Missing My Boy

It's not very often I post about Elder Prescott on this blog, but thought I'd switch it up.  His letters are always put on his own blog, but technically, this isn't a letter from Troy :)

 

There is an e-mail group for the missionary moms.  The missions are then separated into their own groups.  Troy's is the Pacific Islands, which consist of Tonga, Samoa, Fiji and Marshall Island Missions. The moms can e-mail with questions, concerns, vent, or anything else and get answers and support from others.  That is how I met my friend, Martha.  Her son is Elder Jacob Michael.   They live in Downey.  Troy and Jacob got their mission calls on the same day (or just a week apart).  Jacob went out in January of 2011, Troy in March.   I don't know if it's all missions, but this is a tough one because we may not hear from our missionaries for weeks or even months at a time.  Martha and I have helped each other get thru this time.  We even met face to face a few months back.  I sure hope we'll be friends forever!

The boys know that their moms are friends, so whenever they have the chance to meet up, they take pictures for us.  I'm sure that's Jacob's idea!!!  Jacob is the AP in the office in Nuku'alofa now.  He seems like he is such a great young man, and such a hard worker.  He has survived even the hardest of areas, the island of Nuia.  There is no electricity, little food, and so remote.  I REALLY hope Troy gets sent there before his mission is over.  Can you imagine having to catch your own fish to eat, learn which plants and berries are safe, read by kerosene lanters, and get to e-mail only when the generators are working?  (which isn't often)

 

Jacob had to travel to Troy's island for a meeting last week.  It was an 8 min flight!  After the meeting, they all went to another part of Eua (Troy's island), and stood at cliffs.  It is so windy there that if you throw something off, it blows back.  So they all threw ties and flip flops off.  Here they are standing in front of a massive land bridge there.  It sure is beautiful!

 So this week as I wait to hear from my own missionary, who has pretty much decided it's too much trouble to walk 3 minutes to the airport to e-mail his mother, I will enjoy reading Jacob's letters to his mom.  There's another missionary who writes wonderful, detailed messages to his family.  But he's in Nuia right now, so letters have slowed down tremendously.  I'm just happy that some of these boys don't mind writing!  We'll give Elder Prescott the benefit of the doubt and just say that he's super busy doing the Lord's work :)

 

I am so thankful for the opportunity that Troy has to serve his mission.  My friend came to me crying a couple weeks ago after Troy's "I'm hungry letter", and said she was so impressed with how much he's grown, and that the church has this program for the young men and women of the church.  Troy is definitely learning and growing from these experiences, and he will be the one that learns the most from his mission.  This picture makes me smile, but then makes me miss him more.  He is definitely NOT starving, and I think his eye looks infected.  But hopefully it's just because he's squinting from the bright sunshine in the Garden of Eden. 

6. more. months.