The Mission Call

In the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, young men are strongly encouraged and young women encouraged to serve a full time mission at ages 18 or 19, respectively. The number of youth taking up the charge to spread the gospel has increased exponentially in the last few years. While a mission is not easy nor cheap, I have been told it is life-changing, testimony-enhancing, and I personally have not talked to one returned missionary to regretted his/her decision to postpone education, dating, and life in general to serve in this capacity. Senior couples have also been asked to serve, often in a different capacity from the door-knocking job of the young adults - they teach English, serve as nurses, assist with clerical and mechanic duties that allow the younger missionaries to function in their field. And all of the missionaries - young or old - may be called to serve at home or abroad. As of 2015, there were 74,079 full time missionaries in at least 84 missions around the world.

Chadwick's oldest niece, Sarah, is currently serving in Poway, CA in an English speaking mission. Her weekly emails have demonstrated an increased depth of testimony and maturity that has been fun to observe from my seat at the computer. And my in-laws have been comtemplating serving a mission for several years now.

The process to apply for a mission is on the grueling side - paperwork, physical examinations, interviews with the Bishop and Stake President. For the senior couples, it's also a decision of what to do with the house and cars, wading through concerns for children and the thought of leaving precious grandchildren behind for 6-24 months. The senior mission is less strict than that for the youth, but it is a full time job.

The Friday before Christmas, the White Envelope arrived in Nancy and Steve's mailbox - the mission call!! Chadwick, myself, and James's family gathered eagerly in their living room to witness the event. We each had a cell phone with another sibling on the line so that all could participate.

The suspense was palpable and Nancy was eager to get on with the process; she had been staring at that envelope all afternoon and it took all of her will power not to tear it open before we could arrive.

Elder and Sister Hunt have been called to serve in the McAllen, TX mission starting April 10, 2017.

The excitement mounted as we started looking up the region - the nearest Temple (San Antonio), how many wards are located in the area (7), where the city itself is located, how big, etc. The numbers kept flowing and I'm sure the people who participated via cell phone were thoroughly confused and left out as we were talking to and over one another.

We are excited to support them in this new adventure and will surely miss their support and presence in our lives while they are away. Two years is a long time to go without seeing one's grandchildren, or so I've been told, and we might have to plan a trip to that region of Texas to fill that void.

They will soon be off to start a new chapter in their lives! I'm grateful for their example of sacrifice to their children, in-laws, and grandchildren.