2026-07-16_email_day-1-we-got-a-puppy
From: jason.heywood@gmail.com To: nheywood@missionary.org Date: 2026-07-16 Subject: Day 1, We got a puppy!
Hi my beautiful daughter! I just want you to know how incredibly proud we are of you. Dropping you off was rough. All yesterday was rough. There were a lot of tears at home. I laid in your bed and cried, and I think I scared Belle. Unfortunately, i didn't scare her to death.
This morning I have regrets on how I expressed my experience in the MTC. I LOVED THE MTC! You may think, uh, bro, why did you flip, bro? I didn't flip, I had forgotten. The MTC was one of the most spiritual places I have ever been. Sure it had its quarks and weirdness, but that was mostly just me (those showers were traumatizing. Never have I stared straight up while showering with so much passion, then I did when I was surrounded by so many dudes.). The real experience was being bathed in the spirit of truth. I felt it every day. I felt it in class as we were learning. It was simply amazing. So please forgive me for painting the MTC as a "L in the chat, bro". It's a "Ws in the chat".
You will go through many new things and it may be hard. But know it gets easier. It's only new once. Then once you did it, well, you've done it before and it's not going to be as scary. Such as, you have already spent a night there. You know what its like, tonight, you're basically pro.
I loved your note. I ate a starburst for comfort. It is such a special note to me. Not special needs special. Special special.
Make sure to write your feelings and experiences in a Journal. Your kids may need your courage and strength one day. You may need to remind yourself, one day, how simply amazing you are, by reading the things you have done.
Make sure that when you write a group chat, put the names in the bcc field. Otherwise, Bonnie will accidentally reply all to let you know of how happy your letter made her feel then proceed to overshare her medical problems.
I had a dream last night about Isaiah Davis. Our family was walking across the street in a place like downtown SLC. You were with us as Sister Heywood, and for some reason Elder Davis was with us. He was trying to be cool and threw some cup toward a trash can, missed it, then told you to go get it and throw it away, and you did. That made me so mad that he treated you that way so i lifted him up by the shirt and slammed him to the wall and proceeded to yell at him for his incompetence as a missionary and how he treated you. I think I have anger problems. lol Dont' worry, if he does that again, I'll go pick up the cup.
Also, we didnt get a puppy. But I did get to spray the cat pee rug again.
I love you Sister Heywood! Enjoy the spirit you will feel in the MTC! It is a WONDERFUL PLACE! Mom and I are so excited for you. It is hard without you at home, but the world still turns. We all still wake up and do our best each day. The 18 months will fly by, then it'll be just as hard to leave the mission as it was to go there in the first place. You will find you love the work, you love the closeness you have with the Savior, you love your companions and church members, you'll love the areas. So dont waste one ounce of time wishing you were somewhere behind you. You are going forward, and when you come home, you'll probably be reminded within the first 10 minutes of what it's like then wonder why you missed it in the first place. lol.
I will leave you with this scripture. It speaks of the Nephites and the challenges they were facing as they were subject to the Lamanites. They pleaded for deliverance from their burdens, and the Lord said this:
Mosiah 24:14 14 And I will also ease the burdens which are put upon your shoulders, that even you cannot feel them upon your backs, even while you are in bondage; and this will I do that ye may stand as witnesses for me hereafter, and that ye may know of a surety that I, the Lord God, do visit my people in their afflictions.
I know that when we are going through tough times, the Lord will strengthen us to help us rise to the challenge. The Lord is stronger than any trial that we will have, and as we give it to Him, He will lift us up and do it with us. I know you can do it. Give your trials to the Lord and watch Him work a miracle in your life.
I love you! Dad
Filing notes
Jason's first letter to Natalie after the July 15, 2026 in-person Provo MTC drop-off. The subject line is a joke; the letter states later that the family did not get a puppy.
Forwarded the same day to ladaloheywood@gmail.com (one of Natalie's own secondary addresses). The forward carries no added text and is not filed separately.
Belle is the family cat. Bonnie and Isaiah Davis are referenced but not otherwise established in the vault.