Phone call on Christmas Eve

Family and Friends-
On Christmas Eve, Charlie and I were able to call Kyle and we had a great visit with him. Our last email from him gave us the 'plan' and we were watching the clock so his phone was ringing at 7pm on the dot! It was 9am Christmas morning his time and we were allowed to talk for a total of 45 minutes. Since our family was so spread out we decided to have Troy and his family, and then Jay and his family call after we finished our call. We felt it was important to let everyone have a chance to talk to Kyle and everyone reported back that it was wonderful. Kyle's nieces and nephews were thrilled to talk to him as well. They remember him in their prayers everyday and it gave them something to remember to tell him they loved him and were proud of him. Since they had to use Christmas as their p-day and New Years was also a p-day for him it's been awhile since we've had an email. I'll continue pasting his emails to the blog when they start up again.

It was good to hear that the members in Sasebo are really taking care of their missionaries. He said the missionaries are an important part of the branches and have many responsibilities. They often help with the sacrament and are always doing service. Kyle and his companion were invited to a ward family's home for Christmas dinner and they were having homemade pizza. Kyle was so excited because that's one of his favorites. He also said that a sister in the military branch gets items for them from the base exchange every few weeks and so he is able to get Cheezits which is another favorite! I asked several questions so I could get a feel for his everyday life. When asked about laundry he told me that they have a washer in their apartment but no dryer. So they have to hang their clothes to dry. They have a kind of patio area and some kind of creative device that they hang them from. The problem is that even though we bought 'wrinkle free' clothes - that only works if they are dried in a dryer. So he has to iron everything. Food was another topic I asked about. He said their ramen is amazing and he really loves this dish called chicken catsu (I am certain that isn't spelled right). And of course rice is big too! He also told us that he had a real bike wreck the day before. They were on the way to a dinner appointment - so even though he was hit by the front corner of a car pulling out of a parking garage and flipped onto the hood of her car- he declined to have her call the police. He said that he and his bike were fine and after exchanging cards, they went on to their dinner. He really was fine and I'm sure Heavenly Father is watching over him. He sounded so good and it was evident to us that he is happy and working hard. He said that his mission is going by too fast! His dad and I were amazed to hear that he works so hard and is so busy everyday, that when he lays his head on the pillow at night he hardly remembers falling asleep. We were concerned that they may have to look for things to keep them busy but apparently not! Again we want to emphasis that he is happy, healthy and appreciates all the support and prayers from family and friends. We appreciate your thoughts and prayers as well.
Sincerely,
Charlie and Sandy