Letters From California

Day 59

Letters from my brother Josh! He kept in touch!

My brother Josh got his mission call to serve in Los Angeles, California (he served from 1995 to 1997); this meant that he would be able to preach the gospel and do the Lord’s work in places like Hollywood, which Josh affectionately called “Hollyweird”!

No, he's not grading my letters; Josh is simply writing comments to me.

This was his way of communicating with me.

I was so proud of Josh for embarking on this mission and I loved hearing from him. Now, Josh did his best to write the family and me during his mission (and I have a nice stack of letters/notes that he sent me to prove this!), but he primarily communicated to the family via tapes. This was back in the day before the Internet, so there wasn’t daily communication with Josh. He’d be able to call us on Mother’s Day and Christmas, but that was it; so it was great to get audio tapes from Josh. He made them fun and entertaining and he was able give in-depth descriptions of his mission experiences.

Josh’s letters to me were unique, in that he would write responses and comments on the letters I sent to him and then he would send it back to me. And like Jordan, Josh has a talent for artwork and making cool logos, which he would impart in his letters/notes. His comments were always clever, witty, sardonic, and just bursting with his personality! And he would usually write a brief update of himself at the end of the letter, so I would know what was happening with him.

There were many times when Josh would uplift me with words of support and encouragement. I know that he was aware of my insecurity and private humiliation at not being able to serve a mission. He did not dwell on my mistakes, my issues - he would simply tell me to keep trying, to keep striving and to, above all, never give up! He would share his testimony of the gospel, reference favorite conference talks and scriptures, and just express his love of missionary work!

Cary Grant: one of my favorite actors of all time!

Josh knew my love for Hollywood, movies, celebrities, etc. and since he served part of his mission in the midst of “La-La Land” he would often send pictures of the sights. He sent me pictures of some of the stars on the Hollywood Walk Of Fame, and this was so cool of him because he picked some of my favorite stars of all time! He really knows me!

Audrey Hepburn: one of my favorite actresses of all time!

Thank you Josh! You paved the way for another missionary in our family: Jordan. I’m grateful that you lead the way when I couldn’t! I love you!