He Has Arrived

So Drake has been out just over a month. He left the MTC at the end of October and was assigned to serve in the downtown Tacoma area of Hilltop. Once he was out in the field, I did some searching and found a mission blog that the mission president's wife posts pictures to. That was a treat since she posted a bunch of his arrival and new missionary training. (I may or may not check the blog a little obsessively in hopes of catching a glimpse of my kid.)

In the picture above, Drake is sitting with his companion, Elder White from the MTC. We didn't hear a whole lot about him, but Drake says they are getting along just fine.

In looking back at the archives on the blog, you can see that they introduce each missionary to their companions one at a time and snap a photo as they greet each other. Many of the greetings were very enthusiastic, and I literally laughed out loud that they captured Drake so perfectly as he met his companion for the first time.

 

His trainer's name is Elder Larson, and Drake got a real kick out of that. In one of his letters he made the comment that the Larsons and the Martins just can't be separated. I think it was a little thing that gave him a real boost. He was also able to see Elder Johnson, another Elder from Page serving in the same mission as Drake. He thought that was pretty awesome.

For now, we get to hear from Drake every Tuesday. The normal P-day is on Monday, but the library where they go to email is closed on Monday. So, Tuesday is the day that I anxiously check my email about 50 times a day. His letters are better than I hoped for. He is getting settled in, and he is learning a lot about what it really means to be a missionary. I am so proud of him!

Elder Drake Martin with President and Sister Blatter