We had the wonderful opportunity to talk to Braden for about 45 minutes Monday morning while he was waiting in the airport to go to Mexico City. He sounded much healthier than when he called for 5 short minutes the Thursday before to tell us his flight plans. Prayers and Dayquil....
He said there were 10 Elders going to Mexico City on his flight, as well as 4 missionaries going to other places in Mexico, but sharing the same flight. He said the week had gone very quickly since getting to go into Salt Lake City for his visit to the consulate. He had an informal P-day on Saturday to wash and pack his things. He had 2 suitcases, one weighed 49 pounds and the other 51, so the people at the airport said they would take them. On Monday, he was excited to be leaving but on Sunday night he was a bit nervous. The nervous was gone now and he was anxious to be going. He said he had no regrets about staying longer in the MTC. His roommates were native speakers and that helped him a lot. He understood just about everything they said easily. Our whole family got to visit with him, as they stayed home from the first hour or so of school. Brett commiserated about BYU football, Kolby talked running and soccer, Cameron spoke about his class load, and Melissa shared a little about school as well. When his time was about up, he had to go get something to eat. Saying good bye and pushing the "end" button on the phone was gut-wrenching all over again for his mom. Christmas can't come soon enough!
I love technology! I searched for his flight and watched the little plane take off. I had alerts sent to my phone so I could tell during the day when he left the tarmac and when he touched down again in Mexico. Unfortunately, you cannot monitor flights over Mexico, so my little cartoon plane stayed on the border near Juarez all afternoon!
Then began the wait for some word that he had arrived safely. Some missions send emails, some with pictures, and some don't. We really didn't know what to expect. Today we got a sweet, albeit short, email from President and Sister Hicken with a picture!
Here it is:
We received your son Monday along with 9 other Americans. We are so excited to receive missionaries from the US as we haven't been able to get Visas for a long time. Your son seems to feel good and looks terrific. We kept them at our house over night and fed them breakfast, did a training and took them to eat at a place that serves Tacos al Pastor, a truly Mexico City dish that is so good! Then it was off to the stake center to meet their new companions. Your son was placed with Elder Llanos in Tecamac a small city just outside the large city of Mexico City. Elder Llanos is an outstanding Elder who is well qualified to teach and train your son. The area he is in, is one of the favorites with the missionaries as they say the people are humble and waiting to hear about the gospel. Thank you for raising such a fine young man, President and Sister Hicken.
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