, and to my surprise, thousands of tiny little mites, flies, fleas, bugs, whatever you call em, come pouring out of the drain! No joke, thousands! And we all know what kind of stuff goes into those drains. It's a shower for petes-sake! So that thoroughly grossed me out!

Nothing really new here. I wish I had some ritalin. I can't focus for the life of me. So I'm having minor struggles with picking up some of the stuff. And I'm not sleeping well either. I know this ain't nothing to what lies ahead.

I had to pay for a seventy-five dollar shot today! What a rip! And it wasn't from Merck. It was from Smith Klien or whatever. I was telling the lady that you were a Merck dude and I wouldn't support the other guy. She thought it was funny, But dad, if you could get them to buy your drug (it was for Hep) you would make bank. She said they give 10,000 shots down here a month or something. BANK! So look into that.

I tell you, the other day I was thinking how long two years is. It's forever! I got a letter from Brad. It made me good and homesick for awhile. It'll get worse too. So I'm, scared for the future.

Tell me how everything is going down there. What's Joe up to, what's going on? How is Lar Lar? I wanna hear. I love you guys so much. More than I ever knew.

Love, Dave