Letters from 11/18 and 11/26

Elder Holden is still working hard in the Montana del Sur ward in South Phoenix. Here are letters we recieved from him the past two weeks:

From letter written on November 10th:

A week ago was my first PDay in the mission field. It was OK but very different from those in the MTC --no temple and laundry is different as is checking email. We played football which you can't do at the MTC so that was a pleasant change. We also played sand volleyball which was OK.

Thursday was Zone Meeting. Three elders spoke on different things all related to the Book of Mormon because that is our biggest gun. We need to remember to always use it. We went to Subway for lunch. Thanks again for the gift card for Subway.

We then went on exchanges with the zone leaders. We tracted a lot and got one return appointment which will be mentioned later.

Guess what we had for dinner? Ceviche. I know you and Wes would have loved it but me? Not so much. I ate it and I didn't complain or make faces. You would have been proud. (Ceviche is a marinated seafood dish which isn't cooked but rather marinated in citrus juice. Tyler strongly dislikes any kind of fish or seafood. When he was growing up and I served fish I'd always tell him, "You better eat this because someday when you go on your mission you are going to have to eat it so you may as well start eating it now.” He never would eat it but looks like Mom was right about eating fish on his mission)

Friday we went on exchanges with the Spanish APs. We went to Ranch Market which is like a Mexican grocery store. With all the Mexican influence here it is sometimes hard to remember that I'm still in the U.S.A.

Saturday we shoveled rocks for service and now I think I officially hate rocks but it was OK. I read the John Bytheway book you sent me and it was a very, very good book. (The book was How to Be an Extraordinary Missionary.) Saturday night there was a boxing match on or something like that so everyone we tried to see that night failed to work out. That's just part of the work.

Sunday was OK. I'm understanding more and more but we only had one investigator come church. One of the other Spanish elders made the statement that it's hard to break 200 years of tradition of only going to church twice a year. We were glad the investigator, Briceida showed up because she is getting baptized on Saturday. That night we went over to meet with her. She had her baptismal interview and she passed.

Monday we briefly helped a member moving into the ward. We then had splits with Chewy and Benji who are both 19 and preparing for their mission. It's weird for two reasons. First, that was me a few months ago and also, they are both older than me. For dinner we had mole which like a meat in a spicy chocolate sauce. It was very interesting and was pretty good.

Tuesday we had a tri-zone conference and they emphasized the Book of Mormon and using it as our primary resource. We then had a series of wonderful appointments. First with a family who is having financial problems. We talked about prophets and their council on what to do when having financial difficulties. We then met a lady that I had tracted into with the zone leader. Her name is Roberta and she and her family were very active in the lesson. I was able to bear my strongest testimony in Spanish to date thanks to the spirit that was there.

Next, we met with a young lady named Isabel who asked us what she needs to do to get baptized. We are trying to get her on date for the end of the month or the beginning of next month.

Hope things are going well at home. The work is good and only getting better. As long as we have good missionaries trying and good members willing to help the work will move forward.

Letter written on Thanksgiving:

Last Thursday was weekly planning. For dinner we had mole for the third time in four days that week. Before that my trainer had only had it twice in 15 months.

Last Friday we went to the Mesa Temple Visitor Center. The Mesa temple is very cool looking like amazingly cool looking. Our investigator, Eusebio, came and we watched the Joseph Smith movie he loved it and we hope to get him on date for baptism soon. While we were driving there I realized I only live about 5 miles from the hotel we stayed at this summer when we were down here.

On Saturday we had our baptism of Briceida at 2:00. It was wonderful. Me and Elder Klemme taught while they were changing and I did asi asi. . Bricedia's mother-in-law now seems interested and her husband was just baptized in June.

We had a ward activity at the church during which we were pulled out by one of the youth because this random guy wanted to talk to us. He started off by telling us he was drunk. Instead of talk he just wanted to argue and it was all sorts of wasting our time.

Sunday I went to ward correlation in Spanish which was a new experience because I wasn't with my companion. I went with Elder Klemme so I had to describe our investigators by myself in Spanish.

On Monday we went tracting and found two good investigators. Our big lesson of the day was with Bricedia, our recent convert, and her mother-in-law. The mother-in-law now seems really interested. We set up a time to go with them to the Visitor's Center at the temple a week from Friday.

Last Tuesday was my first district meeting. During the meeting we were told of a promise that we have the most people prepared to listen to and accept the gospel in our district. More than any other place in our mission, in Arizona and in North America.

