An Early Trick-or-Treat Week

Monday morning we were awakened by a phone call from Elder Takis.  Missionaries get to call home for a few minutes when they are traveling from the MTC to their missions. It was great to hear his voice.

Communication is interesting when there is a mix of email and snail mail because things are always crossing and not all of the questions get answered. Having traveled on Monday, the normal P-day schedule was skewed, so Elder Takis got a little bit of time on a computer on Tuesday. But he didn't think he had enough time to write a long letter, so we emailed snippets back and forth until his time was up.  He tried to share some more photos from the MTC, but file sizes and servers caused problems so only a couple came through.

Elders Lawrence and Takis with MTC teacher Brother Lee

Elder Takis with Brother Kendall.
Takis writes:  "I came closest to him, he is an amazing teacher
and always put aside time to help me
and Elder Lawrence when we were struggling."

If you look, you'll see a big difference in Elder Takis's hair between the two photos. We asked him if he got a haircut. His response:  "Ha. Uh yeah, I had to. They give free cuts at the MTC and the lady said the longest she could leave it on the sides is a 1/2 inch! It's just a bit longer on the top so I can do something with it. I'm not a fan of it, but whatever!"

The only other things we gleaned were that he's now living in a member's home in Parker, and his trainer and new companion is an almost-7-foot-tall Elder Stuckey.

THEN, out of the blue this evening, I received a text from an out-of-state number.  What a wonderful surprise!

"Having a lesson tonight from our new Elder Takis.  He's doing great!"

Thanks to K.M. and her beautiful family for sharing this moment! She also wrote, "Elder Takis shared such a sweet testimony with us, we are lucky to have your hard work among us."