Blessings and More Blessings
It has been nearly two weeks since we opened our mission call. It wasn't really much different than opening a letter delivered by the post office. We each received a text and an email on February 26 informing us that "Your mission call can now be viewed at missionary.lds.org." That was cause to celebrate! We were sorely tempted, but we both waited to open the portal until the family had all gathered.
Andrew and Lia both viewed from Idaho and Utah respectively. Brooke was out of reach in Greece. It was evening and we were full of anticipation. Up to that night, SK and I speculated endlessly about the possibilities. Perhaps we would be called to a place where we had to carry our own water and then boil it. Perhaps the mission call would be to a remote and humble village somewhere. At first, we blanched at the prospects of serving in a place that would require a more primitive lifestyle. But by the time came, we both knew we would accept any assignment....knowing that it was from the Lord.
I am grateful that the Lord didn't require that of us. and I am so very excited that our mission call is to London England, to serve with Dave and Deb. And is if that isn't blessing enough, we have been assigned to serve with the YSAs!
We have been teaching the 16 and 17-year-olds in Sunday School for nearly two years. It has been fantastic. Of course, the best thing about it has been the exceptional young men and women who have been attending. If there is anything in the world that gives me hope for the future, it is meeting and getting to know steadfast and faithful youth, and we had a large group of them. Since January, we have had 15 to 18 attending each week. It has been a sweet experience to share the Gospel with them.
The one thing that puzzled us about the mission call is that we will not report to the MTC until September 9 (My dear brother Larry's birthday). That is six months from yesterday. I have been lamenting the swift passage of time for years, but that seems like a very long ways away!
However, it would appear that obtaining a visa may take several months in and of itself. And actually, I believe this is a blessing, giving me more time to prepare our home and myself. We changed the time to serve from one year to one and a half years.
I have begun cleaning out closets, cupboards and drawers. I am throwing things away, giving things away, and selling things on Ebay - a venture, I might add, that was not profitable. I currently have fifty years of photos in our loft that I am sorting through. I will throw away all that do not have people in them, and sort the rest into categories. What I will do with them then is still an unknown. I have hundreds and hundreds of them.
The Lord has blessed us in so many ways, but one of the most recent was a chance meeting with friends who used to live in our ward several years ago. Their names are Carl and Ann Webster. We met them in the temple on a day and time we are not normally there.
They moved to Snowflake, raised their children and then came back to the valley so that Carl could get another degree in law. He recently completed that degree and is now working in the field of copyright and patent law. They have been renting a home in Mesa, and are planning to build a home in Queen Creek. They lived here many years and have many dear friends in the area.
In visiting them and hearing of their plans, SK and I (who have been praying for someone to live in our home and care for it while we are away) tentatively approached them and asked if there was any possibility they would want to rent our home - furnished. The answer was yes, and they soon came to visit. We chatted about our future plans, and they will move in here in August.
Once again, just like our countdown to entering the MTC for our mission in Denmark, we will be living with Lia for several weeks, and then she will drive us to Provo! I don't know how she feels about it, but I think it is delightful.
Andrew and Lia both viewed from Idaho and Utah respectively. Brooke was out of reach in Greece. It was evening and we were full of anticipation. Up to that night, SK and I speculated endlessly about the possibilities. Perhaps we would be called to a place where we had to carry our own water and then boil it. Perhaps the mission call would be to a remote and humble village somewhere. At first, we blanched at the prospects of serving in a place that would require a more primitive lifestyle. But by the time came, we both knew we would accept any assignment....knowing that it was from the Lord.
I am grateful that the Lord didn't require that of us. and I am so very excited that our mission call is to London England, to serve with Dave and Deb. And is if that isn't blessing enough, we have been assigned to serve with the YSAs!
We have been teaching the 16 and 17-year-olds in Sunday School for nearly two years. It has been fantastic. Of course, the best thing about it has been the exceptional young men and women who have been attending. If there is anything in the world that gives me hope for the future, it is meeting and getting to know steadfast and faithful youth, and we had a large group of them. Since January, we have had 15 to 18 attending each week. It has been a sweet experience to share the Gospel with them.
The one thing that puzzled us about the mission call is that we will not report to the MTC until September 9 (My dear brother Larry's birthday). That is six months from yesterday. I have been lamenting the swift passage of time for years, but that seems like a very long ways away!
However, it would appear that obtaining a visa may take several months in and of itself. And actually, I believe this is a blessing, giving me more time to prepare our home and myself. We changed the time to serve from one year to one and a half years.
I have begun cleaning out closets, cupboards and drawers. I am throwing things away, giving things away, and selling things on Ebay - a venture, I might add, that was not profitable. I currently have fifty years of photos in our loft that I am sorting through. I will throw away all that do not have people in them, and sort the rest into categories. What I will do with them then is still an unknown. I have hundreds and hundreds of them.
The Lord has blessed us in so many ways, but one of the most recent was a chance meeting with friends who used to live in our ward several years ago. Their names are Carl and Ann Webster. We met them in the temple on a day and time we are not normally there.
They moved to Snowflake, raised their children and then came back to the valley so that Carl could get another degree in law. He recently completed that degree and is now working in the field of copyright and patent law. They have been renting a home in Mesa, and are planning to build a home in Queen Creek. They lived here many years and have many dear friends in the area.
In visiting them and hearing of their plans, SK and I (who have been praying for someone to live in our home and care for it while we are away) tentatively approached them and asked if there was any possibility they would want to rent our home - furnished. The answer was yes, and they soon came to visit. We chatted about our future plans, and they will move in here in August.
Once again, just like our countdown to entering the MTC for our mission in Denmark, we will be living with Lia for several weeks, and then she will drive us to Provo! I don't know how she feels about it, but I think it is delightful.
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