Later we saw Isabel and she went with two of the youth go mutual. We set up a time for us and a group of youth to go with her to the Temple Visitors Center.

We also had a good appointment with a new investigator who is the friend of one of the members. She is now on date to be baptized on December 19th.

Yesterday was good. I got a letter from you and Lino. We tracted and found 3 new investigators.

All is well.

More from the first few weeks in the mission field...

I'm falling behind again. In this post I will update with info from letters and emails from Tyler's first few weeks in the mission field. He has also sent pictures too. We've got the obligatory map picture from the MTC, Elder Wright in the kitchen of the shack and a view of the front yard of the shack.


From letter written on 11/10 which was his first P-Day in Phoenix: The last week has been long. It was good but long. I was up until 11:30 packing my last night in the MTC and then was up at 4:15 the next day.

As we got off the plane in Phoenix the departing missionaries were waiting at our gate. We talked a bit and then we left and went to meet President Beck and his wife. For my first meal outside the MTC we had a sloppy joe sandwich. We then had meetings, orientation and more meetings and then an interview with President Beck. For dinner we had lasagna and then another meeting. We were able to go to bed an hour early. The favorite people I met so far were the Spanish APs.

The next morning we got up and had breakfast. We then had another meeting and then went to the transfer building where we met our trainers. We worked some and unpacked some at the shack and then went to my first field dinner. We had tostadas and tamales all freshly made and it was super good. Before dinner we helped tutor the kids and we have done it a few times since. These kids only speak Spanish so it's good practice. I was so tired that first day that I fell asleep while writing in my journal.

We have one lady on date for baptism named Bricedia and a couple of good solid investigators that we are teaching. On Sunday I found out the problem is getting them to church. We had 12 committed and only one came -- not a good percentage. Any suggestions from anyone on how to change this?

We were checking up on a referral the other day and this guy came to the door and asked if we could come back later. He looked at us in our short sleeve shirt and asked, "Aren't you cold?" It was 74 degrees outside.

We now cover only the Spanish Ward so church is interesting since it's only in Spanish. I hope to get used to it sooner rather than later.

A few days ago we got a referral and we went to contact them. It turns out that when we showed up they had just been talking about the LDS Church. They wanted to know who had sent the referral because they hadn't requested it themselves but they were very receptive. It's a married couple and her 2 brothers and her mother. We are going to drive by on Sunday and then they are going to follow us to church. I'm super excited!

Last night we were tracting as part of the zone blitz where all of the elders in the zone try and find investigators in one area for the local missionaries. We met a 16 year old boy who was very excited when we told him about the Book of Mormon. He was like, "Hey Mom, Look! It's a Book of Mormon" He was like a kid on Christmas morning.

That's all for now. If you have any questions, just ask. Take care. The work is good and I love working hard for the Lord.

Love, Elder Holden

P.S. I just counted the weeks and I think I'll be home September 6, 2011.

Good People, Good Food

Elder Holden's first week in the mission field has ended. He sent a short email on Tuesday and said he'd send a letter which we will probably get in the next few days. Normally, his P-Day will be Wednesday but since this past Wednesday was a holiday they had it on Tuesday. I felt badly because I had intended to send him a nice e-mail for him to read on his first P-Day in Phoenix but I hadn't sent it yet not realizing that his P-Day was going to be a day early.

He is living what's referred to by the missionaries as "The Shack". I've included pictures of The Shack and the shower which is located in the backyard. I've borrowed these pictures from Elder Klemme's blog: http://elderandrewbklemme.blogspot.com/

We also received a letter from President Beck with pictures of Tyler with President and Sister Beck and with his new companion, Elder Wright.

Hope things are well for everyone there. The mission field is great! I'm in the ghetto area of south Phoenix and it's pretty cool.

I met Elder Alling on transfer day and he went up to Prescott. I got his old trainer, Elder Wright and I like him a lot. We stay at a different place then Elder Alling and Elder Wright did. We stay at The Shack. There are 4 Spanish Elders staying here and we all cover the Montana del Sur Ward. They brought in a new (for this area) set of missionaries to cover the 2 English wards so we only cover the Spanish Ward now. Elder Klemme who we met at the sign the day I entered the MTC is in The Shack with me.

