It's a little warmer

Sadly, I've stayed in worse places

Last week's letter and spot communication from TMFKATB reflected a young man who'd been served a heaping help of change with a side order of surprise and how he was trying to deal with it. The Boy, or TMFKATB, does not like the unknown. Surprises are not his friend. He's cool so long as he has an idea of what's going on. So we knew last week's changes had the potential to rattle him. We were more than a little anxious to get today's missive.

Today's letter was a literal ray of sunshine in an otherwise dreary day. By dreary, I mean non-stop snow for 12 hours which meant 12 inches of snow and a couple of nightmare shovel bonanzas. His letter, although written in his rat-a-tat stream of consciousness and ever worsening English, showed that he's stepping up to the challenges that his new assignments and new area are giving him. He's also recognizing the rewards of working hard. He's learning about working hard to earn the respect of others that don't automatically grant that respect. I have to hand it to him though because his sense of humor continues to shine through.

He was kind enough to send us a picture of his bathroom. It's safe to say we breathed a collective sigh of relief when we saw that toilet paper was present and accounted for. Of his shower, he said, "The bathroom here has a little warmer water. It's still freezing but not ice cold haha." Nice perspective. He also let me know that he had powered down 13, yes 13, carne asada tacos at one sitting. One of my aortas constricted with joy and envy when I read that.

With some of the missionaries and members in his area

He just looks happy. And tan. He's getting a little George Hamilton-esque! Ironically, The Boy and I ran into Mr. Hamilton when we were in Miami last year. Suffice to say, all that tanning did George zero favors, but I digress. That smile and that tan on our boy made our day. He's happy, he's outside working. He's loving the people he is serving. Couldn't ask for much more.