Dear Mom and Dad,

It's Sunday again! So I'm writing you again!

I'm now on week eight of bootcamp, only 5 weeks left and I will be graduating.

This last week has been a very good week. I successfully qualified with the M16A2 service rifle, I'm pretty much a sharpshooter, but I won't know what I am until table two, which will be this next Thursday and Friday.

I was surprised about how easy shooting the M16 is, I killed the blackness, 8 out of 10 times at 500 yards.

I got extremely homesick this week, and I just want to go home and spend time living life like I used to :) , but at the same time I know that is in the past, and it is time to move on.

I just barely got the letter about Alayna being pregnant! That's amazing! Tell Alayna that if she doesn't want it, I'll take it :) .

Oh, the platoon has enough protein bars, so don't send any more. I really appreciate what you sent :)

So basically everything is going good. Your letters and the church and sending letters are extremely important to me. I could live without them (not the church) through bootcamp, but I doubt I would feel nearly as good about what I'm doing.

I love you guys a ton, and will write you as soon as possible.

Love,
Ryan

PS Give me Alayna's address, please. I want to write her.

Love,
Ryan
(again)

Hi Mom and Dad,

How was Thanksgiving? I have to admit that I missed spending time with the family. I also miss being able to sleep in :) a lot.

Yesterday was our 5-mile hike :) as it turns out, hiking is my favorite thing that the platoon has done. Next Saturday is our first day at the range. I really hope I shoot well because if I don't qualify on Friday, my graduation date will be held back two weeks, which is a long time. :)

So since I've arrived here, I've pretty much just maintained my body weight. I now weight 155, and I came here weighing 156. lol :)

Sometimes it's really hard to stay awake. I got a good 7 hours of sleep last night, but for some reason, I just can't keep my eyes open. You might have noticed that for my weird hand writing. :) I've fallen asleep like four times since I started the letter. :)

So while I was on the hike yesterday, we got the sex talk from my drill instructors. I thought it was kinda funny how the rules I am now living by because I am a Marine are very similar to the same rules I live by because I'm Mormon. Once I realized this, it really helped to reinforce my knowledge that this is where I'm supposed to be. :)

What I would give for a good book right now. Nowadays, I feel tired and useless during Sundays when I'm not doing anything.

I love you guys much, and I miss you.

Love,
Ryan

Erin e-mailed two letters from Ryan to share:

Dear Erin,

Lol. I'm glad to see someone have such a desire to feast on the word of God, even if it is in such a literal sense. [I had sent a picture of the Book of Mormon our investigator's dog ate.]

I have to admit that before I came to boot camp, I never really took the time to read every single letter you sent, but now I find them much more exciting! : ) Funny how that works out, right?

You asked a question in your last letter about how I thought life would be after basic. That is something that I find myself thinking about constantly, but for me, all that I think about are the good effects.

When I compare how my life is going to be after boot camp to what it would be like if I had just stayed home, I can't stop myself from feeling excited. My choice to join the marines has given me a future.

Whereas, if I had stayed home, I would probably find myself living an extremely difficult life. I have found that choosing to go through difficult trials early in life, as opposed to putting off these trials until later, sets us up for success in the things we want to do later in life. Trials that would have prevented us from being successful before will no longer be difficult.

Since I've been here, thinking about that gets me excited every time.

As far as pictures go, thank you. I really like the pictures you send with you on the picture, so don't worry about it. : ) [I had apologized that every picture I sent was a picture of me, but I don't know how much he'd care to meet my investigators.]

Oh, and sorry for my bad handwriting.

Oh, and Happy Thanksgiving!

Oh, and I love you lots.

Much love,
Ryan

P.S. Send me some stamps, please : )


Dear Erin,

I'm really bored right now, so I'm going to write you a second letter : ) Lucky you!

So mom talked about having me drive up with them to pick you up after your mission. I doubt I'll be able to make it. I'm almost positive that I will still be at my MOS training. Granted, I don't know how long my training will be, since I don't know exactly what I'm going to do when I become a marine. : )

It's really surprising how bored I can get during free time. Sundays are alright because I go to church and I feel good, but today we got 4 hours of free time and now that I've written everyone and done my laundry, I don't really have anything left to do, : ) and it feels really strange.

And I'm listening to the Asian recruit next to me who's talking about Buddhism, and he says that there are a lot of Buddhists who are Christian, because apparently Christianity and Buddhism don't conflict at all. Anyways, I found that interesting : )

Oh, and another thought, could you...nevermind. I was going to ask you to send me some Halls, but that's probably not a good idea.

So, on my initial PFT, personal fitness test, I got like a 226 our of 300, so I got room for improvement, but I still did a good job : )

Lol. I'm running out of things to say.

