sidenote: today (in saipan) it is dan's birthday (tomorrow in canada). it made me feel a little old when i turned 40. however, to think i have a son who is 20 years old makes me feel even older. what can you do, it happens. lots on my mind this day as i reflect back 20 years. what a day that was. waking up from an emergency c-section to a little bundle of joy that arrived 11 weeks early weighing in at 1 pound, 11 ounces. that day i wondered if he would even live the next 24 hours. he did, and the next day, my dad and derek gave him a priesthood blessing that promised him he would grow up and be a normal boy. that was reassuring but there have been many anxious moments and days of worry and concern. i wish that 20 years ago I could of caught a glimpse of dan today and perhaps read this email (email didn't even exist then) to know that he would be happily serving a mission in a far away land. I guess that's where faith and the reality of mortality come into play. i know 'normal' has a very wide range, and we are ALL 'normal' in our own quirky way with different strengths and weaknesses. that's what makes life what it is.
i have posted a picture of dan on his first birthday. it was in my mom's backyard and was attended by many family and friends, truly a day of celebration to make it that far.
the other picture is of dan and michael cooper on dan's 3rd birthday on the path behind our house in edmonton when derek was attending law school. ironically, we attended michael's missionary farewell today in okotoks; he is going to mexico city learning spanish. i saw a grown up michael up on the stand speaking, but in my mind i pictured michael as a two year old, pushing dan around in our red wagon, they were good little playmates. i am grateful for memories.
anyhow, here is dan's update for the week.....btw...i love my dan so much!!!
julie
Dear Mom!
It was great to hear from you again! I really liked the birthday package you sent to me! Everything fits great and I love everything! It was very nice for you to do that for me for my birthday! I especially liked the personalized shirt and the socks! Elder Early loves his t-shirt too! It's so weird that I am 20 years old. I don't really feel any different though. Today ELder Early wrote HAPPY BIRTHDAY with shaving cream on the bathroom mirror!
Thats really sad to hear my friend Curran died, he was a good person. Thats exciting for Zach Kerr to receive his mission call to Winnipeg, he will have a good experience too! One of my EFY friends, Helmut, is going to Vancouver and he is super stoked!
I am really happy to be here in Micronesia, I love it here. We are finding new investigators and we have a few progressing which is always good!
We had Zone Conference here in Saipan with our new mission President and it was very good. President Mecham said that we are going to try to have a stake in Saipan and that is our goal as missionaries. He is really fired up to be here and so is Sister Mecham. They are really good people but different from the Dowdles, just as good but he is a little more reserved and soft spoken. So far he has really liked to be here and to meet new people! The interview was only ten minutes and he just asked where I am from, what I want to do after my mission and how long I have been out etc. He was taking notes the whole time! He was really nice to talk to. Sister Mecham also sat down with us to get to know us and asked the same questions! It was all a very positive experience.
I love you! I loved the package so much!
Seni Noum, Chommong Tong Seni
Elder Kearl
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