I take a screenshot of each video call with our missionary, but I don’t let on that I am doing it. So, these are regular, unposed expressions. With Daniel, we experienced missionary life without phonecalls and texts, and it was in the last part of his mission that the rules changed, allowing missionaries to contact home via text, a phonecall, or video call once a week.
It probably goes without saying that there is a big difference between the experiences. Our sons haven’t always felt the need to connect with a call each week, but it is nice to know they can. I like to see their faces, and these calls show me how they are really doing. I also see how they interact with companions. This week on our video call, Tim was a passenger in a car, and he showed us what the landscape looked like as they drove home. It helps me place him in my thoughts a little better. I think we hear more details about missionary work during a call because it doesn’t have to be typed and edited. It’s just real. I think it probably helps our missionaries to see that we are still very interested in their lives and can offer personal counsel.
I hope the weekly call doesn’t go away. It was an inspired change.