Sorry for the bad handwriting again : )

Much love,
Ryan

Dear Mom and Dad,

Today has been extremely chaotic. :( I was planning on writing a massive letter, but I am unsure if I will be able to accomplish that today.

Church was good today, and I felt a lot of stress that built up today wash away. Sorry to say, but I'm still falling asleep in church :) I never really considered that a bad habit until I arrived here. Now I'm afraid that one of these Sundays, a drill instructor is going to find me while I'm asleep and that is not something I looking forward to.

I got to listen to music on Friday! It was probably the only time thats every going to happen, but it was absolutely awesome!

Drill Instruct Sgt. Cano was using the music in an attempt to increase our volume and enthusiasm for inciul(??) drill--I'm having trouble with that word--and it worked out.

Our plt got 3rd intiel (??) drill, but our drill instructors told us we did the best--so it's my belief that our plt lost because of politics. We didn't go to our practice prepared, so the drill master didn't let us win. It sucks, but there's not much you can do about that. :)

It's hard to realize that I've been here 5 weeks! It makes me homesick and excited at the same time. Our swim week starts tomorrow, and after that, I will be a Phase 2 recruit, which means my life is only going to get harder.

I've been getting more fit since I've gotten here, but my weight has remained the same :) So I expect I'll be the same size when you guys come down here to visit me.

It is amazing how much I miss having my little freedoms, like eating when I'm hungry, or sleeping when I'm tired. Yes, the marches are turning me into a disciplined warrior, but sometimes, I just want to have a full belly, you know.

On the bright side, the drill instructors no longer count down during hygiene. So we are slowly getting freedoms back. I just hope my plt can maintain these freedoms and not screw us up.

Well, it looks like I got a decent-sized letter going anyways :) I miss you guys so much, and I love all of you. I'll write as often as I can, but I can't promise letters on any other day than Sunday.

Also, I want Cliff bars for Christmas.

DON'T SEND THEM TO ME!!!

Just hold on to them until I finish basic training. I have a feeling that I'm going to go on an eating binge after I get home.

Also, I lost my addresses, so could you send me the address to the Eagle High School seminary. I was supposed to write them :)

Thanx for all of the letters you guys send. It does a lot to keep me motivated and dedicated.

I got a blessing today for my sicknesses. I don't know where I'm going with that, but whatever.

Much love,
Ryan



Dear Mom and Dad,

Happy Thanksgiving!!

Life in boot camp has gotten extremely crazy again ever since the platoon moved to Camp Pendelton. Things have been moving at light speed. It has taken all of my free time just to keep up with the things that we need to do.

Other than that, things have been going extremely well :)

I got I.T.'ed again last night for asking a recruit if he had a-tips so that I could clean my rifle. lol which is funny because last Saturday when we came up here, I lost my drill belt and I never got punished for that, so I'm not complaining.

Tell Amanda I don't know what "never mind" meant. I don't remember what I was thinking about, but it was obviously not very important :)

So gruss week is basically over. Because of the 4 day vacation that the Marines, get we completed this week's training on Wednesday, and I have not idea what we will be doing for the rest of the week.

Can you send me Alayna and Dan's address? I would like to send them a letter.

I love you guys so much and Thank You for all of the support you guys have given me.

Also, I can purchase plane tickets with a military discount. So, if you want, I can purchase your tickets and Amanda's tickets and then you can pay me back, but I can only buy them two weeks before I graduate.

Love, Ryan

Dear Sister Hoffman,

Thank you for the picture : ) It's pretty amazing what effect the gospel can have on people who choose to keep it close to their hearts.

This week is swim week, and has proven to be the hardest week of boot camp so far. Swimming is extremely difficult when wearing combat gear : ) and after our swimming classes, we have physical training : ( So basically, I'm in pain LOL.

Today, a kid almost drowned. It was actually just a drill, but the drill instructors used one of those electrical heart things on him, if you know what I'm talking about. It was extremely intense.

Much love,

Ryan

and a letter to us about the same time. I thought I had posted this, but couldn't find it. Anyway, it is nice to see some enthusiasm.

Dear Mom and Dad,

Today was a family day, and I am feeling extremely homesick. I miss
living at home, and I can't wait to get home, and I can't wait to
graduate from boot camp and return home.

So I don't know if I've told you, but I've become addicted to Hall's
cough drops. We eat so fast here that I feel hungry almost right after
I've eaten :) , the cough drops help to keep my mind off of the hunger.

I go to Camp Pendleton tomorrow, I'm way excited for it.