I have to admit the first couple days here seemed like they were never going to end. The members here are really nice and the food is great. The language will OK but it will improve. It seems like they speak a different language than we learned in the MTC. I will write a letter tomorrow with a bunch of experiences in it. Love, Elder Holden

Travel Day to Phoenix

Tyler called from the airport early on Tuesday morning and we got to talk for about 20 minutes. He sounded like he was in good spirits and eager to get into the mission field. He said it was weird to be out in the world again after spending 9 weeks in the MTC.

I talked to him a little in Spanish and was very impressed how much he has learned.

I tried to get him to unload some of his stuff and send it to a place there in Utah for my sister to pick up but he insisted on packing and taking everything with him. He said his luggage weighed in at 47 and 50 pounds. He also said the packages I sent him were popular with his district and that he was taking a lot of the left over candy and other treats to Phoenix with him. I'm still trying to figure out how there were leftovers!

He said when he went to weigh in luggage the night before to make sure he was going to be OK with luggage weights he weighed himself. He had lost 19 pounds while in the MTC. I wonder if that's a record?

I do remember when we went to Arizona on vacation this past summer Tyler hardly ate anything the week we were there. He kept saying it's too hot to eat. Hopefully, he doesn't loose much more or we are going to have to get him some new pants and maybe a suit too.

On Wednesday afternoon the mission president, President Beck, called to let us know that Tyler had made it safely to Arizona and had been assigned to his first area. He will be serving in the the south Phoenix area in the Montana del Sur area. He will be covering one English ward and one Spanish ward. The Spanish ward is the largest in the mission so that will be really helpful for improving Tyler's Spanish.

Coincidenlty, he is taking Elder Alling's http://www.theallings.com/elderalling/ place who was transferred this week and his trainer is the same that Elder Alling had - Elder Wright. I have been following Elder Alling's blog the past few months so it's exciting to know so much about the area where Tyler will be serving.

Sister Beck posted a few pictures of the arriving Elders on her blog: http://calledtoservephoenix.blogspot.com/

I Am Ready To Go

Tyler will be leaving the MTC bright and early tomorrow morning. We are looking forward to him calling us from the airport. We got a letter from him today and this will probably be his last letter from the MTC. I think it will be at least a week before we hear from him once he gets down there so we won't know where he's been assigned for awhile. He's ready to go and while he says his Spanish still needs some help but he's ready to enter the mission field!

Here's what he had to say in last week's email and letter:

This week has gone by fast. Not much has happened. We had our last "normal" Sunday (meaning his last Sunday that wasn't Fast Sunday). The best part is we have our flight plans. I leave on Tuesday, November 3rd. I have to be at the travel office at 5 AM and my flight leaves at 8:37 I sent a copy of the flight plans home on Monday so you should get it soon.

Elder Perry came to speak yesterday. Nothing really new and no stories to share this week. I am ready to go. I can't wait to leave and neither can the rest of my district.

I will send a letter as soon as I can when I get to Arizona and I'm looking forward to calling from the airport.

Love,
Elder Tyler Holden

I Prayed So Hard After That....

Time for another update. Tyler will be leaving to Phoenix next week. On Wednesday we'll find out for sure which day he will be headed down there.

Curt was down in the Provo area all last week as his Father was/is in the hospital recovering from a stroke and pneumonia. While there he went to Krispy Kreme and had 3 dozen doughnuts delivered to Tyler at the MTC last Wedneday. He sent us a quick e-mail at the end of P-Day thanking us for the surprise and said he had a lot of friends all of the sudden!

Here's what he had to say this past p-day 10-21-09:

Hope things are OK without Dad there. Nothing much new here. Life is good but I've been sick for the last weekish so I don't have much to update. Lo siento pero I will try to write as much as I can.

Me and my companion had to go to dinner early on Sunday night so I ran into Garrick and George and we talked for about 10 minutes but after that I didn't see them again and didn't get to say good bye. That's OK in 23 months when Garrick comes home I will be waiting for him at the airport. Garrick and George both left Monday morning very early. My travel plans should be here tomorrow.

This week at the TRC we taught in Spanish, of course. The evaluator was the same as last week and he said he saw such a big improvement in my Spanish of that period so I can testify that the gift of tongues is real. I can't wait to get home and be able to talk with you and Dad and Shane in Spanish. It will be pretty cool

My RC experience this week is about a lade named Stacy. She was looking for a certain Elder and I couldn't find him so she got off the phone and called back. We repeated this process 3 times with me answering the phone each time she called back. I could never find him so on the 4th time she talked with me.

