The following are pieces of letters to Jake's sister and brother-in-law:

Me gusta la CCM (MTC en espanol) mucho. No aprendo espanol muy rapido. Me espanol es muy mal, no hablo mucho. haha.

That's all the Spanish you get for now. Hopefully I will be better in a few weeks. There is so much to learn and remember between Spanish and the Gospel. The MTC is fun but keeps getting harder. The helado makes up for it though :).

My companion left last Thursday after I had already sent my letters out. It is too bad he felt like he had to go, and I tried to talk him out of it...So now I have a new companion, Elder Snyder. He is awesome and we get along really well.

Elder Kartchner

Our First Letter!

Okay, it's not the first letter that Jake has written, but it's the first one to our little family. Here is an excerpt:

Spanish is going awesome...until I talk to someone who knows it. Ha ha. It really is good. I have learned a lot faster than I thought. Preaching the Gospel in Spanish will be a real challenge, but I can't wait to get out there.

He sounds like he is doing well. I wrote him a letter using http://www.dearelder.com/ (my first time using the site) and it worked like a charm. It was so easy (and free) and I didn't have to set up an account or anything, though I think you can if you want to. So give it a try--I know Elder K would love to hear from you too!!!

Called to Serve

We dropped dear brother Jake off at the MTC today. I can't believe that my little brother is officially Elder Kartchner. I am so proud of him and his choice to serve the Lord for two years in Monterrey, Mexico. Jake is an outstanding person and has continuously been an example to me throughout the years despite him being four years younger than me. I love him so much and am so excited to be able to share his experiences with him through letters and emails. It takes a lot of strength, courage, and most of all faith to serve a mission and Elder Kartchner is definitely prepared. Love you Bocaj, God speed.

Couper and Jake have become very close in the 2 years Couper and I have been married. I think Couper is going to miss his buddy what do you think??

I know this is kind of a lot of pictures, and really there's more where this came from. But I just wanted to post some of the memories we've made with Jake in the few short months this summer that he's been living in Logan. We were so lucky to have my family move to Logan shortly after Jake got his call so that we could take advantage of the summer months we had to spend with him before he left!

Lagoon trip! Last time for two years! We were excited that Chelsey and Nicole Gleave could come too!

Canyon cookouts were the best!

This was a common sight with these two together :).

What a spiritual and heartfelt day to go through the temple with someone you love so dearly.

Bountiful Temple.

The proud parents.

Having a good laugh at our 4th of July celebrations as we tumbled down the giant hill on ice-blocks after an intriguing game of kick-ball.

You may think this picture is random, but to me it was kind of the essence of Jake and Couper. They have a love-hate relationship. They are the best of friends but are almost always arguing about trivial things just for the sake of arguing. They both always have a certain tone of voice they use during these moments and each one is "always right." This moment during the kick-ball game was no different. (lol...I sound like I'm talking about a married couple)

Hard work and working hard. The house my parents moved into here in Logan was in need of some major renovations. Due to working endless hours with my dad on various projects Jake has become quite the handyman and became the boss on site, always making sure projects were getting done so that he could see as much progression as possible before he left the country. There were a few late nights where I think the paint fumes started getting to us. . .

hmm..what did I tell you???

Well Jake, we'll miss watching Discovery channel and sports with you, we'll miss making midnight runs for rice pudding and always making sure we buy extra groceries when we know you're going to visit, we'll miss the late night talks and movie watching! But we are so excited for what is in store for you! We love you and know you'll make a great missionary!

Amber Saying Good-Bye to Jake

A picture by Amber of her saying good-bye when the family dropped Jake off at the MTC on Wednesday...

MTC-See you in TWO years!

AUGUST 11, 2010

Family drops off Elder Jacob Sean Kartchner at the Missionary Training Center in Provo, UT.

*Dad & Mom give nothing but support!*

*Jake & Couper can't decide whether a hug is appropriate....:) brothers hug!*

*Oh brotherly love :)*

We'll miss you Jacobo! "Go and do!"

Counting Down

Jake leaves for the MTC in just two days!!! The past months since he received his call have really flown by. Jake is busy packing and collecting addresses of friends and family before his departure. Call or email him soon to give him your contact information before he leaves. Or, if you are reading this after August 11 and Jake is already gone, go to http://www.dearelder.com/ and look under "Send Stuff" for links to send Jake free mail. If you have any questions about how to do this, just post a comment here and one of Jake's family members will help you out!

What a good brother and uncle! We've had so much fun with Jake this summer!

Logan Farewell

Elder Kartchner gave his second farewell talk in Logan, UT for his family's new ward.

A lot of immediate and extended family came to support Elder Kartchner and wish him the best!

We love you Elder Kartchner! You're going to be an amazing missionary!!