Can you believe I've been home from my mission for three years!?
Wednesday, November 28, 2007. I remember getting the last of my stuff packed into my suitcase before we left the house. I remember thinking how crazy it was that I wouldn't be seeing the house again for two years! You know those little toys that are plastic screens that you write on and they stick to the surface underneath so you can draw on it? Well, I had a keychain of those that came with a small yellow piece of plastic to write with. Allie put the yellow thing in my suitcase. I almost told her not to do that, but then I realized it didn't really matter. I thought it was funny she thought it was something I should take with me. Then we went to Great Clips so I could get a haircut. I was all dressed up, of course, so the girl cutting my hair asked me where I was going. I told her I was going on a mission. Then we drove down to Provo. I think we played "I Spy" with Allie. We stopped at a restaurant--Winger's or something--for lunch. I remember sitting next to Allie and thinking that at four years old, she was still really cute, and I was going to miss her a lot. Then we went to the MTC. I went with my dad to drop off my luggage. I overheard one missionary tell another that he was so excited. I felt bad I didn't have those same feelings. Then we went in the meeting room. They showed the Mormon family commercials. I was a bit weepy. Allie needed to go to the bathroom. Then later she told her mom she wanted to leave. Susanne told her that they couldn't leave because they weren't going to see me for a long time. Eventually it came time to say our goodbyes. I was crying all over the place. Then I had to go get some shots. I was standing in line and an elder asked me where I was going and where I was from. He was going to the Salt Lake City North Mission, Spanish speaking. I thought of how lucky he was to be called foreign speaking. (I've still not completely gotten over that.) Then I got my luggage and lugged it up the stairs in the Dan Jones building. I went to my room and met the other missionaries, who were already there. My companion, Elder Hightower, had staked his claim on the bottom bunk, but I asked if I could have the bottom since I had a sprained ankle. He obliged, although I don't think he was too happy about it. I find it funny that we were companions, for we were exact opposites. Our zone leaders came in. One of them was Daniel Bitner from my home stake. He saw me and said excitedly, "Mark! I mean, Elder Melville!" I didn't mind him using my first name, but later in my mission I would have definitely minded. The other zone leader was from Australia. That evening, our zone leaders took us on a tour of all the places we needed to know at the MTC, and they told us we could move the stickers ("dork dots," I would later learn) from the front of our tags to the back.
Monday, November 30, 2009. We woke up at the Palmers' house and had breakfast before we left for the airport. I rode with Elder Hansen and the AP whose name I have forgotten. He told me I could pick a CD to listen to. I flipped through his CDs and picked a Hilary Weeks Christmas CD; he told me, "Good choice." I noticed he had a burned CD that was "The Best of Michelle Tumes." I asked him where he got it; he had gotten it from one Elder Jarman who had gone home earlier that year. Early in my mission I had bought a CD, The Very Best of Michelle Tumes, which I let my companion at the time burn. I wondered if that CD had spread through the mission as a result of me buying it. I was surprised that an AP would have some of the music he did. Then we got to the airport and we went through security. I saw one Brother Mears from my first area getting his shoes from security. He saw us, but I didn't know if he would recognize me, which was good, because he didn't like me. We saw the incoming missionaries. One of them told the other missionaries that they needed to make sure their suits were buttoned up; I had to laugh at all the rules that the MTC teaches you that aren't enforced in the field. I was wearing a sweater, but I thought it wise to take it off before the plane ride so I wouldn't be too hot. Elder Hansen told me that a lady was watching me take off my sweater. We got on the plane and the stewardesses told us there had been a bunch of us on the previous flight. I sat next to Elder Maxfield; he was getting my personal info and asked for my first name, but I wouldn't tell him. Then he remembered my name was Richard. I kept looking out the window, trying to guess where we were. I wondered if we had passed Lewiston. We flew over snow, but when we were in the Salt Lake Valley, I didn't see snow. I took some pictures of the Great Salt Lake. Then we landed. As we walked through the airport, people kept saying, "Hi elders." I remember standing on the moving walkway and a guy turned around and said something about how it must be nice to have everyone know you. I said it was better than the alternative, thinking of all the times people yelled at me on