She told me she had read the Book of Mormon in 2 weeks and felt she needed to change her life and wanted the sister missionaries to visit her. As we were trying to arrange for them to come teach her my computer crashed. I prayed so hard after that, that she would be taken care of. About 10 minutes later my computer was up again and there on my screen was her name again. I talked to her for the final time and arranged a visit between her and the sister missionaries.

Who is This Elder Holden? I Want to Meet Him.

I've been slacking in updating this blog. I resolve to do better! On Monday we got another letter and with a camera card this time so we have new new pictures too. Here's an update on Tyler with excerpts from letters from the last couple weeks. He's been there 7 weeks now and will be leaving less than two weeks. It sounds like he's ready to move on...



Less than 2 weeks to go until I get to the heat and I cant' wait. Seeing the same sights everyday is getting old. I now dread the thought of eating another meal here. The food isn't bad but I'm just never hungry. I think I am losing weight because I have less of a stomach and all of my clothes are getting more loose. Garrick left Monday morning. I should have my travel plans tomorrow.
(photo below is Tyler and his best friend, Garrick. AKA Elder Holden and Elder Smith. Elder Smith has left the MTC and is now serving in the Detroit Michigan Mission. )

We taught the fist lesson in Spanish on Friday. It went okay except our investigator was trying to sleep during on lesson. I was a little upset but oh well, it was fun.

Anyway, here is my story for the week. It was last Sunday and our district's first opportunity to give a talk in Spanish. Before Sacrament meeting we were in class and we were talking about who was going to get called from our district. We decided nobody would because the district leaving this week hadn't given any talks yet. We were sure that district would be giving both talks. I didn't really even want to write a talk because I was sure there would be no chance I would be asked to give my talk. Just in case though I did write a small one.

Fast forward to Sacrament Meeting...

The people blessing and passing the Sacrament were just dismissed. Our branch president went up to the pulpit and said, "Today we will be pleased to hear from Elder McFarren from the departing district and Elder Holden from district B. I was sitting in the second row and I repeated what he said in my mind, "Elder Holden". I sat there and two things came to mind as to the possibilities of why Elder Holden was just said. First was, who is this Elder Holden because I want to meet him. I thought I was the only Elder Holden. Second thought was, wow! President Ramton has a sense of humor. Then the third and true thought came to me that I had just been called to give the first Spanish talk from my district and I was in trouble.

I still know very little Spanish. I wish I could have seen my face. Well, I have never prayed so hard in my life for anything and I mean anything. While the first elder spoke I listened and understood some. I thought I was doomed to failure. I thought about grabbing my comp and running for the door. I sat there laughing on the inside as my district tried to comfort me.

The first elder finished and my prayer seemed to be answered. I don't remember what I said but everyone seemed to like it. I have to say I was extremely blessed.

It Was a Curve Ball I Was Not Expecting One Bit

Tyler's letters just keep getting better. The following was written on September 30th:

I really love the RC because you get to talk to real people about real concerns kind of like field work but in the MTC or Missionary Training Compound, I mean Center. I am up to 9 referrals there on calls on 4 on the chat.

Every Friday we have an appointment at the TEC to do a lesson with a volunteer pretending to be an investigator. We practiced last week so we could check on his commitments. We got there and right as we started he asked in Spanish, "What's the difference between a Catholic and a Mormon baptism?" Well, we tried the best we could to answer for 15 minutes. Eventually, I just told him some scriptures and hoped he could teach himself using them. It was a curve ball I was not expecting one bit.

Me and my comp have had an investigator that we've been teaching over the phone but on Saturday we turned her over to the local missionaries.

On Sunday, I got to watch Legacy and had forgotten how good the movie was. My companion is practicing a version of "I Know that My Redeemer Lives" on the piano right now so our Zone Leader, Elder Starky, can try out for Sunday's musical number. Also, check out the song, "I Heard Him Come" -AMAZING!

Yesterday I had 3 cool experiences in the RC. The first I was able to teach the first half to lesson 2 to a guy that grew up LDS. Unfortunately, he is now an Atheist. We talked about the atonement and then he went back to the subject of the creation. He and I talked about an hour and it was a good conversation. He believes something started the beginning but he doesn't quite know what. I testified of God but he just wasn't sure. He was a nice guy though.

The next was a lady I talked to. She wanted to know about baptism which I answered and that lead into a discussion about prophets. We had a good conversation about them. Then I asked her if she'd want to know if there was a prophet on the earth today. She said that she would. I invited her to watch General Conference so she could know if we have a prophet on Earth today. I was able to bear my testimony that we have a living prophet.

