Missionary Brothers

Today I was thinking about my son Kyle who is on a mission.  He's been out 8 months now.  When our oldest, Brandon, was on his mission in Uganda, every Monday was like Christmas.  We would wake up and immediately check our email.  When we were getting up, he was winding down for the evening of his weekly p-day.  He'd already done his laundry, shopped at the market and emailed his family from an Internet café.  For families of missionaries, those weekly emails are the biggest treat every single week.  It makes you feel close though an ocean may separate you.  I can't imagine what it was like for families "in the old days" when you had to send paper letters, and your missionary sent paper letters in return.  Your news could be weeks old before it was read.  Or the letter may never have even reached its destination.  We are truly spoiled. 

For the last 12 weeks though, Kyle (serving in England) has been in an area where the missionaries use the library to email their families…and the library is closed on Mondays.  So Monday has not been the special day that we are used to.  Instead, the missionaries have to squeeze in their emailing on Tuesday, Wednesday, or occasionally even on Thursday, in between other missionary daily activities.  That has been hard!!  But the fact that I think waiting an extra day or two is hard shows you how truly spoiled we are. 

The nice thing about it is that occasionally, like today, I squeeze in an extra email to him.  I was thinking about our son and his experiences in his mission.  When I opened up my Book of Mormon to read tonight I came across a couple of verses that were exactly what I needed to say to Kyle.  I sent him a quick email with those verses.  I am grateful for the technology that allows me to "mother" my son so far away.  I can, with the click of a button, send him love, advice and fun family news, and he will receive it without having to wait at all. 

We've made it a family tradition that we all email our missionaries on Sunday each week.  Every member of the family sends something, even if it is only a few lines.  Obviously, the baby doesn't write, but he does send a recent picture occasionally, so his big brother can see how he's grown.  I love it that our missionaries take the time to respond to their siblings individually, even if it is brief.  It keeps them connected with their brothers and sisters while they are apart. 

Sophia was born only 5 weeks before Brandon left on his mission.  She was not even 2 when Kyle left on his mission.  And yet she heard about Brandon, saw pictures of Brandon, and heard us pray for her brother Brandon, from the time she was tiny.  When he returned home it didn't take long for her to bond with her big brother.  She already was old enough to notice Kyle's absence when he left on his mission.  But when we talk about her family, she always includes her brother Kyle, and every prayer of hers includes the phrase.."please bless Kyle on a mission."  I know that through emails and pictures, she will continue that bond with yet another missionary brother.