Well I am going to insert the family email that I sent out today. Much to our surprise, Grant left for Nicaragua today....here's the story....
Dear Family,
At October conference Elder Quentin L. Cook gave a talk titled "Hope Ya Know, We Had a Hard Time"...Today I related even more so to that talk...let me explain-
In trying to gather emails to surprise Grant with a birthday email in the MTC today, I am the one that got surprised. I was out running errands yesterday (Monday) got home, grabbed some lunch, sat down to the computer for a minute and the rest went like this...
Sean said-"Mom, by the way...Grant called"...
Mom-" WHAT!!!...Grant called?"
Sean-"Yah...he is in Miami"...
"You are kidding right?",
"No..."
"No really Sean"…(I thought its June 1st not April 1st)...
"Mom- Grant called"…
"You must be joking, no kidding Sean"…
"Mom, he called from Miami!"….Panic set in…
Mom-"When did he call?"...
"about an hour ago...but he only had about half an hour"...my heart sank....and then it ached...then I cried. I felt at a loss, unprepared, and a bit frustrated...okay a lot frustrated! It took me a few minutes to gather myself...
When this all hit, I wanted to know what the itinerary was and if Grant may call again...I called the MTC...(as of last week we knew he would leave next week about June 8-9th and his companions were leaving Monday or Tuesday). I talked to the front desk and then was transferred to mission travel and spoke to them. The gal looked up his travel plans and gave me the rest of the itinerary. At this point he was flying over Cuba an hour away from Nicaragua. He left Salt Lake City at 6:00 am, flew to Texas, then on to Miami. Left Miami at 6:15 pm arriving in Nicaragua at 6:50 pm. They are on Mountain time zone, so an hour ahead of us. I, still in shock, asked questions. She explained that as of June 1 the MTC is in shut down mode for any missionaries leaving because of the flu break outs there. Missionaries will be able to come in for the next 2 weeks, but none can leave as of today. I figured Grant must have been healthy, cleared, and good to go...so they sent him out since they will be receiving missionaries and have an overload for the next 2 weeks. Besides...the Lord must 'REALLY' want him there ASAP. I still can't believe it.
Sean said that he may call when he gets to Nicaragua, so we patiently waited for a possible call...which never came. Neff mentioned to me that one of Grant's desires was to be on his mission before his 20th birthday...well at least one of our wishes are coming true...LOL. I am reminded of Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin's talk ..."Come What May, and Love it".
So he's there...don't know when we'll hear from him. One mom on the Missionary Mom's site said their P-day was yesterday, so we probably won't hear from him until next week. Yesterday was a difficult day when this all hit...but knowing that he's in the Lord's service helps. We'll keep you informed as we get information. I have his missionary email account, but just don't know what his mission president will instruct him. Please keep him in your prayers as he steps forth with faith...to tell the world...
love you,
Vicki
