Escapeseeker

Vladivostok – Excerpts from Elder Gee’s report (in his own words), Wednesday, January 16th, 9:02 a.m.

Hello mother! I’m here and incredibly safe! Get this: I’m really experiencing cold like I never have before in my life. WOW. Let me tell you a little about it:
On Friday morning we went with President and Sister Everett to the airport to meet the 5 new missionaries. It was very fun and exciting. I loved very much talking with them. It brought back very many good memories. I really can remember every little thing back 2 years ago to my own first day in the country. It was a shocker then and it was a shocker for these 5 as well.
One of them looked at one of the big block apartment buildings and asked: “Do people live in those?” It just so happened to be his apartment building where he would be living.
We right away took them to the Russian/Chinese Market to get these suited up in their big leather/fur coats, hats, and gloves.
They really were welcomed with quite the big shock. It was cold like no body’s business. On Sunday morning when I woke up at looked at the temperature it shown – 17 degrees Fahrenheit! Also the wind chill added (or better to say subtracted) another 10 degrees. I feel a little bad for these new elders for they are experiencing this in their first days and yet it is the coldest I have experienced in the whole 2 year service. Even ask we go to leave our apartment building stairwell the door’s frame and handle is all frozen over.
The new elders are all amazing. They will really do great. As I was with them I could only imagine all that they have lying in store for them. I was very excited for them but I can’t say that I was jealous. Just imagining it all seemed to exhaust my mind, heart, and spirit. Especially looking back on my own personal experiences…I wouldn’t give up each and every unforgettable moment for the world, yet knowing and remembering what it took, just how personally challenging and straining it all has been, I don’t know if I could do it again. Surely God has blessed me with His grace.
All of the Elders were sent off to their separate cities to meet their trainers. One of them even got on that same bus all alone heading to Nahodka as did I two years ago.
There was one, however, who’s flight to Sakhalin was canceled and had to wait three days. President had Elder Thompson go work with another companionship so that I could train this new elder in a companionship of just the 2 of us to get him in the flow as soon as possible. I LOVED IT! It was also very tiring however… I ran him good. I told him to make sure and pack his running shoes. Each day I set up lessons with all my favorite members and investigators from all around them city and we were up and about from morning til evening. I kept him up til planning was over our first night. The second night didn’t quite workout. He came in and as soon as I could get off all my snow gear I found him already asleep on the bed, still in his suit. I let him be.
Mother, in planning anything for me after my return i ask that you expect the very most out of me. I will give it my very all and be dedicated at what ever i need to be. I thank you for al you are doing for. I thank you for your support and especially for your inspiration day to day…

Also, another thought. According to the Russian conditions of what is a successful man, i have learned just how successful father is. Check this out:
Everyone successful man should:
Build a house
Plant a tree
Raise a child
Wow…father is quite the example for me.
Alright. Well let me close. I’m sorry i don’t have so much time. I was busy enjoying your blog. I loved it…

I love you family.
Love elder gee

Note: This photo was taken during warmer days. 🙂

It is not surprising to hear the tremendous excitement from family and friends upon hearing that Elder Garrett Gee will be returning soon after completing more than two years of missionary service. But his #1 fans, who also happen to be each other’s BFF’s took it to a whole new level! 🙂 Yeah Alex and Gabes, You’re AWESOME!I love you too!

Mel~

Well how are you? You seem to be doing great i loved your blog! very nice!! Garretts letter was so good this week i loved hearing that he is a little bit excited to come home!!! I don’t think he could be as excited as all of us are to have such an amazing person back…huh. I am sure you know exactly how many days he has left but Gabes and I got really into it and wanted to know the day, hour, min, second till he would be here and so we have a count down going on facebook…at this moment he has 36 days 2 hours 32 min and 7 seconds give or take a few min. ha ha oh man i am so excited to have him home i can hardly wait!!!

i also just wanted to thank you for always getting his email to me and the other things you keep me updated on! i love to hear about what you are up to…its always an adventure!

i love you mel and hope to see you soon!

love alex

Contagious laughter between best surfing buds!

