Mother's Day phone call

Adam -- I mean Elder Hales -- called us yesterday. We had the phone on speaker, Cheri's family on the webcam, Carly was in town with us, and Michael's family on a cell phone so that all 11 of us could hear. He is doing great and LOVES being in Tweeds Head - his favorite place so far. He lives a half block from the beach, but he's not allowed to even touch the sand. But he can't help noticing the gnarly waves. (ha ha)

He is LOVIN' the success they are having. It's so nice to know that he is totally immersed in the work.

We asked about his release date and he said January 5th. Which means he gets home on January 4th. Gotta love those international date lines. He said no one is allowed to extend their mission in Australia because of the visa limits.

He loves how his ward is totally into member missionary work. It makes all the difference.

And he says to say thank you to everyone for the letters and the prayers. "I can feel the prayers."

I'm always fine during the phone calls and then cry when it's time to say goodbye. And the Christmas Day phone call will be exciting knowing that we'll see him very soon.

He said a member was taking him and his comp to the Outback for P-day yesterday. And another member owns a huge souvineer shop and let them go pick out what they wanted. Nice!

As his mom, I appreciate the support and love you give to him. (and us) Wow -- this is the last missionary Mother's Day call I'll ever get. (yay!)
Love to you all -
Melody