my mission. We got to escalators; I was going to get on last but Elder Maxfield told me to get on before him. As we descended, we heard cheers as we saw all our families waiting for us. My mom was rubbing her hands with excitement. My grandparents, my aunt, and some of my cousins were there as well. I thought it was excessive to have that many people there. I made my requisite hug rounds. I asked Allie how she was; she seemed shy around me. They had bought some balloons for me. One of them was a black pirate-themed balloon; they told me they bought it because I was "their treasure" and because it had a skull on it and I was known in the mission for having a skull pillowcase. One Elder Dickerson had come to welcome his buddy Elder Hightower home. I said goodbye to the other missionaries while we waited for my bags to come to the baggage claim. We wondered where they would be; Allie said she saw a sign that said Spokane, and I was surprised she could read that. We got my bags and we went to the Suburban. I pulled my Cherie Call The Ocean in Me CD out of my suitcase and asked if we could listen to it in the car. As the title track played, Nan said she didn't like the ringing sound in the background. My mom said they were bells, and Allie backed her up. I think in the car they told me that my nephews were going to come visit; they would be arriving Saturday. Allie told me that Preston would wake up with a frowny face. As we got up the hill, Allie told me I needed to look out the window. At the intersection of Lacey and Marialana, I saw the banner that said, "Welcome Home Elder Mark." I said I was disappointed it didn't say "Letter Mark," as Allie had long misinterpreted "Elder," but my mom and sister said Allie had insisted on "Elder" for the sign instead of "Letter." We all got home and I brought my stuff inside. I was surprised to see our new "granite" countertops. (Now I know they're actually gabbro; you can even see the olivine in them.) Jesse and Peter were going out to get Little Caesars. They asked me if I remembered Bountiful, but I didn't really want to go with them. My mom said she would cook dinner later. There were a lot of conversations that happened that day. I remember Sue mentioning something about the baby David and Ya-ping were having. I said, "They're having another one?" and my mom was shocked that she hadn't told me yet. I later talked to Ya-ping on the phone. I talked to Franklin; he didn't respond to anything I said. I talked to Preston, but I couldn't understand a lot of what he said. He did say that he wanted to talk to my mom, but I wanted him to talk to me. He sang the song about the ants marching out of the rain. At one point Peter said that his school had played the Green Acres theme over the intercom and said that even they were celebrating that I was coming home that week. I remember sitting on the floor with Jesse and Peter and showing them the Ocean in Me CD, pointing out Antelope Island in the pictures of the "ocean." Jesse asked me if Cherie Call was good; I said that I liked her, but some of my companions didn't. My grandpa took a picture of us three as if we were three wise monkeys. The womenfolk went into the kitchen to make Hawaiian haystacks; while they were doing so, my grandpa talked about missionaries in his ward tracting out "losers" (his word, not mine) who just wanted to see what the Church could do for them. I showed him pictures of the Michael Piquet family and told him their story. I remember reading funny scriptures, like Jeremiah 24:2 and Jeremiah 5:8, and I heard my mom laughing in the kitchen. My grandpa said now he knew what scriptures he could share for his Sunday meetings. Eventually everyone left. That evening I talked to David. I was surprised he talked so much about movies. He asked me if Corpse Bride had come out before my mission; I was surprised he didn't remember me loving it before my mission. He told me I would really like Coraline, that it was gothic and right up my alley. (I watched part of it a few weeks later, but it didn't fit my standards.) Then Dana Clark, a member of the stake president who had been bishop when I left, came over to release me. Allie was wearing her pajamas, including a tank top. President Clark said he was selfish but he wanted to release me (instead of the stake president releasing me) since he had sent me out. He said he would go around the room and ask my family to bear their testimonies, and then it would be my turn, and when I was done, I would be released. I was super sad and nervous. When it was my dad's turn, he said, "We're glad to have you back," which wasn't a testimony. When it was my turn, I said that it was the saddest day of my life, but I didn't know why, because I didn't like knocking on doors or having people yell at me and things like that, and therefore I knew the only reason I would be so sad was because I was doing God's will. Then he left and I went to bed. It sure was weird going to sleep in a room by myself.
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