First phone call
I wasn't sure how the call coming in from Facebook was going to work but it did and man did it make my heart burst into a gazillion happy dances! I loved being able to SEE Sister Garcia's face! And to actually hear her talking instead of just reading an email and coming up with my own version of how she would be reading it to me. Ha.
She told me about her arrival into Boston and how they went to the church. The mission home isn't an option to have dinner at nor is the church due to Covid restrictions so they met and greeted the Mission President and his wife and then got handed a brown bag dinner and shipped off to a hotel to stay the night. She said she slept well. Mostly out of sheer exhaustion but at least she slept. :)
The next day was transfer day for the mission. She said it was a little overwhelming with how many missionaries there were and such but she loved being able to run into some friends from home. I imagine that set a lot at ease. She said she loaded into the car and was off to Connecticut which was a 'fat drive' but not too terrible. She enjoyed the scenery and taking in a place she has never been before. She said getting into Sonic for lunch was an experience but that all was well.
When she arrived to her new apartment she said it was different. Different in that it is small and there are five Sisters there right now. One of the Sisters, Sister G, is waiting on quarantine period to be over so she can re-join her Spanish group of Sisters but for now she is on a mattress on the floor in an already super tiny room. She has one bathroom to share among the five of them and she said they are messy. I don't know why this makes me smile so much but I am sure glad she appreciates clean.
She is acclimating to the rules of the mission (ie: if you go to the bathroom you leave your phone out, you always need to be in site and ear shot of a companion, when you back out in the car someone has to be outside of the vehicle directing you to avoid any collision, if you find a pull through spot in a parking lot it is called 'Celestial Parking' - no backing up which means everyone stays in the car -, two people have to return a shopping cart, etc) and learning how to share all things personal space related. I cannot even imagine!
Kaitlyn did some grocery shopping today. She said it was simple and quite limited on what they got. They have ward members who bring dinners each week and Sister G is a great crockpot cook. There isn't money for snacks and frivolous treats to have while they are indoors all day so I will get on the Amazon today and get some snacks sent their way to have on their countertops. She said she also didn't make it to the Post Office to send her phone back but she will let me know when she does. :)
Kaitlyn had a full day at church on Sunday with the Spanish and Portuguese wards and she said she realizes that Sunday's will be a full day of work and perhaps the busiest days of her mission right now. She says there are a total of 13 members in the Portuguese ward and that includes the missionaries. So crazy! I think it would be incredibly weird to come from Utah where there are members all over, church meetings full, and plenty of people around on Sundays to go to only 13 members. The Church is very different outside of Utah and Kaitlyn is proving it more so today than ever.
Kaitlyn said the DL's live in their apartment building and they played a pretty good prank on the Sisters. Apparently there is a member who brings dinner and she always brings juice with it. Well the juice has become a collection really and so the DL's stacked some in front of their door and also on the fire escape. When she scanned the apartment there are SO MANY bottles of juice!!! Tyler told her to leave them in their car without them knowing to get them back but I am sure she will come up with something. Maybe a food bank could use that? I don't even know but it was fun to see that fun stuff happens even when you are on lock down and on a mission.
We chatted for almost 4 hours today and I couldn't help but think just how happy Kaitlyn looks. She sounds happy too. She is happy to be in Connecticut and even though there are some tricky parts of being a missionary with space, dirty unkempt companions, etc she is happy. She didn't want to be on the phone when the other two kids got home from school so she was mindful of the time as we drew close to that. I could have chatted for hours with her but I also respected her heart and not being ready to see them quite yet.
As we readied to hang up I could feel the lump in my throat building and the tears in my eyes forming. I didn't let them fall but as soon as I hung up I got a message on Facebook Messenger that simply read "Don't cry Mom" She knew even when I was doing what I could to hide it from her! I love loved getting to see Kaitlyn today and hear how she is doing. I already cannot wait for next week.
Before I hung up I snapped this photo of our call. That smile is priceless to me! I love you oodles Sister Garcia. 1 week down...talk to you soon.
To the moon and back,
Mom
