I had talked with Pres. Paulson, the mission president, on Monday morning, asking if my sister, Susan, who lives in Winnipeg quite close to the mission home, could meet Elder Galbraith at the airport. Because missionaries leave home and family and all that is familiar to serve the Lord, contact with family is discouraged (we will talk with him only on Christmas and Mothers' Day), so we were pleasantly surprised when Pres. Paulson said it would be fine for her to come. Following is an excerpt from an e-mail from Susan:
Did want to give you an update on TJ - we were able to see him for a few
moments at the airport today. We got there about 10 minutes before they
were through customs, so had a chance to visit with Pres. Paulson, his
wife, and two other elders who were there to help with the pickup.
I had just kinda stepped into the background when TJ came out from
customs, so that he could be greeted by his co-workers, and Pres.
Paulson. Once they had an opportunity to shake hands and introduce each
other, Pres. Paulson said to TJ "I think there's somebody here to greet
you - go give her a hug", so TJ headed over to us, gave me a hug, and
said hi to the boys. He said "It's so good to see a familiar face!", so
I think he was glad we were there. He said he'd been up since 2:15 his
time, so he'd had a very short night and early morning. Not sure what
time zone Provo is in, so not sure if he'd done a one hour time change,
or two hours (one hour - Dad), but either way - he was tired!
So, after we'd talked for just a minute, we rejoined the rest of the
group. I'd brought my camera, and had asked before they came through if
it would be okay if I took a couple of pictures to send you. I didn't
realize at that point that they were planning to do pictures as well, so
it all worked out great. They were doing photos of each new elder with
Pres. Paulson and his wife. So - the photos I took are attached. There
is one of TJ with Pres. Paulson and his wife, one of the 4 new arrivals,
and then one of the whole group of them (the new arrivals, Pres.
Paulson, and the other 2 elders that had come with them). So - enjoy!!
I did talk briefly with Pres. Paulson and his wife, and just mentioned
that we understood the restrictions that TJ would have, but that when he
was in Winnipeg, we'd take as much of him as was allowed! So, they know
we'd like to see him, and TJ said he'd be in touch through you, likely.
Hopefully he'll have time fairly soon to drop you a note and let you
know where he's ended up. We had maybe 10 minutes together as a group,
and then they were ready to head out, so we all left. Daniel overheard
one of the elders who was already here say to the other "Well, that
doesn't happen very often!" - so I don't think they have many greeted by
family!!!
He's doing fine - Benjamin said he looked funny in a suit!! I think
Benjamin just wanted to bring him home with us and let him live in our
basement......
Susan
Susan also sent several pictures taken at the airport.
Elder Galbraith with Pres. and Sis. Paulson
Four new elders:
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