Thursday, May 27, 2010

The Good and the Bad

The Bad:
1)  Out of 4 Elders going to Suriname, 3 Visas didn't make it.  Xander's companion left all by himself last Monday, and the rest of them are stranded in the MTC.

                Melodramatic hug to Elder Freeman leaving for Suriname

2) The rest of his district left on Monday for The Netherlands and Denmark.

3) They piled mattresses into one room Saturday night and talked until midnight.  Then they had to say good-byes on Monday at 3:00am, 5:00am, then again at 3:00am the next morning.  Very tired.

4)  Due to #3, he came down with a cold.

5)  It snowed.

6) Brother Chandler (one of district presidency) was transferred - he was sweet.  And Brother Griffin (a teacher) left for medical reasons.

7)  He went a whole week without any mail (Hegerhorsts - you saved the day by being the 1st to break the dry spell Wednesday morning - he was so glad to get your notes.  And in our defense, Brent did send Xander a package & letter which must have arrived shortly after he wrote his last letter.)

                                                                        A prank

The Good:
1) Xander got a new companion, and he's cool.  Elder Sanchez was a ward mission leader for a long time, so he's pro at this missionary stuff.

2) Xander is the new District Leader for their reduced little district.  He gets to check the mail for everyone.
                                                             Comparing Thumbs?

3) He said it was quite a hookup to have another apostle come and talk to them - Elder Christofferson.

We still don't have any information about when or if the Visas will arrive.  It is possible that they'll get reassigned to state-side missions until their Visas arrive.  Send good vibes to the Suriname folks to get those Visas here!

The three on the left are still in the MTC


Friday, May 21, 2010

Surprise Phone Call

Yesterday the phone rang and caller ID read, Pay Phone.  I was going to ignore it, but Oli picked up the phone and I heard, "Xander, what are you doing?"  My heart jumped, then sank, then flipped, wondering what was wrong.  Nothing was seriously wrong, except that his and 2 other missionary's Visas are delayed, and they have to stay in the MTC another week.  We had just received his travel itinerary in the mail a couple hours earlier and were looking forward to his phone call from the airport next Monday, 5/25/10.  Surprisingly, they allowed these 3 to call home to relate the change of plans.

He definitely sounded discouraged that he has to stay on longer.  But otherwise, he sounded good.  He spoke some Dutch to us.  Told some good stories.  Asked questions.   It's kind of amazing that we were all home.  Had he called 15 minutes earlier, no one would have been home.  Had he called any other weekday over the past month, Brent would not have been home - he just happened to take one day off.

Elder Hulme and Elder Williamson

These two had an instant friendship when they realized that they both love Drew Danburry (local singer/songwriter).  Elder Williamson is the only one in their district going to Denmark.  Hence, he is the only student in his classes - that would be weird.  They have some plans up their sleeves for mountain biking in Whistler, BC after their missions.  I wonder if they'd let me come.

Tuesday, May 18, 2010

Package of Love

A while back, Xander mentioned that an elder in his district was craving muddy buddies.  So of course, I whipped up a batch and sent them on with a letter to the elder.  In the letter, I mentioned that he should let me know if anyone else wants anything special sent.  Well, last Friday, I got 4 letters from elders asking for assorted snacks.  It was quite funny.  The best part was all the nice letters and the nice things they said about Xander.

Elder Alexander wrote:
"...You should be proud of your son.  He is a "real man" as he would put it and I have a lot of respect for how he resolves conflicts.  He is far more mature than most Elders here and I mean that with all seriousness.  He is a fine young man.  I am 22 and trust me, I can see the difference between him and others here."

Elder Williamson wrote:
"...I would like to thank you for raising such a wonderful chap of a missionary.  I will miss him very much when he goes to Suriname and I, to Denmark.  Being the only Danish Elder, Elder Hulme helped me fit in and feel a part of the district despite our new language barriers."

Then, on that same day, one of Xander's teachers in the MTC showed up at the bike shop, shopping for a bicycle.  This teacher had such nice things to say about Xander - that he was learning the language quickly, that he kept everyone laughing, that he helped make this district a cohesive group of friends.

Nothing could've been more comforting than to hear all these nice things from complete strangers.  Perhaps the elders just wanted to be extra nice since they were asking (very kindly) for treats.

These are the assorted snacks which were requested.  Sunday, our kitchen was a nicely run bakery.   Oli made the chocolate chip cookies, I made the no-bake cookies, and Milly made the muddy buddies.
We divvied out the snacks to 6 missionaries - the 4 elders who wrote to me, and Xander and his companion.  Xander had included a short note requesting that I please remember him in the "Package of Love."

One week from today, he'll be on his way to Suriname.  We can't wait to hear about all his adventures.

Thursday, May 6, 2010

Translating is a Funny Thing

Yesterday, I received a nice little e-mail from Xander.  It was a very short, early Happy Mother's Day greeting.  At the end of the letter, he wrote a few lines in Dutch, knowing that I would cut and paste the Dutch into our Mac's Translator widget to find out what he wrote.  I laughed out loud when I read it.


I'm pretty sure that he meant to write "best" instead of "beest" because after a little research, "best" is the same in both languages, but is probably pronounced with a long e in Dutch.  Beest = Animal.  He just misspelled "dankbaar" which means grateful or thankful.  Can't really figure out the last phrase.  I know it has something to do with when I sent a package containing some treats and notes for other missionaries in his district.

Saturday, May 1, 2010

An Unlikely Couple

Xander's mission call came in a nice little packet. Near the beginning of the packet was a picture of his future mission president and wife, who reside in the mission home in Trinidad/Tobago. Brent's 1st comment when he saw the photo of this nice looking couple was, "Oh look it's Obama and Sarah Palin." I grabbed the packet wondering what in the world he was talking about. Sure enough, they kind of do resemble the unlikely couple...


Xander sounds great. In Monday's TRC, he had to teach a 35 minute lesson all in Dutch. He said it was very
scary, but went better than expected. He thinks it's pretty cool being able to express himself in another language. He's used to speaking Dutch enough that his throat doesn't hurt all the time, and he can make a good-sounding guttural. The missionaries listened to L. Tom Perry give a great talk about the Book of Mormon. Other than some foot/toe-nail problems and "super ugly" red splotches on his face (mysteriously appearing after doing handstand push-ups), he says "no complaints."

An Unlikely Sighting
Simon's school bus was stopped at a red light by the MTC last week. It was pouring down rain, and he saw Xander running up to the light to cross the street. Simon opened the bus window and shouted at Xander, and he shouted back. We sure miss that handsome fellow!