Coming Full Circle

I love happy things. Sometimes facebook helps me to find those things. Today it was my darling, darling friend Robbie from Benemerito. I introduced you to him back in February of 09.
He was the first friend who enabled me to speak Spanish. He was patient and kind and interested in me, even though my language was quite broken. He was the first person I was able to tell about Erin at a time when she was all I could think about. He was Marly's age and became like a younger brother to me and a dear, dear friend.

When he was bearing his testimony on my last Sunday in Mexico City, he said something I will never, ever forget. He looked me right in the eyes and told of how he had never had interest in serving a mission, that it had never been important to him. As we both began to cry, he told me that because of my example and friendship, he was now committed to serve a mission.

Today, when I hopped on facebook, I brushed it off as a distraction until I caught sight of him with a black nametag, la gafet. I started to cry with pure excitement and joy as I realized that he really made it. My beautiful friend from Mexico, Roberto Galvan de Anda, my Robbie, is on a mission. He did it and he looks so happy and clean. I couldn’t be more thrilled, more filled with the spirit or more joyful. My little brother and my dear, dear friend made it. He really made it. I shed tears of joy for that beautiful boy. I am so happy.