Counting Down

We are now counting down the days until we depart. We do not, however, know when that will be. Our call letter said that we would report to the MTC 0n September 5th. President Lindley, our mission president called and reassigned us to work in the mission office. He also asked that we come 2 weeks earlier, if possible. So our target date is August 22nd. We are not sure the visa issues can be resolved in the time available, so we will see. We have been in contact with the couple we will be replacing and are getting alot more information.

Shifting Paradigms

We have been quite comfortable with our retired life. Lorraine retired in December of '08 and I in June of '09. We have been able to travel a little and spend time with our family. We were called to a church service mission to work in the LDS Employment Resource Services office and began working there in October of '09. We worked there three days a week; on Mondays and Wednesdays from 9:30am until noon and on Tuesdays from 4pm to 7pm. Then on Thursday we worked in the temple. We left home at 2:30pm and got home about 11:30pm. The time commitments were not like full-time work but gave us a place to be each day and a worthwhile purpose. We have enjoyed this time greatly.
We report the the Mission Training Center in Provo UT on September 5th, 2011. We will begin our mission and begin a new phase of our lives. We have a hard time picturing what life will be like for us in Leeds, England. We generally know the program in which we will be working but cannot picture the setting in which we will live and organize our lives. It is exhilarating to put these details in the hands of the Lord and step forward with faith. We trust that this is where we should be and what we should do.

The Call!

Our mission call came on Thursday, June 16, 2011. We spend Thursdays quietly getting ready to serve at the temple. We had gone out to lunch and on the way home Lorraine said, "I hope it comes early so we can have it before we go to the temple." We both knew that was ridiculous because we had had that hope every day for the past two months and because the mail hardly ever comes until 5pm. But, lo and behold, I walked to the mailbox and there it was!

I walked in with the prize in my hand. We momentarily thought about calling the kids and opening it with them and then ripped it open.... We will be serving in England Leeds Mission assigned to the Center for Young Adults! We are honored and anxious to serve!

Waiting for the call

We had our interview with the stake president on May 1, 2011. We began to anticipate our call coming about 2 weeks later. We had heard from several places that was about how long it might take. Young missionaries get their call in about that time span. We sat on the curb waiting for the mail. Same week 3 and week 4. Here we are in week 6. Our bishop was able to go online and see that our letter has been sent and we should get it this week. The anticipation is fun and we get more attention at church and isn't that what this is all about?

We felt the call...

In October 2010 General Conference, in his opening remarks on Saturday morning, President Monson spoke to the members of the church regarding missionary service. I was feeling quite comfortable that he was speaking to others until he said the following:

"And now to you mature brothers and sisters: we need many, many more senior couples. To the faithful couples now serving or who have served in the past, we thank you for your faith and devotion to the gospel of Jesus Christ. You serve willingly and well and accomplish great good.

To those of you who are not yet to the season of life when you might serve a couples mission, I urge you to prepare now for the day when you and your spouse might do so. As your circumstances allow, as you are eligible for retirement, and as your health permits, make yourselves available to leave home and give full-time missionary service. There are few times in your lives when you will enjoy the sweet spirit and satisfaction that come from giving full-time service together in the work of the Master."

Those words hit me with a forceful impact and I felt the desire to respond to his call. Lorraine had been away during the remarks and so when she returned I replayed them to her and she felt the same way. We made an appointment to see the bishop the following Wednesday and started the process to leave our home and give full-time missionary service.