Phone Call This Morn From Elder Meehan--He's Off To Indiana!

One of my favorite days with Dave and Jay.
Oquirrh Mtn. Temple, June 2013.

We just heard from Elder Meehan--his last phone call before leaving the airport on his way to serve his mission in Indiana.

Ahhhhhh! It was awesome. We had 60 minutes with him!

(Sidenote: For anyone reading who is new to LDS Missionary service: while Jay is on his mission, he does not use the phone for personal calls, with the exception of Christmas Day and Mother's Day. We can email once a week and send snail mail anytime. So this phone call was literally our last phone call until December.)

It was SOOOOO good to hear his voice! (Oh, before I forget, his wake-up call for the airport was 2:30am this morning. We were able to speak to him at about 5am-6am. He had checked his bags--which were 49lbs each. So, he just made it the regulation weight, woo!)

And it's incredible to hear how just 14 days of turning your heart/mind in a new direction can change you at your core.

He's still the same funny, kind, Jay, but he seemed also much more caring, serious, and compassionate than we usually hear. He even agreed, the last 14 days have been like years for him. And I agree (12  hour days, studying religion, changes ya).

Here are some of the highlights from his call:

--He's in good health and spirits.
He said a lot of missionaries are homesick and he can feel that way at times too, but he's trying to just push that out of his mind. And it's working!  (He also said he loves letters and just wants to keep updated when we have time, so he knows we are all well.)

He also said his suits are itchy. So, he's got to get them fixed. (The stitching is nylon, which I guess is bothersome?)

--He loved the MTC and loved his district (other missionaries going to Indiana with him).
There are 29 missionaries leaving for Indiana with him. Woo hoo! 

He took 700 photos at the MTC! (It sounds like a mix between religious seminary training and freshman year in college. He said last night the missionaries hosted an arm wrestling contest between a collegiate swimmer missionary and an Air Force Academy missionary. Hilarious, no?)

He also said that his MTC Branch President (Bishop in the MTC) told him he was going to be a great missionary. This meant a lot to Jay (and us).

--He's hungry.
Funny, after Survivor, hunger is the one thing I can't stand. Truly. I can't stand imaging anyone else hungry. It nearly brings me to tears. So, it's hilarious that Elder Meehan mentioned he's hungry. No mom wants to imagine their kiddo hungry, am I right? Oh my!

But, we know he's okay. It's just kind of funny. (He was at a newer MTC, so they are smaller in operation, just ramping up for a wave of new missionaries--like thousands more than they've had historically--so I think the food is one of the hurdles for the operation?) On the plus side, he's eating salad now!

--He's learning.
He said their days at the MTC were packed and he is still adjusting to the schedule, but it sounds like he's getting the hang of missionary life (imagine, just the adjustment to NO CELLPHONE is huge for most teens ... heck, adults, too.).

While at the MTC, he was able to "teach" people about the Gospel in the same way he would out on his mission. (They have "actors" that give them experience answering questions, etc. He said that training happens everyday. So he met with the same people every day for the last 13 days, in the same scenario he would find in Indiana. That seemed like great practice. He said some people were happy to meet the missionaries, others, not so much. And I think that's exactly what it will be like on his mission--some happy, some less than happy--so it's great for him to learn to handle all situations.)

So, he's learning about religious things, learning about himself/people/compassion, and learning how to live independently and set goals, manage money, etc. (One thing Dave thought was hilarious: Elder Meehan told us the first time he went to do laundry he bought fabric softener instead of detergent for his laundry. So he ended up with great smelling, not-so-clean, clothes. Fortunately, he was able to get the right detergent later, so it all worked out. But it's awesome to see the gaps in our parenting (he's 18 and probably never bought his own detergent--eeek!).

What's next?

Well from what we understand, today he travels to Indiana. Once in Indiana, he'll be met by the Mission President (AKA: the priesthood leader and wife living in Indiana for 3 years, serving a mission, too. Jay's mission president is BYU's former basketball coach, President Cleveland! How cool is that?).

Once with President and Sister Cleveland, Jay will be interviewed and assigned a full-time missionary companion to work with, and be trained by, in the first area (geographic location) where he serves.

From here forward, his missionary work will all be done in Indiana, in various cities around Indianapolis, as a representative of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The big picture goal: work for two years, loving and serving people (all the while, learning/growing himself).

It's an exciting HAPPY day at the Meehan house! 

We can't help but feel some pride in/for/about Jay's mission. It seems like such a huge thing to be willing to go out into the unknown and serve a mission for two years.

We love Elder Meehan so much.

Thanks for all of your support and love as he has embarked on this journey. We are so thankful.

Indiana, 2013.

***

And in other random news, we gave Amelia Pond, our guinea pig, a bath/shower yesterday. It was hilarious.

Amelia Valentine Pond.