Confidence - Dec 4

This will be the last letter I write to anyone while I am here.  This Sunday we step for the Crucible.  The first day is the "Confidence Chamber"-the gas chamber.  Not excited.

I do have some news I am excited about!  I received my orders.  December 20, I stand detached from my current unit (my bootcamp platoon) and I am to report to MCT = Marine Combat Training at Camp Pendleton on Jan 14, 2014.  On Dec 31, 2013 I will be doing recruiters assistance for two weeks after my leave.  So you all get 20 days of me being HOME!

I am pretty stoked!
Also, my exact military occupation speciality is Aviation Ordnance, I didn't get Crash/Fire like I was hoping for however, as I understand it, I will be putting payloads onto aircraft, assembling them, bomb building, and/or maintaining the really big guns on a Thunderbird.  So still a very awesome job!

After the next training MCT (Marine Combat Training) I will go directly to Pensacola Florida for my training/education.  I am allowed to have phone calls at all the next few places and I hear that MOS training is a lot of fun.

If you are wondering what I need, I do not really need much.

Once you get here, there is shopping on base.

I want to share an experience I have had this week, as I have mentioned previously, I am the LDS Prayer Leader in my platoon for four recruits.  One of which I helped baptized during our time here.  The protestant prayer leader is one rack away from me and he and I are pretty good friends.

Throughout all of bootcamp he asked me about the "little rumors" surrounding mormons and I always answered to the best of my ability, but, always told him that I wasn't not the best source because I do not know everything.  Well, through out this training He and I have jokingly had little sparring matches about our faiths.  Now as a prayer leaders we get to meet once during the week to discuss ways to better help the platoon spiritually.  This week, he came to our mormon prayer leader lesson.  While Elder & Sister Jensen taught the lesson, I went to the back of the room and taught him some of the foundational truths of the gospel.  After, Elder J and I gave him a healing blessing and he is coming to church with me again this Sunday.

I have had such an expotential spiritual growth here, I am feeling confident.

To finish this last letter, I want to share one final thing.  Bangle challenged me to do this and I like the idea.  In WWII an American Pilot was shot down and captured.  His captures allowed him to write home only once and limited him to 25 words.  So he had to think hard about exactly what to say because he thought it could be the last 25 words anyone would hear from him.  While my situation is not the same, I am going to give you my 25 words.

My Family - There are many like you, but you are mine.  The love we share has carried me up and made me whole.  I Love You.

Love,
Tanner