This is from yesterday

David called this morning. It was about 8:20 a.m. and we spoke for 22 minutes. He sounded really good!

When I first answered the phone I thought he might cry. He said how good it was to hear my voice. I immediately asked about his flight. I thought it might be his first airplane trip. He reminded me that he had gone to California for High Adventure our first year in Utah. He asked about each of you. Samantha had written that Tate wanted to go on a mission like David. He liked that. He asked about Bonnie and I told him September 13^th is the baby’s due date. He asked if Mary was liking her new job. He asked how Danny was doing in Pharmacy tech class. He asked how Sarah was doing. He wanted to know how each of you were doing. I wished I could have remembered specific conversations that I could have reenacted for him. We talked about the package he got with all of our love. He loved it and he said it helped. It was obvious he misses ALL of you.

I asked David about the MTC. What was his favorite thing? He said the MTC will change his life forever. He said that the whole MTC experience was his favorite part. He loved feeling the spirit so often and feels he has grown tons. His teachers have told him he is a born leader. They reminded him to be a good follower. We talked about the many times in his recent blessings that he was reminded to be humble. (He sounded very humble this morning.) He said he’s excited and scared about getting to Reno. Kind of cool…I hadn’t understood from David’s letters that his entire MTC district is going to Reno. (I thought it would be like Jimmy’s experience where the district would be distributed to different missions in the U.S.) Just the unknown still to come makes him scared. Today his mission president, Pres. Hermanson, will meet him at the airport. He expects to meet his senior companion around dinner time tonight. I reminded him that he has a package (his “greenie” package)  and letters waiting for him at the mission home. Dad mailed a box yesterday that is also addressed to the mission home but I’m not sure that will be waiting for him when he gets there today. That has the sweaters that he’s been asking about.

There were moments of silence as we both tried to think of more things to say. David was fine with that. He seemed to find comfort just having me on the other end. It was very, very hard to say good bye (but, my being at work, well, you know).

His flight took off at 9am. He’ll be a great missionary!