Twelve Thirty (young girls are calling from the airport)

Today is the day.

Sister Brown is on her way to Germany.

Armed with a calling card, the plan was for her to call from a payphone once her flight landed in Houston, TX. She had a 3 hour layover, so we figured that would be sufficient time to talk and catch up.  She was expected to call about 12:30pm.

My phone rang at about 8:15am from an unknown Utah phone number. I assumed it was the appliance repairman scheduling a service call for today. 

SURPRISE!  It was Sister Hillary Brown calling from SLC International Airport. 

She had already been fed breakfast by a helpful stranger, when another nice gentleman offered her his cell phone to call home.

I told her to call Dad since he would also be in an airport today and I wasn't sure if she would be able to talk to him from Houston.

After talking to her Dad, she called back and we solidified our Houston phone plan.

Which worked out perfectly.

She first called Maddie because it was her lunch time at high school.

Then she called me, just in time to say goodbye to Kai as I dropped him off at Kindergarten.

It seemed like we had only talked a few minutes when the 1 minute warning sounded.  That's when she told me that the MTC bookstore had run out of calling cards, so she had been sharing her card around so others could call home, since she had borrowed the cell phone back in SLC. 

So that call ended.

I tried to call the pay phone number back, but it didn't ring through. 

A few minutes later, a new number was calling through on my phone. She was successful in bumming another cell phone!

That was good for a few more minutes, but eventually she had to go get a whole bunch of quarters and start feeding the pay phone as we talked.

I loved hearing all about the highlights of the MTC and how awkward it was saying goodbye to her teachers, but not being able to hug, or even touch them at all.  Her district as well as the teachers all got to be very close in these 6 weeks together. Her teachers are all recently home from Germany and all of her district will be serving in Berlin, so she is grateful for the friendships that have been forged in the MTC.

I am overwhelmed at how much she has grown and matured already. 

She shared her testimony in German with me. And she also prayed in German with me. 

I'm still emotional as I'm typing this. 

I am so proud of this girl. I miss her so much, too.

Her mission president, President Kosak, posted this photo on the mission blog. It was taken at the SLC airport this morning. Hillary is not pictured, but I guess the good news is neither is her companion.  Maybe they are enjoying their gifted breakfast or talking on a stranger's cell phone??

Join me in stalking the mission blog GERMANY BERLIN MISSION 2012-2015 over the next 24 or so hours. President Kosak will post photos of the missionaries when they arrive as well as the new companionships.

~Kim Brown