E.T. Phone Home

Benson called this morning from the airport, and I wanted to try and capture everything I can remember him talking about before I forget.

He started off saying he saw Mack Wilberg at the airport so he approached him and told him his mom was (me) and that I play in the orchestra and to say hi. He said Mack must be kinda shy or something.

He wasn't able to see Music and the Spoken Word this past Sunday due to class conflicts.

There are 11 missionaries traveling together to the same mission. 7 Elders and 4 Sisters. With the odd number of missionaries, he had been assigned to travel in a three-some companionship.

There are a couple of other 18 year old missionaries going out with him.

He loved the MTC, particularly Elder Holland who came and spoke to everyone.

The food wasn't bad at the MTC.  We asked if he had put on weight and he said he weighed himself that morning on the luggage scale and he weighed 177 pounds. He's pretty sure without all his heavy missionary clothes on he weighs somewhere around 160 pounds. We gave him a hard time about his clothes weight, really- 17 pounds? Really? :-) Ok, maybe he is more than 160.

He had a few snags in the MTC with getting along with someone, but he couldn't/wouldn't elaborate since there were ears all around. We think we know what he's talking about from a letter he wrote his friend, but it wasn't anything too serious. In a nutshell he was sticking up for an underdog to his district leader.

He was able to get everything packed, and the space bags helped a lot. So since he gave some away to other missionaries he would like me to send more.

He described the MTC being hit with the same "ice sheet" that we were all hit with. He said walking to the Temple was awfully painful until he got the coat that was sent to him, which he's so very  grateful for. He says he's getting lots of use out of it.

He says for the missionary plaque that the ward will hang up for him he wants Proverbs 3:5 listed as his favorite scripture: "Trust in the Lord with all thine heart, and lean not unto thine own understanding."

He's trying to keep a journal and wants to get better at it.

He sent a package back to us for pickup. It has the sweatshirt we needed back and a few other things.

He was looking forward to talking to us again at Mother's Day. In the meantime, he's going to ask the mission president (at our request) if he can have a voice recorder so we can send voice messages back and forth in the mail. I know other missionaries have done this, but we wanted to see what his mission president had to say about that.

He had a whole pile of quarters to talk to us with and a 3 hour calling card for backup just in case. He was not going to be unprepared!

He was looking forward to his first commercial airline flight. Well, technically he had flown once as a baby and he's gone flying with the neighbor in his private 2 person plane. He thinks he'll be used to popping his ears after the years of going up and down the hill to our house and having to pop his ears every time.

Josh asked if he could take over Benson's phone and in the process delete all of Benson's contacts. He said sure, he'll have to get new ones when he gets back anyway. The girls then asked if they could have his shower radio but he said everyone has to share it. Separately share it.

He saw some different mission presidents' pictures up in the hall at the MTC, and picked out some of his friends' presidents. Then we talked about some of the mission calls, farewells, papers being sent in, etc. of his friends.  He said he was so glad that he had gotten to go so fast but was bummed not to see more friends at the MTC. He had seen a couple of friends at mealtimes, but that was it.

He said that with the growth happening so fast in the mission field, that he should be expected to be a trainer by this summer with the huge rush of missionaries. He also said they are building dorms as fast as they can, and adding beds/bunkbeds to rooms.  They may even take out desks to make more room for beds. They will also plan to use the Marriott Center for the big devotionals.

That's what I can remember for now. Just throwing out random remembering thoughts.

He sounded happy, loving, and already sounding like he had a missionary voice: gentle and softer. BUT he still sounded like Benson in there.  :-)