Well, this was a very different Christmas... It hurt my heart not to have Cameron home but it also made it feel so full of pride and happiness. I don't know that I can explain it. If you are or have been a mother of a missionary you understand. I was more focused on Christ and Cameron devoting two years of his life to help others this year. These factors made the traditional Christmas a little different. We woke up and usually the grandparents come out to watch the kids open Santa gifts. This year we decided since it was a Sunday we would have them come to our ward since it was earlier. After church we went home and changed and started getting the computer set up. I looked at my phone and Cameron had sent me an e-mail saying he was ready whenever. I was beside myself with excitement. We tried and tried to get skype to work and Cameron could hear us but we couldn't see or hear him. He was on a pretty old computer and just said we would have to hang tight until he could use another one. Then, a nice guy from the other ward let him use his I-pad. We ended up doing it through Facebook and Cameron had to call Annie's phone that had its number linked to a smaller I-pad. So, here sat the computer hooked up to the big t.v. and instead we all huddled around a little I-pad. It didn't even matter. It was Cameron's face and his voice. It was so fun to talk to him and see him. I wanted to jump through the screen and just squeeze him. A member of the other ward bishopric came and had Cameron translate what he said to us. He told us how wonderful Cameron was and how thankful he was that we would share him with the people of Maceio. He told us how he was preparing his own son to serve a mission in a few years. He laughed and teased a little too. Cameron was forgetting English words as he was translating. He said that when Cameron gets home he will have forgotten English and that if we want to talk to him we will need to learn Portuguese. He told us that Cameron wouldn't go hungry in Maceio. They like their rice, beans, and meat! Cameron said they eat a lot of pasta too. His face looked fuller to us but his clothes fit the same. He told us how he got robbed. He had previously told his dad but not me. Jason debated whether to tell me but did tell me. I asked Cam why he didn't tell me and as he told about the robbery and I gasped etc. he explained that was why he had kept it from me. It made me so sick to my stomach when he told me they had a gun and had actually cocked it. They took their phone (which was a very old and outdated phone for us Americans) but they never asked for wallets or anything else. I know that Heavenly Father is watching over Cameron. This made me feel so worried and as prayed I knew that it could have been so much worse and that Cam was going to be ok. We had the grandparents come out at the first along with Cam's friend Nicole. They left after a bit and then it was just our little family. We talked and laughed etc. We had some gift exchanges to do with him that we had waited to do while face timing. We asked him about the package we sent and he told us how much he enjoyed sharing his package with others. We got a video of Karla's family getting some of the items. It was as if they had won a million dollars. They immediately started throwing the football with Cam and hugging him. They were jumping around shooting the nerf gun at everyone and everything. Grandma Marge had sent some watches because they had asked for one from the U.S. Karla's mom had the bag with them in it and she was jumping around and kissing the bag. It was so rewarding to see things we take for granted mean so very much to someone. I am so glad I could get that to Cameron so he could gift them before he was transferred. He has sure grown to love the people of Colina Ward. As the I-pad started to die Cameron got up and stared to walk. He tried to tell us the computer was dying and began to cry. I think this SEE YOU LATER was harder than the airport or maybe this is just fresher on my mind and heart. We all cried and said our I LOVE YOUs. Jason told Cameron he wanted to pray so we all bowed our head as Jason prayed for Cameron and our family. It was so nice to have a family prayer all together again. I am so thankful to be Cameron's mom and to be able to witness him be a mature young man. We all said one last See you Later... and Cam shut down the facebook. WOW! I think I could've cried an ocean. This is the hardest thing I have ever done and then I think if it's hard for me, it has to really be hard for him. So, I need to be strong and supportive to help Cameron be successful. As we were getting ready to go to Grammy's house for Christmas Jason noticed a new e-mail on my phone. It had just came through from Cameron just minutes after saying SEE YOU LATER.
It read:So this is for the family... I love you all. It was great talking with you today. Thinking of it, it didn't seem long since the last time we talked in August. It will go by fast. Love you all. Thank you for the support. Merry Christmas! Love you all.
I replied: We love you Bubba! We can do this...
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