Remember to send wallet-size photos and no bigger! :o)
Email me for Matt's address if you don't have it. Matt says letters are very encouraging.

Matt's letters to Sarah

Matt has sent me quite a few letters. He says he appreciates the letters everyone sends, and he would love to have some pictures sent to him! The letters sound very encouraging, and he says he can't wait to come home and eat Good Food! =)) I hope the time flies!!!!

Third Phase Recruit

Matthew mailed the family a letter this week. It was a welcome surprise since we didn't hear from him last week. He says he misses everyone and has so little time he cannot send individual letters anymore. He tries to get all the info in one letter.
He says he wants to go to church as soon as he gets home. He thanks us for all the encouragement and everyone for all the prayers. Letters have been deeply helpful and for those of you who have sent any, he really appreciates it.

They are third phase recruits now and says it gets a little easier from here on out. I notice more use of "we" mentality, which is one of the goals. He seems much more clear-headed and focused.

He concludes the letter with how much he loves all of us and misses us.

Keep the letters coming! He has this week and four more to go, so he still needs all the encouragement he can get! The Crucible is coming up soon, which is the most challenging event, I believe. Check out the link to the Training Matrix so you can see exactly when he will do The Crucible and when he will need your specific prayers. There is a description of The Crucible from the MCRD San Diego website below:


The Crucible
In the days leading up to the Crucible, as a part of the event’s preparation, recruits will become familiar with their field protective masks and go through the confidence chamber, more commonly known as the gas chamber.
The Crucible is a test every recruit must go through to become a Marine. It tests every recruit physically, mentally and morally and is the culminating event in recruit training.
The Crucible takes place over 54-hours and includes food and sleep deprivation and over 45 miles of marching.
The entire Crucible event pits teams of recruits against a barrage of day and night events requiring every recruit to work together solving problems, overcoming obstacles and helping each other along.
The obstacles they face range from long marches, combat assault courses, the problem-solving reaction course, and the team-building Warrior Stations. Each Warrior Station is named for a Marine hero whose actions epitomize the values we want recruits to espouse.
Bottom line -- The Crucible is a rite of passage that, through shared sacrifice, recruits will never forget. With that memory and their Core Values learned in recruit training, they can draw upon the experience to face any challenge in their path.
The culmination of the Crucible is the presentation of the Eagle, Globe and Anchor, signifying the new Marine’s successful transformation from recruit to Marine.


Impressed? I am and I am also so proud of him. Please keep his faith and dependence on His Heavenly Father in your fervent prayers, for to seek Him and His Righteousness is our only hope of attaining all the things we need in this life and the life to come.

Tough Day for Mom

Pray for me, Matt's mom, today. I have been realizing how long five years really is and how much I already miss my son. I want to see things as positively as possible and I think I have been doing very well at this, but today all I can think about is that I won't get to watch him grow into a man from 18 to 23. :-(
How selfish is that? He is having a much harder time than I am. But I am a mom and my boy is not here.

from Ashley

Here's an update from July 15th:

Matt wrote a longer letter this time. He sounded like he was doing good! He shares the "head" with 89 other guys and said that that is no fun. He said that sleeping arrangements are ok, and that the beds are comfy. He misses homemade food and fast food. He had a good Fourth of July. He got to go to the theaters to watch a movie and then went to watch the fireworks. He said they were pretty amazing! He said he is looking forward to playing Guitar Hero when he gets back. He got moved to the WFTBN(Weapons and Field Training Batallion). He has a few buddies he mentioned. He can see the ocean from the rack and said it's cool!

Letter arrived Tue July 15

Got another letter today. I got none last week and he explained why: He only has free time on Sunday, he says. He was really depressed and just gelled out during free time. I am so glad to hear from him. I know he is really busy and he is having a much harder time than me, but it is really hard for me as his mom to experience this from my end. Getting an update helps.

He is a 2nd phase recruit. It's his second of three weeks at Pendelton (as opposed to MCRD) and he says all they are doing is shooting this week. (??I guess they go back to MCRD after this phase??)

Matthew sounds like he is growing up A LOT. From some things he wrote, I gather he sees things from a more mature perspective.

Matthew REALLY wants Grandpa & Grandma to be there for graduation!

Can't wait 'til the end of August when I see my man-son!

Hey guys,
Check out this link to see what Matt's scheduled to do each day:
http://www.recruitparents.com/downloads/2008MCRDMatrix.pdf

According to this calendar Matt is in week five, (week one of grass week) as of this writing, July 7th, 2008.

Longest letter I have gotten!! Four family letters in one envelope!!

Matt wrote some more letters and we received them today. They seem to get here very fast! He dated mine 06/29-that's only 2 days! :o)

He says letters are very encouraging. Matthew expressed that it's getting hard after having lost initial drill, which as I understand it was a competition between his platoon and another in the company, (They are working harder as a consequence of losing.) and the fourth week as the Marines count it, beginning yesterday. As hard as it has been, he sounds like he is clear headed and he understands what needs to be done. He gets free time at night and on Sunday mornings.
He seems very homesick, having mentioned a few times that he wanted to be home and missed us all. He would like to talk to us, not just write.

Please pray for thick skin as he said that he "need(s) to thicken it real quick."

They get a haircut every week and sleep 90 guys in barracks-each has the same bed every night. Guys are there from all over the country, he says, which he added a smiley after. And he said there are several believers. He is one of two prayer leaders, it sounds like, and he plans to talk over some of his struggles with the other guy who leads prayer. He feels demoralized over "to never do something right". That sounds like BIG discouragement. Please pray for him to cry out to God and seek Him first and that God would go before him to bring him strength and victory.

His bad ankle is fine since he has to wear combat boots every day.
He adds that he is not thinking he has made a mistake. He knows this is what God called him to.

Praise God that He has hold of my son's heart!

Miss you so much, my man-son!