Google Earth

I know I am technologically challenged, but I just discovered Google Earth this week. OK, I knew about it and had heard others talk about it, but I had never used it. Then, last week I was talking to Russell Cragun's parents (Russell is serving a mission in the Philippines right now). They had used Google Earth to see the town where Russell is serving. I don't know why I didn't think of that before, but I hurried home and flew to Sheffield (metaphorically speaking). It was very cool looking at the town hall, peace gardens, the tram station, and several buildings on the University of Sheffield campus. I found myself wondering where Eric lives, and if he is familiar with these places. Does he ride the tram? So, I asked him. His response:

I know all of these places. We live right by the tram stop in Shalesmoor actually. And we teach people at the student union often. We do a lot of street contacting on West Street and in City Centre. We ride the tram every day.

So now I can better envision where he is and what he is doing, and if I start missing him a little, I can look up a photo of the tram stop or the student union and imagine him being there.

The first time we asked Eric what he wanted for Christmas, all he said was money for ties and some Mormon Tabernacle Choir music. Linda asked him again today and got an amusing answer.

Maybe skippy creamy peanut butter and beef jerky ha ha. None of that here.

He may have been joking, but I'd guess there's a better than even chance that's what we'll send him. We got a letter from his mission president this week with some Christmas suggestions, and some mailing instructions. I guess if you send a package via US mail, and declare a value of less than $60, it doesn't have to go through customs. If you declare a greater value or send it FedEx or DHL or UPS, etc., then it will get held up in customs, sometimes for weeks. Yikes. So, I guess we'll be sending a package by US mail with a declared value of less than $60. Skippy peanut butter and beef jerky sound like just the things we should include.

We also learned that while he doesn't have a way to listen to CD's, there are church members he knows well enough that he can ask them to transfer music from CD's to his iPod. Otherwise, I don't know why we would have sent him CD's for Christmas.

That's about all we got this week. It was a short e-mail because he took time to write to his brothers first. No complaints about that.