When it rains, it pours!
For the past few weeks Elder Sean has finished up and mailed several letters he'd rounded up, in addition to scratching out a page or more to Olivia, Calvin, Koki, and Cherie individually.
Also, just today we received an email from sweet sister Wendy Engel - (Sean's surrogate mother in Mt Vernon) letting us know that he had not been transferred yesterday. Her willingness to keep us informed makes ALL the difference.
bless her! (now i know where to mail his monthly box tomorrow).
In last month's box i was finally able to include a DVD of Oli & Ben's wedding reception, (as well as the longer version of the video of Calvin's mission call).
The following is some of his response to me from late February:
"Wow, Mom, you were right! That DVD was worth the wait! and I'm sure if i had been in Calvin's place, I too would've wanted you to wait for me to edit and add titles, etc. Sorry to hear the technical process was such a struggle. (I can't say I'm really looking forward to troubleshooting electronics again).
My compliments to Calvin! The transitions between scenes, clips, etc, was really nice & smooth. I also liked the titles. (Do you know if he had to compress or lower the quality to get it all to fit on that one DVD?)
I think i was most surprised by how much I'd really forgotten about how life was really like back at home. The whole thing was a nice refresher of where i came from :) I was blown away by how much i was reminded of by watching it.
Olivia's wedding looked like a lot of fun, and a lot of work too :D...
My compliments to Josie too, for being such a great camera woman! I can't say I could go around and talk to everyone like that and have such a good time!
It was wierd hearing Chino, Mario, Papa Moisés, and others speaking Spanish and suddenly being able to understand them!
They were speaking the same language I've always heard them speak but this time my brain could put meaning to the sounds! I've always been around Spanish being spoken by them all, but it caught me off guard when my brain instantly handed me imagery and comprehension for all those sounds. Even though I've been hearing and speaking Spanish for the past year and a half, this was completely a whole new experience! It was exciting!
I want you to know that I'm doing well. I'm safe, I'm happy, I'm learning, I'm loving, I'm overcoming. i can already sense how much I'm going to miss it. I feel sad that the time is so short. At the same time, the longer I'm out here the more i realize that all the challenges and struggles will be no different when i get home. As much as this seems like a break from real life, it is also an introduction to real life. It's as if the Lord is saying, "you're going to need to deal with this in a couple of years, so here's how I'll help you prepare..."
In other words, I'm practicing with the process of involving my Heavenly Father in the things I do all day everyday. And I'm learning that when i do that, I'm happier and I can accomplish more. Which will help me mucho in the years to come. So there's that.
...I have several other thoughts to share with you soon, Mom.
FYI, our P-days are changing to Mondays on May 9th. So i'll have a pday Thurs the 5th and another Mon the 9th. I'm looking forward to Monday's...
LE QUIERO MUCHO, MOM!"