Whenever I feel as though I am continually swimming against the tide, I recall this beautiful scenery from the steps of the Princeville in Kauai, Hawaii…and an overwhelming sense of gratitude feels my heart…first that I’ve been granted the gift of sight to see such beauty…and second, the gift of gratitude to recognize its presence.

So whenever you’re sad, close your eyes and remember all of the beautiful places you’ve been…all the wonderful people you’ve met…and it is sure to turn even the saddest face into one bright glowing smile.

Here is our thought for the week:

“Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend. Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today, and creates a vision for tomorrow.”
~ Melody Beattie ~

Hello my favorite Russian!
Well a couple of weeks ago I gave you the happiest news of my life. This week I have even better news. Yesterday I went and had an ultrasound an we found out I’m pregnant with twins!!!! I’m so happy and feel so blessed. I’m already getting big too:) I’ll send you a pic of the ultrasound. Thank you for your faith, service, and prayers. I can’t help but feel your mission and dedication have a direct correlation with the countless blessings we are receiving. I just pray I’ll always be worthy.
I imagine you are super busy as a Zone Leader. Do you enjoy managing others? It is a great skill that will carry over into the rest of your life, just like the rest of your mission experience will too.
I love you and am so proud of you my lil bro. You are a spiritual giant in my eyes. Hope your Russian Avery is enjoying her time on the same continent as you.
Thanks again for your love and support. I love you lots and lots and so do the babies!
Love,
Mama Noakes
Sent via BlackBerry from T-Mobile

I live for Tuesdays. For on Tuesdays, circa 5pm Pacific Standard Time, I get the weekly e-mail report from our Elder Garrett Burton Gee who is serving a voluntary LDS church mission in the Russia Vladivostok Mission. If you have no idea where Vladivostok is, don’t feel bad. Neither did we, until Elder Gee received his mission call. But now, I can tell you what time it is in Vladivostok–no matter where we are; I know the country code, the city code, and how to get there, should I ever be permitted to go there that is…since Elder Gee made me promise not to accept any assignments to Vladivostok while he is serving his mission. 🙂 But just in case you’re still wondering where it is–If you board the Trans Siberian Railroad in Moscow and ride it across the entire Russian landscape (about 5,000 miles) until you reach its most Southern Far East tip–that’s where the train will come to its final stop–that’s Vladivostok!

Here’s an excerpt from a recent e-mail Elder Gee sent during the Thanksgiving Holidays. I am sharing it in its original form–with English language errors, typos and all. He has served in Russia nearly two years, and is so fluent in Russian that his English–well, not so much. We are so happy that he has put all of his efforts to be the very best missionary he can be…in every regard. It seems that all those years that I dragged Garrett from country to country during his youth taught him tremendous resiliency! We might have to turn off the water heater for a while when he returns home to help him acclimate. 🙂 Well, here is his love letter to our entire family:

Well family let me tell you have grateful I am for everyone of you. You give me so much pride and honor and confidence. I love hearing about all the wonderful things you do. I thank you for not sending anything on my Birthday. I need to majorly cut down on the amount of things I have and I ask you to please continue to not send anything.
I am very grateful for the things I have learned while I have been here. Not just the facts that I have learned…and not just the doctrine… I am greatful for that. Yet I am especially grateful for those special truths from God that have come into my life in so much realness that I will never be able to doubt or deny their excistance. The realization of the realness of it all, and it’s working in my life is a testimony that I will forever hold on to and grow.
I have been shown weaknesses that seem to be weaker than all others. I am constantly fighting pride. I am constantly fighting selfishness. And my English is constantly getting worst. I humbly thank God for showing me these scary weaknesses of mine and it is my prayer that I’ll be humble and strong enough to conquer.
I love my parents and acknowledge them as the source of so many blessings. Thank you for your many hard works, sacrifices, and prayers on my behalf mom and dad. I love you.
Elder Gee junior

MADAME H is our Italian beauty. She’s sexy and she’s fast. With ‘Ifraviator’at the controls, she soars the blues skies over Texas with ease and grace!

MADAME H is the reason we acquired a home in Texas. While Mrs. H., aka Mel is passionate about travel, Mr. H. is absolutely passionate about piloting his own plane. In the summer of 2005, after criss crossing the continent in search of the perfect air park community, we discovered Pecan Plantation, about 35 minutes drive south of Fort Worth in the small town of Granbury. Pecan Plantation is surrounded by a 17-mile stretch of the historic Brazos River. If Southern Hospitality and fried cookin’ is what you savor, Pecan is your kind of place. With its own perfectly manicured airport, two golf courses, an equestrian center, a Clubhouse complete with extra rooms for your overflow guests, community pool, and let’s not forget an entire village of deer that roam freely like movie props in a wildlife documentary–there’s no place like Pecan for a family like ours who love to gather and play and eat, and dance beneath the stars! Come on down Y’all!

New York City–On September 5, 2007, my husband, Roy Henderson and I, along with dear friends, Christian “C” Mack and his wife, Tenetia, attended the New York premiere of a widely acclaimed documentary entitled, IN THE SHADOW OF THE MOON, on the invitation of one of its producers, Academy Award winner, John Battsek.

If you are under 40 years of age, what you will see in the stunning new documentary entitled, IN THE SHADOW OF THE MOON and presented by Ron Howard, will seem like science fiction. You were either not yet born or too young to remember the singular event 35 years ago that united an entire world as Apollo astronauts ventured to another planet, and as three billion people on earth watched, man took his first steps on the moon. That man was Neil Armstrong of NASA’s Apollo 11 mission.

Today there are seven billion humans on planet Earth, and only eight more have walked on the moon since Armstrong’s courageous achievement that breathtaking day on July 20, 1969. IN THE SHADOW OF THE MOON, crewmembers from NASA’s Apollo missions tell their story in their own words. Under British filmmaker, David Sington’s skillful direction and weaving of visually stunning original NASA film footage, the audience is able to marvel one more time at this moment in history when the Apollo Space Program literally brought the aspirations of a nation to another world.

The 10 Apollo astronauts interviewed in the film include Buzz Aldrin, Jim Lovell, Alan Bean, Edgar Mitchell, Gene Cernan, Harrison Schmitt, Mike Collins, Dave Scott, Charlie Duke and John Young. This list represents one crewmember from every mission that flew to the Moon.

Noticeably absent in the interviews is Neil Armstrong. However, his presence is felt throughout the film, and his Apollo 11 mission is at the center of the film. The other astronauts speak for him and of him throughout the film. Armstrong remains the most recognized name, and perhaps the most revered of all the astronauts.

Sington said Armstrong expressed his support for the film, but would not agree to be interviewed. Nevertheless, “Neil Armstrong is at the heart of the film,” says Sington.

The Shadow’s producers sifted through volumes of archival audio tapes and film footage that showed more conversations between the astronauts that had not been previously seen or heard in earlier documentaries. With the added new interviews, a wide range of emotions is captured. With the passage of time, the astronauts are no longer required to keep their emotions in check. Sington notes, “Just because they were not experiencing fear doesn’t mean they weren’t feeling a full range of emotions, from wonder and joy to surprise.” “Very intense feelings, just not fear,” Sington adds.

“It was such an extraordinary experience for them to be separated from the home planet, and I believe it took them years before they really understood the implications of it themselves,” said Sington.

And Sington also exclaimed, “I went into the interviews with high expectations, but I must say that I was surprised and delighted at how funny they were in telling their stories.”

In this total feel good, exhilarating movie, Apollo 11 command module pilot Michael Collins, now 76, is one of the most animated astronauts in the film. “To me, the marvel of it is that it (Apollo) all worked like clockwork,” Collins says in the film. “Even I didn’t make mistakes. I have a lot of things I can do wrong, but the consequences should I do them wrong are going to be immediately obvious to three billion people!” Collins was among 27 astronauts in nine Apollo spacecraft that voyaged to the Moon from 1968 through 1972—six of the 27 have died, including three of the Moon walkers.