Phone Call: Monday, March 22, 2021
Kaitlyn surprised me with a call earlier in the day than she had planned on because they were doing a District Wide P-Day and she thought she would call afterwards. I am totally okay with whenever she calls though so no big deal.
She had been to the grocery store to get a couple of things for their lunch that they were going to grill! She said they got a bag of salad (easy, good choice) and some steaks. She is so looking forward to eating those. I am sure she is thrilled at the idea of being outside too.
Kaitlyn did not get the Covid vaccine this last week like they had thought. Instead she will be getting her first dose on Tuesday, March 23, 2021. I am excited for her and know that the Lord is just preparing her for when she gets the call to ready herself and her belongings to head to Brazil. I am anxious myself to hear how she handled it and if it affected her in any way. Prayers for her and her sweet group of Sisters this week for sure!
We chatted about her call with her Mission President and that she absolutely loves loves him. She wants to be as big a spiritual giant as he is she says. Little does she know that from my perspective she is right there with him. She said he was very kind and very interested in how she is doing and how things are with her companion. She said he left the meeting, which was via Zoom by the way, with an open door always and that she feels very comfortable and comforted knowing that if ever there was anything at all that she needed that he would be the person she could go to. Man does that make this Momma heart swell! I love that she has someone in her corner cheering her on and at her service and ready with just a phone call or text. What a blessing these sweet Presidents are.
She shared her experience with her service this week as well. They filled food bags at a shelter and she said it wasn't too bad. She was worried as time was drawing near the end that they would be standing around but then these 50lb bags of potatoes and carrots showed up that they needed to move into the building. She said she grabbed one of them and a guy told her "that probably weighs 1/2 of you so let me take it". She told him she thought she was good and carried it in and continued to do so with a couple of more. She said she was feeling fine until the next day when some muscles were sore. :) It always seems to be the muscles we don't use daily that show up when you least expect it. But I love that she not only said she could do it but then she tried and realized she was totally capable of doing it too!
Her splits/exchanges were great. They had a lot of cancellations on appointments so she said it turned into mostly a get to know you. She enjoyed Sister Florence. She said her name is also Kaitlyn and that she spells it the same way. Isn't it funny how you go your whole life with people having your same name but spelling is always different but when you get on a mission you find someone with the same name AND spelling!? It was fun to listen to her talk about this day. She really enjoyed it and was glad that even though she was apprehensive going into it because it was a 'first' it ended up being a really great day.
She informed me that the Elders actually have their own tiger shirts. HA HA HA! They ended up buying them for them! So funny and so kind. I am sure the Elders loved receiving a gift like that from the Sisters. And now they can all wear them together. Can you even imagine?
Our call today was also hard in a confession from Kaitlyn. She isn't sleeping well. She says she is tired when she goes to bed but she can't seem to get restful sleep. She said when she first arrived she slept really well. She thinks that it was just from excitement and adrenaline from arriving finally in the mission field mixed with so much learning how to be a missionary. Now she is settling in some and getting the hang of missionary life and knows how her days will play out and she is struggling. This is HARD to hear as a Mom!!! I will be sure to keep this in my thoughts daily and in my prayers always as well but I need to keep my Mom radar on and perhaps see if there is something I can do to help her from here. I pray this won't last long and that she is just in an adjustment period of life.
Kaitlyn has realized she has only 2 Sundays left before transfers come back around. She is excited and anxious to see what happens next. She mentioned that President Mav asked her is she spoke Spanish and she immediately had the impression to tell him no. She said she knew she had to say no because she was worried she would be shipped to a Spanish area. :) I love that she listened and acted so quickly. She also knows that she will get a new companion because they don't love leaving a Greenie (which Kaitlyn is still) and a trainer together after a transfer. It will be interesting to see if Kaitlyn gets to stay in Bridgeport with the Portuguese ward/branch/group (there are so few of them that it technically isn't any of these things!) and if she does if she herself will become a trainer or a senior companion. I am excited to see how this will play out.
Kaitlyn has officially been in the mission field away from the crazy home MTC experience 1 month tomorrow. Time has literally flown by! We talked about that and thankfully she too agrees that time is moving quickly. I hope it doesn't go by too fast for her (for me, it can go like it says in the scriptures "in a twinkle of an eye") and that she gets to really relish and enjoy her time as a missionary but I also pray that her days will be so full that she will see them go fast.
When I asked Kaitlyn at the end of the day today who I could pray for or who I could keep in my thoughts she shared a sweet name of Stepane. This sweet girl is SO close to accepting the Gospel and the teachings of these missionaries who have been working with her and choosing to be baptized. Kaitlyn is so wonderful to share this with me and I love that she trusts me to share knowing that I of course will include her in our prayers here at home. Kaitlyn is moving mountains in this Gospel and she is bringing many to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. She is an amazing missionary and she will continue in her next 16 months of full time service but I also know this is just a preface of what her life will look like as she continues to serve our Heavenly Father throughout her life.
Although today had mostly good, there is some struggle. But nothing I know Kaitlyn won't work through. Lots of intentional prayers this week on Sister Garcia's behalf. This has been a great day and a great call. This next week will be a good one. I can feel it already.
Prayers and thoughts your way. I love you,
Missionary Momma
