The newspaper article about Ethan's mission call.
This is the best map I could find that has Ethan's mission area.
The Ventura California mission president (Elder Fernando R. Castro) & his wife on the day Ethan arrived. They wrote a nice letter to us and sent this picture along with a letter from Ethan. Here is what was written:
Elder Ethan Edward Stewart arrived safely in our mission on Mon., 22 Aug. 2011. As we met him at the airport he appeared to be in good health, had a smile upon his face and was eager to begin serving in the California Ventura Mission.
He received training and spent his first night here in Ventura. After breakfast today, we held a transfer meeting and the he went to his assigned area in Lake Isabella, California with his companion Elder Hall. Enclosed you will find a photo of him with Sister Castro and me.
Your son's permanent address in the mission field is the mission office address, which is 260 Maple Ct., Suite 120, Ventura, CA 93003-3544. (**the mission office has since moved**) There is a normal period of adjustment as your missionary adapts to the mission field, and your assistance during this time will be greatly appreciated.
Thank you for raising such a noble young man. We already love him as our own and will do everything we can to help him succeed. We are delighted to have him with us.
I share with you my testimony that this is the work of the Lord and pray that our Father in Heaven's choicest blessing will be upon you and your family as your missionary serves with us in California.
Ethan's letter: Dear Mom & Dad,
I'm in California! It's so great here. And seeing the ocean...amazing. Shame I can't go swimming, but oh well. I got some pretty cool pictures on the flight from Denver to Santa Barbara. From an airplane, things look like the satellite images on Google Maps. I'm glad I finally got to fly--it was fun.
I'm in the mission home right now, while Pres. Castro interviews some of us new missionaries. He's an awesome guy. He seems pretty young for a mission president, but he's fantastic. And his wife is a great lady, not mention an amazing cook.
I still can't get over how awesome it is here. Palm trees everywhere and the homes in Ventura, or at least all the ones I've seen so far, are way nice. It's such a beautiful place...I'm excited to get to work around here. Hopefully I'll be in this area for some part of my mission. It's a pretty big mission. Like 4 or 5 counties, about 200 missionaries, and 10 zones.
Tonight, in a little while, I'll get to go out somewhere and get a nice view of Ventura/the Pacific (you'll get to see it in the pictures whenever I fill up my memory card and send it home) and I think hand out some pass-along cards or something too. Then I'll be spending the night with either the president's assistants or in a member's home. Tomorrow we get a little more orientation, and then we'll find out who our companions will be. And then I assume we begin teaching and proselyting and all that good stuff.
Alright, I can't think of anything else to say I would reiterate how fantastic it is here, but I think I got that across pretty well already. Apparently Sister Castro is gonna stick a picture in with this letter, so I hope you enjoy that. I hope everything is going great at home. Write me a lot, mail always improves the quality of a day. And P-day is Monday, so we should be able to e-mail sometime between 10 and 6. Okay, I guess no that's everything. Give everyone my love, and inform Zane if I don't get mail from him soon, I revoke my permission to use my headphones. talke to you later. Much love, Ethan (Elder Stewart)
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