Tell Alayna to send me like 60 Cliff Bars as soon as you get this so
that they arrive before my 8-mile hike. She doesn't have to obviously,
but I would appreciate it. :)

I get my presidential briefing tomorrow before we leave. I can't wait
to get my top secret clearance!

I love you guys tons, and I miss you guys so much!

Love,
Ryan

Ivan and I are going to be grandparents at approximately June 27, 2009!!!! Way to go, Dan and Alayna!!!! It has been a long wait for us--considering first grandchild, and we'll be in our 60's.

PS Not negating being honorary grandparents to Justin and Shyla's baby girl and John and Lorie's baby girl. But they were born when Ivan was 60 and me 59--so still slow.

This came today:

Dear Mom and Dad,

I'm assuming from the letters that I you have started receiving my letters, that's good because I was starting to worry that maybe the government was starting to steal them or something. (lol)

Life in boot camp continues to be difficult, but I have started noticing the changes in the strength of my body, the only problem is that the training we are receiving has gotten harder as well. :)

Sadly, the energy bars you sent me did not arrive on time :( but luckily my sense of what date it is, is totally off. You probably have another three weeks before we actually use them. :)

Tell Tyson and Jana that I love them and thank Tyson for the letter, also tell the Rudds that I think about them a lot, but I've decided I only have time to write to you guys, so I'll be using you to send messages.

I learned from a phase 3 recruit that I should be asking permission from my Drill instructors to get Intensive Training. I don't know if dad went through intensive training or not, but if not, he doesn't know what it is, it is a very intense work out that lasts anywhere between 30 and 45 minutes. That recruits reasons was that I will need the strength that it will give me for 2nd phase.

That same recruit filled two of the washers with a full bottle of soap, and messed up the whole laundry house. Thanks to a quick prayer, I found a way to quickly flush all of the bubbles down a drain.

Thanks so much for the energy bars, Mom and Dad :) and Erin :)

Oh, I also did my first combat conditioning exercise today. It was much harder, although much less (intense isn't the right word). It was much less painful than intensive training but my body is now completely drained of energy.

Again, I love you guys so much. Tell Amanda never mind. Tell everyone that I love them, and next time you mail me, send me stamps and envelopes. They are super expensive here. I love you guys a ton!

Love, Ryan

PS I got one of the members of my platoon interested in coming to church a few days ago. Apparently he was baptized when he was younger but somehow he fell away. He noticed how I read the Book of Mormon you gave me every evening devotion, and how the Protestants or Catholics, can't remember, and how the members of other groups just messed around. So I gave him my extra copy of the Book of Mormon and will be taking him to church Sunday.

PSS Tell everyone like Alayna, to keep writing me, or to start writing me. I miss everyone so much.

This is a new era of my life--sending out one's youngest--and in ways most vulnerable--to a life of a Marine. Will there ever be moments of security again--first the struggle to become beyond his attention deficit--and after that--what kind of risks? We hope they are few and far removed from the action--but there is no guarantee--and there are parents whose son's are at the forefront. Mortality is so real!

Faith and prayers are in hot demand!

Dear Parents,

I love you guys very much, and I think of you guys constantly. I don't know if you guys are receiving any of the letters that I've sent you, but I hope you guys have.

I am extremely homesick and I wish I could go home every night. I am still dedicated to becoming a Marine, and I find ways to motivate myself and give 110% at everything I do.

Almost every moment that I am awake, I am under stress, even during free time because of all the things I need to do in order to make my life easier.

I love you guys so much, and I want you guys to send me a letter every chance you get.

Love, Ryan

PS: From Mum. We write him every day, plus send Erin's and Garrett's e-mails, and the letters from Justin that Tara posts. I hope he is getting them, but can't tell from the three short notes we've received. Tomorrow, he will have been gone a month.

Here is Ryan's first letter. Also, for some reason it looks like there is a time limit on sending Cliff Bars (the best kind of power bars). I hadn't mentioned it yet, but family can send them for the last 54 hour "Crucible," but they are only put into a fund for the whole group. It helps get them through those hours of no sleep and little food and demanding physical (war-like) activity. I can't imagine why November 10 is the deadline--but if anyone wants to mail a few, I can provide an address.

Also, we are sending envelopes and stamps to you kids to help keep the letters coming.


Dear Mom and Dad,

I want you to know that I'm doing alright. Things are very difficult though, since I've been very sick for awhile now. It's not been anything serious yet, but I've gotten a lot of small things all at once.

The platoon has only been getting an hour of free time every day for about 4 days now, and it's taken me all of that time just to get on top of all the things our drill instructors expect from us.

It's pretty amazing how much I've come to realize I love the church. It is the only thing that I've got to hold me together.

