Chris’ Mission–The Night before the MTC

Today was an awesome day.  I got Nikole out of school and she came home and helped me get ready all day.  She is rad.  I am almost packed and almost all ready.  I am now a missionary, of course.  I got set apart by President John S. Kirkham at 9:00 PM.  My family and Grandma and Grandpa Polson were all there.  First, Pres. Kirkham gave them all a chance to say something to me and Dad, Mom, and Grandma and Grandpa all said some very nice things. He then gave me a spectacular blessing with the spirit.  He said some way cool things.  I then went through and hugged everyone.  I love my family so much.  They are so awesome.  We then went to Frontier Pies and when we got home, Ash and I played our final RBI Baseball game.  Then, Dad built a fire and we all just sat and stared at it in the dark in our Christmas sweatshirts.  Even Bojay had his sweatshirt on.  It was so awesome and so much fun, but I just sat and cried most of the time because I will miss them so much.  We also listened to Christmas music, of course, all night.  Well, it is now 1:20 am.  I will be in the MTC in 12 hours and 40 minutes.  Here is to the next two years.   Chris’ Journal Oct. 6, 1992

Chris’ Mission–Mission Farewell and final week at home

This was one of the greatest days ever. I wore my new suit, my new shoes and of course my Christmas socks. It was a sweet program. The Missionary farewell program order was: Lindsey, Ashlyn, Nikole, Geneses’ song “His Hands”, Mom, Dad, my piano song “I am a Child of God”, and then my talk. Everyone did an excellent job. The spirit was definitely there and I got many compliments on everything. I couldn’t have asked for a better turnout. The church was stacked all the way back to the gym and there were even people in the foyers because they couldn't fit in the chapel or cultural hall. And there were so many people in my house that I was stuck in there forever. It was great to see so many of my friends and family all gathered there together. Today was so awesome. I just hung out at home all day and tons of people rolled in and out all day. I had the best time. I am glad I don’t go into the MTC on this Wednesday so I have one more week to wrap everything up, but I am excited to get on my mission.

Right now I am in Nikole’s room listening to Christmas music. We are pulling off one of our last late nights together. It is very fun. Nikole is so awesome. I love her so much and our relationship is so special to me. I hope we can always be the best of friends. I am certainly going to miss her and all of my family. Ashlyn and I played RBI baseball together tonight and she started crying. She is awesome, too. I am going to miss nights like this. There were so many people here that I love. Everyone told me I was a great speaker and that I sounded more like a returned missionary than one just going out. And my piano piece turned out awesome. I only made one mistake and then I settled down and played it great.

I can’t believe how soon I am out of here. I will work on Monday and Tuesday and then I will have one week before I go in. I better make the most of it. “I’m dreaming of a White Christmas” is on. I will definitely have a white Christmas, but I won’t be with my family. It is going to be hard but I will deal with it.  Sunday, September 27

Well, this will be my last time writing in this journal for two years. Tomorrow is the day, but it hardly seems like it. After my farewell, I worked on Monday and Tuesday and then I went to the Jordan River Temple with Sharon for her endowments. It was way cool and it made a little more sense this time. I went golfing with Dad at Forest Dale on Wednesday, too. Thursday, I totally cleaned out my whole room, cleared out my desk, dresser, nightstand, closet, entertainment center, etc. It was a lot of fun to go through everything but I threw a lot away.

Friday was a big day. We drove down to Manti in the morning and attended Genene and Clay’s wedding. It was way cool to see an actual sealing for time and all eternity. And the Manti Temple is really neat. We stayed in Manti for the wedding breakfast and then we headed up to the BYU game vs. Utah State. Jennifer came with us so we got to talk a lot and she has turned her life around and will probably go on a mission herself. That is sweet. It was fun hanging out with her.  Friday, October 2

Saturday, I just lounged around, watched General Conference, continued cleaning my room, etc. Saturday night, I took Jen Briner out. She is way hot and really cool. Sunday was another lazy day. We watched conference and then played Hand and Foot. That was really fun. Monday, I gathered everything together and narrowed down my list of things to buy and to do. Me and Mom and Dad went to Fred Meyer and I spent $115 on stuff. We then went to KC Hooligans for ice cream. Me and Dad and Nikole and Grandpa went golfing at Mountain Dell. It was a long challenging course but very fun. Dave and Marianne Johnson came over and gave me a really nice book and a card with $25. They are so awesome. I will keep in touch with them for sure. They are taking my parents to the Neil Diamond concert on Friday to cheer them up after I leave.  Sunday, October 4

