~Mother's Day 2013~

Skyping with Elder Layton yesterday was amazing! It was our 3rd and final time! The first Christmas he was in the MTC but he was able to email us which was a fun surprise. We started at 8:45am and talked for about 2 hours. He was also able to Skype with his sister Lindsay and Kevin and his 2 nieces and 1 nephew in Washington too for a bit and they all loved that very much! It was like Christmas morning with all of the anticipation and excitement around here.  Landon's 2 married sisters and their husbands came over for the call too. We have learned that we like it best if we start out the call all together as a group (Plugged into the TV) so we can all hear what he has to say and then when it kinda slows down we take the laptop into my bedroom and we all take turns one on one. That works nice for him because then he can see and hear us better and more personal. We've had pretty good luck I'd say with Skype. The picture and sound speed have been pretty decent, no complaints from me. I'll take looking at his face anytime, even when a little blurry! 

I asked him what the highlight of his mission has been so far and he said, "Good question, I guess I would have to say Togo. I really miss it there. The people are just very kind."

I feel like at this point in his mission we do a pretty good job at communicating with Landon in our weekly emails so there wasn't much news we had to share with him or he us. It's just really great to hear each others voices and see each others faces :) I did write down a few questions to ask him and I got those answered. 

The one thing that he can't wait to eat when he returns is a BBQ chicken pizza, with ranch, from Domino's. That's been his go to answer every time he's been asked. I hope it's still as good as he remembers but then he's been eating in a 3rd world country so I bet it will be! Shelby asked him what he'd eaten today and he said he hadn't yet. Mind you it was about 5pm there! Then he said that he did have a chunk of bread. :( This is a question that I never ask him because in my mind he's full and fed at all times. (I like denial, It's a safe place to be :) Then he asked me if I'd make him a sandwich! Heart-breaker! I'm sure he ate a very yummy, delicious and nutritious meal right after he left the cyber! Ya, he did....

I asked him about a family that he had sent us a picture of (below). They are members and he loves them very much. They are a poor family and their home has dirt floors. The walls are made of tin, the kind you might see on roofs and isn't very secure. Many homes there have concrete floors and walls. He said he pays the woman $4 every week to wash his laundry. This is a win, win for both. He does it to help the family out. He would love to be able to help the family even more as he truly has a love for them. 

He told us that the sector he lives in has very bad streets and are very unsanitary. When it rains at times they are unable to even leave their apartment. Many appointments are cancelled by the people when the streets are bad and they won't attend church. Everything just kind of shuts down. The mission office supplies the missionaries in his sector with boots so that they are able to get out in the water. 

He said that he sees grown women almost every day just stop where they are, hold up their dresses, squat and do their business right in the street. That's just the norm there and is okay. Said that areas are marked with signs if there's an area where it's not acceptable. We asked him if he's peed in the streets and he laughed and said yes, but never the other! Said it's real bad if you have diarrhea though and you have to hurry home. Said many haven't made it home and have had "accidents". Oops!  Homes there don't have bathrooms in them. His apartment has a flushing toilet that flushes out to the street and down an open sewer down the road side and is covered with bricks. The problem is that there is so much trash in the streets that it gets in the sewer and plugs it up. Then they have to clean out the sewer and he said the odor is unbearable. They don't treat the waste with any chemicals and it just goes out to the rivers and ocean. Remind me to NEVER swim there! Now this is all just my interpretation of what he told us and how I remembered it today... 

He sure did look great and was in great spirits. His companion didn't want to go to the cyber with him so he arranged a workover with Elder Baird so they could go together. He said their companions don't really celebrate Mother's Day and didn't want to spend the money or time to do it. It took them a while to find a place with web cams for the call. He slept at Elder Baird's apartment that night. He said that no one has Internet in their homes there. Just businesses. The cyber they were at charges $2 an hour and he said that was SUPER expensive but was able to pay it. Whew. 

I asked him about his health and he said he's done really well. Other than the Malaria he had some time ago that only lasted a couple days he's been good. Has been troubled with some allergies but President Weed gave him some allergy medicine for that. He said he chooses to keep a positive attitude because nobody like a complainer and it doesn't do any good anyway! Said that President Weed has so much love in him and that he sure does have a lot to deal with. He really loves him. Thinks of the Southams all the time and the wonderful people that they are! He keeps in touch with Shumway and said he will be a life long friend to him! 

Oh ya, then we did surprise him with having his Grandma and Grandpa Miller come over and talk to him too! He was pretty excited about seeing them for sure! I had asked my mom if she'd like to come over the other times and she declined. She said it would be too hard on her, but this time it's close enough to him coming home so she said yes. She said it was actually very fun and it wasn't hard to see him. My dad just couldn't get over the fact that we were communicating with him in real time from Africa! 

How amazing are my parents?! They truly are the best and such an amazing strength to the Miller Family! This was for sure the highlight for Elder Layton, he LOVED this!

He told us that they might watch the priesthood session of conference Monday. Over a month later but it just takes that long to get the DVD's to them and in French. Said it's actually hard to understand as it's France, French and they talk super fast. Even the French elders struggle with the translation. So much is missed and he loves it when they get the Liahona and can study it. I told him that if he didn't want to email us on Monday that was okay with me and he could use his time elsewhere is needed. He did go to the cyber after all but only sent me this...

Monday, P-Day: "Hey!! So we are going to watch Priesthood tonight around 5. We are going to watch it at Gbedromedey. That is where we have all our zone conferences and meeting and stuff like that. So I probably won't be able to talk to you today. 

Skyping was amazing! I loved it! How could I not like Skyping with my family! But I just wanted to tell you how much I liked the pictures that you took and sent me!! How awesome is that!? Haha and the one where dad is teaching Sam and Cam and that other guy how to work... That is awesome! 

We are waiting for a taxi to come and pick us up. Last night after our call we went back to the apartment and just chilled. Which is probably my favorite thing to do. Well sweet dreams and I will talk to you next Monday. 

We are waiting for a taxi to come pick us up and take us there now."

For Mother's Day I made some of the moms these maps with their missionaries name on it for them. They were fun to make and I printed mine and is framed and hanging on my wall.