Mother’s Day ‘Chat’ with Elder Stones

-Clarification on his ‘cut finger’ a couple weeks ago: Elder Lloyd and Elder Stones were sword fighting and he got stabbed in the hand.
You might ask, with what were they fighting? He replied, “Well, we are only missionaries, we don’t have swords. So we were using sticks!”
He said it bled so much that he stuck his finger in an empty water bottle (while Elder Lloyd got medical equipment) and there was an inch and a half of blood in the water bottle (Mom shook her head in shock that he didn’t think to apply pressure- ha). He said there is a really big chunk taken out and he probably should have gotten stitches but he didn’t really want to. He said it keeps opening up, but it is now starting to heal (three weeks later) and that with this cut, the car accident (last year) and some other minor things his right hand is going to have some cool scars!

-How is training? He said he loves it. In the mission when you are the trainer you are referred to as the “Father” figure while the new missionary is the “Son.” So he calls his new companion his ‘Boy.’ He says it is a cool feeling to have someone look up to you and learn from your example. But he says it is a lot harder than just being senior companion- because you are in charge of EVERYTHING.

-His new companion’s name is---------------- (I don’t remember) but he is from Rexburg, ID and Michael says he is quiet. I asked, “Well what kind of a kid is he? Is he a jock, a nerd, outgoing, shy, athletic?” Michael said he is kind of a computer nerd but that all of his companions have been and he really likes them!!
He said when his companion called home to talk to his mom he described Michael as really loud, exciting, full of energy, crazy and danced around! Michael said that he is kind of overwhelming to the boy because he is so blunt and forward with people and the boy is still so shy. But they get along and Michael is excited!

-We sent Michael a new set of pictures and he said, “Wow it looks like everyone is loosing weight in the family. They look great! I guess as they loose weight they are mailing it to me because I am getting chunky!” We laughed about that for a while. He said we are not going to recognize him when he gets home in January- he is now “dark skinned, blonde and fat!” (His words not mine.) Also in that package I sent him Nutty Bar- he said he already ate them all…haha!

- Mom told Michael that she went with the Dawson’s to visit Hemet (where he is at now) she told him everywhere they went. She said that they ate lunch at the Burger King and he said that he only lives a block from there and he can see the Burger King from his apartment window. What a coincidence! But he said the day that she was there they were out in the boonies- so they wouldn’t have run into each other.

-He said that the Swine Flu is EVERYWHERE out there and they have to be really cautious. They have to sanitize and wash their hands all the time. He said that they “even have to refuse handshakes to bums.” He says it’s kind of funny because they just nod or something instead of shake the bums hands- he laughed and said the bums probably think it is against the Mormon religion to shake hands (ha- only when there is swine flu)!

-He says that he really likes Hemet but that his ward is hard because the people are not missionary minded. He said they are just so scared and nervous to share the gospel with their friends. All the missionaries are doing something new called the ‘L. Tom Perry Plan’ (we should all try it- ask your local missionaries) and he said it is not going well in his area because the support of missionary work is not too high.
He said the persecution is still high but he is getting used to it. He said it doesn’t bother him when people throw stuff at them; it’s more when they yell hurtful things. But he said that it’s mostly high school kids and that he has learned to ignore it. He said, “I never thought of Colorado as ‘hick’ until I came out here” in reference to the persecution and amount of bad things that happen.

- When we tried to ask him if he wanted us to register him for college he said yes and then said, “You know I don’t want to come home. I love being on a mission and I am not ready for this to be over. I love it here.” He really sounds like he is having fun and he is already talking about an extended visit at the Dawson’s so that he can visit his mission when he gets home.

- He says he is sorry he doesn’t write longer letters but after he reads the letters he gets and writes one or two they can’t be that long. He also said that he hasn’t sent any video’s because most of them need ‘explaining’ or else Mom would freak out (ha)!

-It sounded like he is getting our prayers and that it would be helpful for all missionaries if we were all just a little more missionary minded and helped out our local missionaries more. (Maybe if we let the missionaries serving in our wards in, someone will let Michael in). He said we should do the ‘L.Tom Perry Plan’ with our local missionaries.

We talked about so much more (but I can’t remember it all) and in the long run he sounds so happy, healthy and grown up (at one point Dad looked at us and whispered “Is this really my son?”). He sounds so great and it was wonderful to talk to him. Next time we talk to him will be Christmas and then he will be coming home (wow)!