Over all, though, I'm still glad that I chose to come to boot camp. Despite how hard it is, it will set me up to live a better, more righteous life.

Much love,
Ryan Hoffman

PS If you guys don't get your hands on 82 Cliff bars before November 10, keep them, they would make an awesome graduation gift.

And keep sending letters. They do a lot to keep me happy.

I miss you all so very much.

I'd like to share the letter we received from Robert C. Oaks of The Seventy. While it is a bit of a form letter, it is all words of comfort for parents of military members. The Church has amazing safety nets--they've been everywhere around and throughout my life.

October 30, 2008


Dear Mr. and Mrs. Hoffman:

We recently learned that Ryan has joined the military and is attending basic training at MCRD San Diego, CA. We are pleased to inform you that he has been attending the Church services on base and are grateful for the spirit he brings to the meetings. President Briggs is the Church leader at MCRD San Diego and will do all he can to help strengthen Ryan's faith and testimony. We appreciate your support and know you join with us in asking that the Lord will guide and protect him during this time of uncertainty and turmoil in the world.

In these troubled times, it is heartwarming to see sons and daughters courageously step forward to help preserve our freedom and way of life. You can be proud of the part you played in molding Ryan's character. Courage and patriotism do not come automatically; they are planted in the hearts of children by their parents. We express our gratitude to you for your selfless service in his behalf.

We have a deep and abiding interest in Ryan's welfare and want to ensure the blessings of Church membership are available wherever he is stationed. As military members move around, occasionally they are unable to find out where and when the Church meetings are held. Our Military Relations Division can assist them. Likewise, we are able to help concerned parents locate the bishop or branch president where their son or daughter is stationed. In addition, many times we can assist in locating the name of a group leader aboard a ship or at a deployed location around the world.

We know the Lord is mindful of Ryan and the challenges he will face as he valiantly serves in the military.

Sincerely,

Robert C. Oaks

Oh, and the recruit office here says that Ryan would not have had time to write us yet. They keep them busy every minute of the first weeks. Knowing that is a relief!

So, we keep a close watch on our most problematic student. He is tall, passable looks--but unmistakeably special education. Two of us aides were walking back to class with him from the cafeteria, with him carrying his tray. There were several stops where we had to encourage him onward--with us knowing that if he lost control, we could have an interesting trip across, or beyond, campus on our hands. The aide in charge has a cell phone with security's number on speed dial, plus a walkie-talkie. Said-student didn't want to have his lunch alone and was struggling because of that. He dodged from us to ask three gorgeous girls who were taking their lunches out of their lockers if they would eat lunch with him.

They couldn't understand him since his speech isn't that clear, and I quickly inserted my two cents in the conversation suggesting that they say "Thank you, but that they were busy." This they did, with what he asked them finally clicking.

We went on our way, and after reaching the room pulled out our lunches to eat with him, because he was still sad at eating alone. Five minutes into the lunch, we get a call from the secretary in the front of our 5-room complex. "Did so-and-so invite some girls to have lunch with him?" We hesitated, but said, "yes." Had they complained to someone, we are wondering.

"Well," the secretary replied, "They're here." We hadn't even given them the room number. As these lovely girls come into to room, our student gets the most dumbfounded look on his face, I've ever seen. It was classic!

He turned shy, but still managed to have a nice lunch with them, after which he showed them around the Special Education area.

Today, we are into lunch--and, you guessed it, they returned--along with another 5 gorgeous girls! Our boy and 8 girls filled our round lunch table, and they spent the whole lunch hour with us.

We are supposed to teach him not to approach people like he did, but with results like that ... who would want to?

So many people are so very, very good!

My friend, Nancy, who is bicycling with her family from the tip of Alaska to the bottom of Argentina, posted these pictures while in Wyoming.

She said something like "What happens if you take a beader and send her to Yellowstone.



And show her this



And then coop her up in a motel room because of this?



You get a bicycle decoration like this



As you can see, one of my fairies is on a very long trip.

Ryan's Branch President contacted our bishop to tell him that Ryan was adjusting well and had attended church with his military scriptures in hand.

That's all we have heard, but this much is even heartening.

We've been drying apples and cabbage--not at the same time, freezing some peppers, tomatoes, and onions, canning rhubarb, rhubarb jam, green tomato salsa (36 pints!!!), and green tomato mincemeat, and digging up potatoes. I've yet to harvest my broccoli, carrots, and the other half of the beets. This Saturday I need to bring my geraniums in and harvest marygold and zennia seeds. We will dry onions and carrots--and then we should be ready to dry pack two large bins of dried stuff, including making my vegetable soup mix. It's all good.