As I Have Loved You Love One Another

There may be someone reading my blog wondering why we chose to go on a church mission, how the location is decided, what a humanitarian missionary does, and what is the purpose of a mission? I will give my valiant effort to address and answer those questions.

Greg and I have talked about going on a mission over ten years now. We are now empty-nesters, three working days from retirement, and full of vitality. We feel very blessed and have a strong desire to give back to humanity and pay it forward. We feel we are doing what Jesus Christ would have us do - serve our fellow man. We realize we have a lifetime of experience, skills, and talents we can share with others. Serving a mission will afford us great opportunities to serve and love as we follow Christ’s example to love unconditionally.

There are standards a prospective missionary couple should be living as they will represent the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. The process of serving a full-time mission starts with an application. Requirements include medical and dental evaluations, a current photo, and the desire to leave home and family to serve the Lord. After a few interviews with local church leaders the application is forwarded to church headquarters in Salt Lake City. It is put before a missionary committee who include a member of Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. Decisions where to send couples are assigned through the power of fasting and prayer. Couples personal preferences for specific missions, continents, countries, locations, language, and other requests are seriously considered for an mission assignment. Our leaders want each couple to love where they are assigned. By inspiration from the Spirit of God we are then matched with an available opening somewhere around the world. A letter is sent to the couple asking if they are willing to accept this call. We are then given a date to begin our mission.

Greg and I are learning the many facets of humanitarian work. It is difficult to know all we are asked to do until we are immersed in the country. I’m sure we will help relieve suffering, distribute temporal needs, and encourage provident living. We have been told we will be busy. We will spend most our time and efforts in Slovakia. We will also travel and work in Czech Republic.

One purpose of serving a mission is to provide in the Lord’s way to help our brother and sisters throughout the world. The Savior, Jesus Christ, spent his days helping the hungry, the blind, the sick, and the homeless. We simply try to follow His example and serve others no matter where they live or the language they speak. We feel so blessed that we are choosing to reach out and help where we can.

Our church does have full-time young men and women (missionaries) who travel the world sharing the Restored Gospel of Jesus Christ with all who are receptive to hear. Currently over 70,000 young missionaries are serving in more than a hundred countries. Greg and I are “senior” missionaries who are blessed to travel with our spouse and travel and serve together. Any member of the church with a desire to serve a mission can apply. The responsibilities can vary widely but we know the purpose will always be serving other people.

Be still, and know I am God

We are going to __??__  (fyi: the envelope is still in the mail.)

This scripture flooded my mind and it brought peace, “Be still, and know that I am God.” Psalms 46:10.

Someone asked “why don’t you just have Greg tell you?” or “you’re being so stubborn,” and “you are nuts, find out already!”

Tonight, we had our family dinner and Greg made an announcement. Yeah, the announcement of the big mystery of where we are called to serve. We felt it was important to not keep me or the family in suspense. We felt it important to start to prepare for what we need to learn or do.

I have so many questions. English speaking …  cold … warm … safe … internet …  ?

I wanted Africa, or Australia, or “anywhere you want to send us.” What I heard shocked me. I don’t know anything about this place. I had to look it up on Google maps. Greg kindly reminds me to say “I get to” so I get to learn another language, I get to learn the metric system, I get to learn a new culture, I get to dress warmly year round, and I get to travel on a plane for many hours.

What great blessings. I will do whatever is required of me and give it my best efforts. I have come to believe where we are going is exactly where the Lord needs us at this time.

I am so excited for this great new adventure in our lives. We have lots to do and lots to learn. “Be still, and know I am God.”

We report May 15, 2016 at the Mission Training Center(MTC). We are called to serve as Humanitarian missionaries in the Czech-Slovak mission . If you missed it … Czech Republic and Slovakia formerly known as Czechoslovakia.

Patience is a Virtue

This is where we begin.

Greg and I set a goal to submit our mission papers by the end of September 2016. I was so excited, my application was ready the end of May. On Monday September 26, without notice Greg surprised me when he shaved his mustache. Wow! First time I saw Greg without a mustache. I knew it was time for our missionary photo, clean shaven with suit and tie.

Wednesday, October 12, we meet with the Stake President. He signed our mission papers and forwarded them to Salt Lake City (SLC) the following day.

Our bishop watched our status change from “waiting for assignment” to “assigned” He informed us this changed November 11, just one month after the application was filed.

Great news… right? Well, not quite. We sold our house and were moving that day and it was Veterans Day, a holiday. I filed a change of address with the post office. It was one week later when I got my first mail with the yellow forwarding address sticker. But nothing from SLC. Another week passes and still nothing from SLC. I am hopeful the envelope will be forwarded to our new address before Thanksgiving so we could open it as a family. Nothing. Nothing. Nothing.

Finally, Sunday November 27, Greg calls the mission office to advise them of our address change. He learns the envelope would have been returned before another is sent out. He also learns about our assignment and when we report. I told him don’t tell me, I want to wait until our mission papers arrive. I want the opportunity to open the envelope and be surprised and learn where I’m going like other missionaries before me surrounded by family.

One thing Greg did tell me was “we are not going to Africa.” I guess he wanted to warn me so I wouldn’t be in complete shock. We had anticipated, looked forward to, and put Africa as our first choice on the application. Many people have told us that if you hint you might consider Africa - they will send you to Africa, but we learned that’s just not true.

As of today, we have not received our mission call. It is still out there in the United States post office’s care. The Mission President reached out to Greg via email and they are corresponding. Tuesday, November 29, the missionaries in the mission office in SLC called me probably to congratulate us and give instructions. I promptly advised them we have not received our call, unaware of our assignment, and want to keep it that way until the envelope comes.

What a test of patience! Twenty-seven days, two escrow closings on a house we sold and a house we bought concurrently, two holidays, one mission president, one mission office elder, one travel missionary, and I’m still in suspense!