The First Mission Christmas-December 25, 2014

Today was an amazing and wonderful day for our family. We spent the day with our 2 beautiful daughters, fabulous son in law, and because of the blessings of technology, we were able to SKYPE with our Missionary!! At first, the webcam he was using at the members home wouldn't work. It was exciting to hear his voice, even though we couldn't see him. They fiddled and fiddled with the computer and suddenly (brrrring---magical noise) his face appeared! It was so wonderful to be able to see him and have real time conversations. He told us about his apartment, the city he is serving in, some of the other missionaries, learning the language, the members, the food, the HUGE spiders, the lizards (one was inside their apartment in the broom), the walking, walking, walking. He was in great spirits and seems to be adjusting as well as could be expected for 12 weeks in the mission. He admitted he still struggles with the language, but seems to recognize that it is coming a little at a time. He sent a small package for us, which we opened while we were talking to him. He sent Cammy "Ray-Ban" sunglasses, Brady a watch, Pat 2 ties, Natalie Portuguese Pokémon cards with personal notes written on each, a small bottle full of Brazilian costal sand, and a few Brazilian coins. He said that "Mom's Gift" was separate. I found out afterwards, he had prepared a CD of him singing and playing his guitar before he left Pocatello. He asked Cammy to save it for me until Christmas. Obviously, I was incredibly touched by his preparation, thoughtfulness, and excitement to share with me what he knew would be meaningful while he was gone. We loved sharing some of his experiences with him. When it was time to finish, I asked him to share his testimony in English and Portuguese for us. He was reluctant, because he knew he would be emotional. But he humored his mother. I am so proud of this little boy-becoming a man. I am humbled by his courage and strength to continue when things are hard. I am especially thrilled to see his testimony growing each day as he does his best to serve the Lord. I do love this dear boy.

In Portuguese: