The Born Identity.

Introducing Elder Born!
This is a time when I wish I'd kept up with this blog on a more of a regular basis.

Last month, Eldrew wrote home and announced that transfers were in coming and that he would be training a new missionary arriving from the Mission Training Center.

Within a week we welcomed Elder Born into our mission family. We were very excited. I got a chance to call his mom and talk to her when he arrived. It was great to talk to her. Elder Born is from Phoenix, Arizona. Eldrew says that he is an AWeSOME missionary. In fact, Eldrew sees many qualities in Elder Born that he admires and wishes that he could be more like.

The pair have been working hard, teaching, and inviting people to accept the Gospel. Here is a photo of Elder Bellomy and Elder Born after a very heavy rain storm. It's not a great photo...but I remember working hard in rain, snow, and the heat. These are hard working missionaries braving the elements to preach the Gospel. (Click to enlarge)

The Mother's Day Call.
It was great to talk to Eldrew on Mother's Day. We were all prepped by Elder Bellomy. Being the serious missionary he is, he wrote in advance and notified us of the time when we could call him. He announced that he was timing the call with is Mom so that it would least interfere with his missionary work! At the appointed time, we called...and called...and called. No answer. Then after about 20 minutes, the phone rings and its Eldrew chiding us for not calling on time. It turns out that he'd given us the wrong number.

It was great to hear his voice. We did most of the talking...mostly asking him questions about how he is doing and what he is doing. The funny thing is that he kept giving us time checks. The call home is allowed to last 40 minutes. And, that boy was not going to go 30 seconds over.

"You have 35 minutes."

"You have 13 minutes."

"You have six minutes."

"You have one and half minutes."

Gotta love the fact that he is dedicated to follow the mission rules. It was great to get a sense of Andrew. We can tell he is happy because his warped sense of humor was in full force. He was teasing us, bearing his testimony, and generally glowing about his mission. Only six months until Christmas when we get to talk to him again.

The missing man at the wedding.
Last week was Eldrew's brother's wedding. We missed him. I confess that there has not been a moment since Eldrew left that I have wished him home. Last week was the exception. As we celebrated Adam's wedding, I really missed having Eldrew there for the big event. Eldrew wrote a very, touching letter to Adam and Lindsay. When we read the letter at the wedding dinner the night before the wedding, it brought tears to their eyes...it was a very special moment.

Playing dead.
Here is another random photo sent by Eldrew. It is of a possum doing what possums do...playing dead. (Click to enlarge)

The Wiki article on possums (opossum) describes the behavior of this indigenous medium-sized marsupial as:

"When threatened or harmed, they will "play possum", mimicking the appearance and smell of a sick of dead animal. When playing possum, the lips are drawn back, teeth are bared, saliva forms around the mouth, and a foul-smelling odor is secreted from the anal glands. The physiological response is involuntary, rather than a conscious act. Their stiff, curled form can be prodded, turned over, and even carried away. The animal will regain consciousness after a period of minutes or hours and escape."

Later, after this photo was taken, Eldrew reports that the possum had disappeared — resurrected you might say.

Meeting Elder Rios.
Elder Bellomy's first companion is coming home this transfer. We are planning on going to his sacrament service where he will be speaking. It will be great to meet him and his parents. Elder Rio's parents are top notch folks and have been super kind to us and Eldrew. We are looking forward to hearing from Elder Rios.

Transfers.
There are transfers next week. Stay tuned. More news next week.