The Phone Call

We (Kelby's family) were all so excited to be able to speak to her on Monday before she flew to Argentina.  Mom and Dad were at a conference in Vegas, Kaitlyn and Stephen were in Idaho, and Mitchell was staying with his Aunt Lorinda --we were worried that we all might not be able to speak to her because we were all spread out.  We sent Kelby a trac phone and put minutes on it so she wouldn't have to wait in potentially long lines for a pay phone at the airport.  We were so glad that we sent this to her!  She was able to call us all at our different locations and speak to us for quite a while.  She sounded so good and we could all tell that she was so happy :)  She still has her little valley girl accent and likes to abbreviate everything she says, but now she can speak Spanish :)  She spoke Spanish to us (of course, Mom didn't understand what she was saying--but Dad and Kelby had a nice little conversation in Espanol!  

Kelby said that she was traveling with about 20 other missionaries and getting to the airport was pretty crazy but they all managed to get there fine  and in one piece.  She said that her two suitcases were barely under 50 pounds each but she had to load lots of things in her carry on which ended up being 36 pounds or something like that!  At the airport, they went to Cafe Rio (I think) and one of the workers said to one of the missionaries traveling with her "So you all now speak Spanish (or something like that)?"  And the Elder said "Yes!"  So the worker said "Como estas?"  And the Elder said "No, I don't want any sauce."  Kelby said she just started busting up at him.  Hopefully, he will do okay with the language in Argentina!

She told us on the flight from Salt Lake City to Atlanta, GA that she and her companion spoke to a man about the gospel for quite a while and gave him a Book of Mormon.  She said it was such a great experience--a great way to get her feet wet as she is getting ready for this new experience in Argentina.  After speaking to her, there is no doubt in my mind that she has embraced the gospel fully and is ready to go out in the field and teach the people of Argentina about the gospel.  She made one last call to us as she was on the plan in Atlanta getting ready to take off.  She was a little weepy, a little scared, a little homesick--but she knows this is where she needs to be right now.  

We feel so blessed to have Kelby in our lives and we are so proud of her willingness to put things in her life on hold for a bit so she can serve the Lord.  The flight was very long from Atlanta to Argentina (I think 11 hours).  We received an e-mail on Tuesday from the Mission President  that stated " We are pleased to inform you that your daughter has arrived to the Argentina Córdoba Mission perfectly well.  We received her in the airport and we came directly to the mission home where we had a welcome meeting and a traditional dinner for this area.  They will spend this night in a nice hotel and that is close to our home.  Tomorrow (Wednesday) she will meet her companion and they will go to their area together. 

We are extremely grateful to receive a noble spirit like your daughter who is so consecrated to the Lord.  Thank you very much for all that you have done to prepare her.  We will take care of your daughter as if she were our own child."

Her P-Day will be every Monday --we can hardly wait to hear from her!  Thank you to all of you for your love and support.  We are so grateful for all of our family and friends who love and support her.