best mothers day present

my mom and dan on front steps of house
on Dalbeattie Hill

i talked to dan tonight for an hour and it was so great!  not as emotional as speaking to him at christmas for me.  i just felt peace and couldn't be happier to have him where he is right now.  he loves the island of saipan and has really enjoyed the branch and people he is living amongst.

he thinks he might be transferred this week to either the island of chuuk or guam, he doesn't know, he just has a feeling.   he has been on saipan the longest of all the elders there right now.  he mentioned that he hopes he doesn't go to Yap because rumor has it that their are topless beaches everywhere you look.  he said the elders who have served there joke that it is hard to get ocean pictures that are appropriate to send home.

they don't get fed very often from the members and so they make a lot of their own meals.  he told me he wishes he was better prepared to cook, do laundry and stuff like that.  i told him i did teach him those things and his reply was 'i'm not blaming you mom, you did teach me, i just didn't pay attention like i should have'.  HA!!!!  he said how grateful he was that he went to seminary and institute and had really studied the scriptures before he left, that has been a huge asset as a missionary.  he said he wonders why they send 19 year old boys to serve missions, still so young and so much to learn, i laughed and thought that is exactly why they send 19 year old boys to serve missions, so they can grow up and mature.

scott told dan that joey was getting fatter since he's been gone.  i told dan it's because no one else is as diligent as he was at walking joey daily.  he said there are tons of stray dogs and cats on the island.  scott and his friends were amused when dan told them he ran over one in the truck just yesterday and killed it....by mistake of course.

his favorite thing to do is teach discussions and meet new people.  he said it is so important to learn to teach by the spirit.  he said that it doesn't always happen that you teach the discussions in order, you need to understand what it is they are wanting or needing to learn to help them build their own testimony.

he sounded so mature and grown up on the phone.  it was fun to hear him and his companion laughing and having fun together.  his companion, elder garcia, sent me a very nice letter this week.  he thanked me for the package we sent him and said how much he has loved serving with dan.  he said they get along very well and have a lot of fun too.  he hopes he stays with dan until he goes home in august.  he would like to visit us in Canada so he can try out the cold.  he said dan may be taller than him, but he is much stronger than dan.  made me laugh.  he also said he has seen the pictures of emily and thinks she is 'real pretty'.

next time i talk to dan will be christmas and we'll be in beautiful hawaii! maybe i'll be sitting on the beach while we talk staring at the same pacific ocean he is surrounded by.  what's weird is that hawaii isn't even halfway to his mission.  it's still 3300 miles from hawaii.  he is very far from home it seems.

tomorrow is mother's day and it will be a hard day for me since I will be thinking of my own mom.  i feel gratitude for having been blessed with a great mom who set a good example for me as a mother.  tonight, i am thinking about how happy and blessed I am to be dan's mom.  it hasn't been an easy road for dan or me but he came with a very strong, determined spirit that has helped him overcome many challenges placed in his way.  the first time i saw dan, when i was wheeled into the neonatal intensive care unit, who could have imagined that LITTLE bundle of joy would one day be living on a tiny island in the pacific, fending for himself and serving others.

i love him so much,
julie

dan in the NICU

i loved when i was able to take him out of his incubator,
i think the blankets weighed more than him

getting bigger and stronger

wearing the barney sweater grandma knit for him

love my boy!

day he was baptized....future missionary