The last was a call back because he had requested a "Finding Faith in Christ" DVD. He said he hadn't had a chance to watch it because he had just received it the previous day. I asked him if he had any questions and he asked if Joseph Smith was really a prophet then why wasn't he in the Bible. I explained about the apostacy and the restoration. He thought the days of needing a prophet had ended. In the end, he told me I could call him back once he watched the DVD so I am going to. He seemed a little argumentative but I didn't give in and I didn't get defensive.

It seems like I am being blessed. I feel that I have accomplished more on certain skills I have been working on in these past 4 weeks than I had in the previous 5 years. I know this is because I know have more than ever the Lord's help in accomplishing things and skills I not only need in my mission but also in my life.

Something Elder Holland said when he was here a few weeks ago hit me hard. He said that we are not serving to go home to the real world. This IS the real world and you will never be more near the real world than when you are on you mission.

Love,
Elder Tyler Holden

Things Were Clicking for Me

Just a couple more days and Tyler will have completed the first month of his mission. We are getting on a "communication" schedule it seems and know when to expect to hear from him. We get short e-mails on Wednesdays and then long letters via snail mail on Mondays. Today was P-Day and we got 2 e-mails. One short one just to let us know everything is good and to expect a letter next week in the mail. He sent a second later in the afternoon to let us know that he already ran into Garrick who entered the MTC today. I'm sure they were both happy to see each other.

Here are some excerpts from last week's letter which we received this past Monday and were written September 23rd.


Last week during the BYU football game we could here the crowd here and the national the national anthem. I heard they lost though. Oh well, the elders as a whole are more focused now and not always talking BYU football. I heard there were a bunch of upsets: USC and U of U but I heard BSU won so maybe they will get a BCS bowl again. I guess it really doesn't matter that much.


Yesterday I was in the RC (Referral Center). After 2 failed chats I got a guy who asked "What makes your church different?" I explained about prophets and we discussed eternal families. We wanted to talk about the creation so we did. He then asked me what we are asked about most and I said, "Who is the prophet, Joseph Smith?" I talked to him some more but I had to leave so I transferred him.

Also yesterday and the day before I was able to get referrals from the RC. The RC is my favorite place here because it is real missionary work.

Today we went to the temple for breakfast and the food is much better than the food at the MTC. Lunch and Dinner are great here but breakfast here just isn't that great.

The Hermana that is going to Arizona has been in quarantine for the last 3 days. They think she might have the swine flu. They are trying to prevent an epidemic. The bad think is we think my comp and another hermana might be getting it too.

The other day we were teaching a district in Spanish and our teacher said to do it in Spanish if we wanted a challenge. Me and my comp decided to take the challenge and we resolved our investigators concerns. We were teaching the Zone Leaders who have been here 3 weeks longer tan us. They were super impressed and they thought we were fantastic. I had to have had the gift of tongues because things were clicking for me in a way I have never had it for me before.

Tyler also included a copy of his weekly schedule with details written about different activities on the back. I will include some of these details in the next post.



.

Here is a Story for the Blog (and pictures too)

We all received letters from Tyler yesterday and a disc with some pictures.

Sounds like it's going well and he's getting into the routine of MTC life:

Thanks to everyone for the letters and packages. I accept them with open arm and feel free to write as much as you want.

There are 12 people in my district - 8 elders and 4 hermanas.

Since Ive been here I have seen the new Joseph Smith movie again. Last Sunday we chose to watch The Testaments. They are both very good.

Guess who was here yesterday? Elder Holland! He is very funny and very spiritual.
He said to serve your heart out so you have no regrets.

I have been in bad health the past two days and wonder if I got sick from the flu shot they gave me the first day. I am going to see a doctor here today.

I hope everything is going well at home especially with yourhttp://www.blogger.com/post-edit.g?blogID=5329667834533862203&postID=6489040126686835134# new calling as primary president. I hope everything else is going well for everyone.

Here's a story for the blog: I was in the referral center on Tuesday and I got a call from a lady who found a pass along card. By the end of our conversation I had sent the missionaries there by way of referral and found her local ward and time.

Half an hour later I got another call. The guy said guys in white shirts game him a pass along card and he wanted a bible. Well turns out it was a missionary in Indiana who wanted to mess around with me. So not cool.

Tell everyone I love and miss them.