Chris’ Mission–Mission Call

These last couple of weeks have been lame since Hub got home. It was so fun to have my own house while he was gone. The big news of the day is that I finally have my mission papers turned in. It has been tough, but they are finally in. I didn’t think I was ever going to make it. I have had so many delays, but hopefully I can get out there soon. My kidney tests finally came back negative, with no problems, after a blessing my Dad gave me. I feel so good about going on a mission now and I am so excited. It was the greatest feeling last night after I left my Stake Presidents interview. I stopped the car and prayed harder than I have ever prayed before. It felt really sweet.

Today was Ryan Mathers homecoming. He is such a stud and he did an awesome job. He has been working with me this week and it is sweet getting to know him again. Genene sang an awesome song called “His Hands”. I told everyone about my papers today and my Mom wrote down everybody’s guess on where I would go. There were a lot of guesses to Russia. That would be cool, but I probably won’t go there. I wrote letters to David and Darren today too.  August 6, 1992

Well, I finally got my mission call on August 17. It was a long process but I am finally there. I am going to the Lansing Michigan Mission, the same place my Dad served. I am kind of disappointed about not going to a foreign country, but this is probably the best place for me and I’m sure it is where I belong. I go into the MTC in just 6.5 weeks on October 7th and I will probably be in Michigan by November. I can’t believe it is finally here. I am so excited but also scared and worried in ways. It will be so hard to be away from my family and friends for two years. Especially during Christmas and stuff. I am listening to Christmas music right now, it is so rad. I had fun today hanging out with my family all day except for a couple of hours when I was at Hubs. Well, a mission will be hard but I know it is what I should be doing. My dad conferred upon me the Melchezidek Priesthood today and they announced my call in church. Everyone is really excited. I am too, I just hope I can be the best missionary ever. If I am going to do it, I might as well go all out.  August 23, 1992

Yesterday was a big day for me. I got my Patriarchal Blessing. Me and Mom and Dad and fasted all day and they went with me to get my blessing. Bro. Hirshi is the Stake Patriarch and he is awesome. He must be so in tune with the spirit to have the power he has. He gave me a great blessing, a guideline, that I am sure will help me throughout my life. It was such an awesome spiritual experience and it will even help me with my farewell talk because I remember a couple of things that he said that I want to say. I will get a copy of my blessing in about 1.5 weeks, hopefully before I go into the MTC. After my blessing, we headed down to Chin-Wah to relieve our fasting stomachs. It was great.

Today is another big day. I’m not working because we have our 40 hours. So I am hanging out in my Christmas sweatshirt listening to Christmas music. I love it and I will miss Christmas. After I write in my journal, I am going to work on my talk and then Dad and I will go shopping for shoes and garments. Then, I have to be at the temple today at 4:45 so I can go through and get my endowments. Genene is going through for her first time with me. It is going to be so awesome, I am sure. I can’t wait, but I am kind of nervous.  September 25, 1992

Wow! The temple is so many different things at once. It is spiritual, overwhelming, uplifting, weird, exciting, etc. It was a very good experience, though, and I will get used to it after a couple of visits. It was cool to be there with Genene and Clay, Darrell and Heidi, Ryann, Sherri, Grandma Johnson, Pat, and Grandma and Grandpa Polson. Dad was awesome the whole time. He walked and talked me through every step and helped me a lot. It was really neat the the spirit was very strong. After the temple, we all ate together at Johanna’s kitchen and it was fun.

Today has been a hectic day. I finished my talk, cleaned the yard, practiced my song, and cleaned the house. I hope we are all ready for my farewell tomorrow and I hope it goes good. My talk seems a little jumpy and it is quite long, but I will work through it. I’m sure I will do fine. I wonder who will be there tomorrow. I am excited, it should be a lot of fun.  September 26, 1992