More on the Elton Missionary Dollar     The following is the letter that Pete sent to Jack regarding his feelings on the Elton Missionary Dollar. Jack, My dad wrote up his memories of when he got the Missionary Dollar that we gave to you before you left.  He asked me to write up some of my feelings and CC him.  Feel free to reply to both of us. I remember when my dad told me the story of his Missionary Dollar and gave it to me before I left for my mission to England, London South.  I remember thinking that this was a really neat thing to have, something that really connected me to my dad and his mission.  I also took the same 2 brown Samsonite Suitcases that he took on his mission (I don't know that he remembers that).  Maybe we should pass those down too. ;-) Like my dad, I never carried the dollar on my person, but kept in mainly with my suitcases. Every time I transferred to a new area, I'd see that coin and it would remind me that my dad had gone through the same struggles as I had.  Reading my dad's memories below, I didn't have the same connection to home, family and friends when I saw it, but I did feel a very strong connection to my dad who I looked up to, admired, and tried to emulate. I'm glad to have kept it safe all these years to pass down to you, Jack.  When I went to go get it, I knew EXACTLY where it was and it only took me about 2 minutes to go get it. I hope that in some way carrying that dollar with you will help you feel a connection to those that went before you and that you can gather strength from it.  Your Great-Grandpa, Jack Harold Elton, served a mission in Natchez Mississippi with his wife after he retired.  That makes YOU a 4th generation Elder Elton!!  While Jack Harold and Peter Lawrence never had to learn a language, Larry Jack did!  So, if you are ever struggling to learn Samoan or feel like you just can't do it anymore, forget about me and your great-grandpa and focus on your own grandpa.  Not only did he learn Spanish, he did it when the Language Training Mission was still brand new (translation: they were making it up as they went ;-) ).  So now the MTC has got decades of experience teaching languages.  I KNOW it will be tough on you, but I also KNOW you can do it! I love you son! Dad

lje  10/12/16