9/16/09 E-mail

Everyone in the family received letters from Tyler on Monday. He had written them on his first p-day and basically contained the same information as his e-mail last week. I think he was concerned that for whatever reason we may not have received his first e-mail.

Today is P-Day and we received another e-mail. This one is short and sweet:
"I am fine my comp is great. I am sending pics home today. I took a bunch of the temple. Tell Jennifer thanks for the package she sent me I would do it myself but I don't have her address. I have a bunch to say and limited time so I will send a big letter tomorrow. Elder Holland was here yesterday. Did my ring come yet???? I love you all! Take care I miss you all so much"

Hopefully we'll get some more details in the promised letter and pictures too!

1st E-mail

Today is Tyler's 1st P-Day and we received this e-mail from him.

"... Today is our first P day which is on Wednesdays in my district. We go to the 8:00 clock temple session, kinda early but more than worth it. The Provo temple is huge it is like 4 stories at least and much larger than the Columbia River Temple. I hope everything is going good there. The last week, until Sunday, seemed to never end but since then the days seem shorter. I am trying very hard to learn Spanish but I am having many problems with it. We have talked tons about the gift of the language. On a brighter note me and my companion Elder Merrell are aiming at teaching the first lesson in Spanish. I feel as I have learned so much already. Also, thank you for the package it was great to receive. Keep doing the letters through DearElder.com as much as you want cause it is great just to feel remembered."

1st Letter

We finally got a letter from Tyler today, still no e-mail from him on P-Day though. Perhaps tomorrow will be his first P-Day and we'll get some more details about his first week. It sounds like this letter was written is first full day in the MTC.

Hope you are all doing well. The branch president's wife gave us permission to write you a letter. My companion is Elder Merrell from Idaho Falls. I hear time speeds up here after Sunday so we will see.

It was wonderful to get a letter from you so use that website as much as you want because here we get them the same day. (he is referring to Dearelder.com) Also, tell everyone to write me. I got a flu shot today and it was a painful $21. Tyler hates getting shots and when he was 13 we had to promise him a puppy to get him to have blood drawn for some tests that needed be done.

Thanks for putting those surprise gifts in my bag. They were a wonderful and a welcome sight.

Love your missionary,
Elder Holden

Still waiting and Tyler opening his call

We would have been expecting Tyler's first letter today but it's Labor Day so there was no mail. Hopefully, we'll hear from him tomorrow.

In case anyone missed it, here is the video of Tyler opening his call:

The Best Two Years: Day 1

Tyler is now a missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. We dropped him off yesterday, September 2, 2009. They have recently changed the way new missionaries are dropped off. They used to have family bring the new Elder (or Sister) inside the Missionary Training Center (MTC) and everyone would attend a meeting together with speakers and singing. At the end of the meeting the missionaries and parents would part through different doors. They have now done away with the meeting with parents and you drop off the new missionary outside.

We parked across the street where we were instructed to leave his luggage in the car and we could then cross the street and get pictures in front of the sign. It was pretty crowded as every Wednesday appox. 400 - 600 new missionaries enter the MTC. We got our pictures at the sign and started talking to two Elders who were standing there directing new Elders on where to go. We got to talking to them and found out they both of them are also going to the Phoenix Spanish speaking Miission. They had both been in the MTC for 6 weeks and practiced their Spanish on us. I didn't get their names but one was from Wisconsin and the other from Missouri. I thought it was neat that the first 2 Elders we met there were also going to the same mission as Tyler.



After the pictures at the sign we could either go back and get the luggage and walk back across the street and say good bye or get in the car, drive across the street and go through the long parking lot of the MTC to drop Tyler off. We ended up deciding to do the latter. As you drive through the parking lot at the MTC they have Elders working the parking lot directing traffic. They flag you into the next available spot along the sidewalk where you pull over and there are Elders waiting. The waiting Elder greets the new Elder and helps them with their luggage. There is just a minute for goodbye and then it's time for them to go. As Tyler walked off I got this shot:

We are looking forward to hearing from Tyler and learning about his first week, companion and other experiences. I think his P-Day will be Tuesday but won't know for sure until he lets us know.

Elder Holden's address is:
Elder Tyler James Holden
MTC Mailbox # 109
AZ-PHX 1103
2005 N 900 E
Provo, UT 84604-1793

I also found out about a cool service offered through DearElder.com This is a free service and they take the letter you write to missionaries via their web site over to the MTC the same day. If you would like to drop him a line using this service you'll need the address provided above as well as the date he is leaving the MTC which is 11/4/2009