Phone Call Home: Monday, February 6, 2023

Oh boy...

Elder Garcia and I were able to catch up today for just about a whole hour! It was so good to hear from him and to listen as he recapped his week. He seems really really happy and is still enjoying every minute being in Africa.  

Some things that really stood out this week when talked are: 

- Elder Garcia was able to visit with a gentleman who is also a retired principal. The cool thing for Elder Garcia is that this guy is also an artist and so while they were visiting, being able to check out his work and the things that he does just made Elder Garcia super happy

- Elder Kayembe is in Dassa now and Elder Garcia spent some time showing him around and introducing him to people he knows. They are putting in a ton of work and are definitely getting some steps in!

- They have some ami's on schedule for baptism and Elder Garcia is super excited about that. It has been a while since he has had a baptism so I am thrilled for him. Not because that is what a mission is about but because I understand the infancy in which the Church is there and so to have new members who can then influence and do their own missionary work is just plain awesome

- Elder Garcia will have Zone Conference this week. He is excited and looking forward to that as he always does. Another reason for the excitement this time is that Elder Proffit is going home! He is going to share his final testimony and then head for home. I know that this makes Elder Garcia sad because he admires and looks up to him so much but I am just thrilled for him and for his Mom to have this part of life done. :) 

- Rumor going on in the 'Mission Mom' world is that if you have a missionary coming home in 2023, their transfer days are going to switch from Tuesday to Fridays. I don't know how that all works with trying to get other missionaries transferred and not have people moving around all the time and I don't even know if the rumor is indeed true. But...with a wedding in June and Elder Garcia supposed to be home in June, I asked if he could talk with President Proudfoot to see if he knew any details and then what that looks like for his return home

- Elder Garcia ate a fruit this last week that was just plain gross and quite frankly didn't sit real well with him either. So bad in fact that he had a small allergic reaction to it and ended up having to take a pill in the middle of the night, say a prayer that it would do the trick, and then get back into bed and get some sleep. Thankfully it did the trick but he does still have a swollen uvula in the back of his throat. He is going to talk with Sister Proudfoot this week to see if she has any recommendations on how to get it to go back down to normal size. And from now on he will steer clear of this fruit! 

All in all, it was a good catch up week and nice to just see his face and hear him talk. I love that we have the chance to do that and when it actually happens on Mondays I am sure grateful. He seems to be doing well and overall seems happy. He knows his time is coming to a close and he is started to feel the pressure of that to really be "all in" as much as he can. 

Looking forward to next week already. I love you for forever,

Mom