Phone Call From the Airport

Today my favorite invention of all time is the telephone! Talking to Rachel was the best!! She called from Texas where she had a 5 hour layover. Here are a few things from our conversation:

* She got 3 hours of sleep last night! She left the MTC at 3 am to catch the flight to Dallas. She'll fly straight to Frankfurt and will get there at 6 am their time. She'll get to stay with Sister Stewart for the first couple of days while they have orientation, etc. They'll stay in a hotel the first night in Germany. The second day she will meet her new companion. She wishes she could stay with Sister Stewart because they get along so well, but they both realize that they need to be with someone who knows what's going on in Germany! They will see each other again and hope to serve together again at some point.

* She was able to talk to Grandpa and Grandma, Adam, Meg and left messages for Allen and David. She feels bad that she didn't have phone numbers for Jessica and Aubrey. She says she is sorry! We looked up Jess's phone number on the BYUI website directory, but apparently it was the old phone number. Sorry girls... she tried!

* They met with an elder at the MTC who had just returned from serving a mission in Frankfurt. He showed them slides and told them all about his mission. She said it was great - very helpful - got them all very excited!

* At the Salt Lake airport, one of the elders she is traveling with ran into his mother. Apparently she wanted to surprise him. His comment was, "Ummm... mom... what are you doing here??" She brought Easter treats for all the missionaries. As much as I wanted to surprise Rachel and spend the 5 hour layover with her in Texas, I'm glad I didn't go. Talking to her on the phone felt good. She was positive, excited, happy and anxious to see Germany and start being a "real" missionary.