Monday, May 26, 2014

Application Has Arrived at the Church's Missionary Department

Our missionary application made it to Salt Lake! We received a phone call last Friday from the Missionary department with a question about our application. All was well, just needed a clarification.

The funny part of the story is that Bishop Ridd told me our application had made it to the Church Missionary department. I told him I knew that. He was surprised that I already knew. I had to explain about the call from mission department.

 . . . only 3-5 weeks before we know where and when.

Sunday, May 25, 2014

Moving Forward

It's been a week since our interview with President Hansen. We do know that our application has made it to the Church missionary department. We got a call this past week from a sister there asking a couple of questions to clarify some confusion on our application. All is cleared up and moving forward.

I should add here, just for my remembrance that it was a mission prep day for me today. I've got choir practice this morning at 9:00; I'm directing the singing in Sacrament meeting because Sister Bryan, the music director, is out of town; and I'm teaching the High Priest group during Priesthood meeting. The lesson? Spiritual Whirlwinds, based on the talk Elder Neil L. Andersen gave in the Saturday morning session of this past April Conference. And, oh, yes, I almost forgot . . . I'm directing the music in Priesthood opening exercises.

Speaking of mission prep, did I ever mention that we went through the stake mission prep class this year? Funny story. Bishop Ridd caught me after Sacrament meeting one day and said, "Mission prep starts tonight. It's geared for seniors. Would you and Sherrie like to attend?" We did, but it turns out that it was geared for seniors . . . seniors in high school! However, we attended all but one class when we were out of town. It was a good experience for us. We were glad that we were able to attend.

Sunday, May 18, 2014

Stake President Interview Today

We had our interview with the Stake President this morning . . . sort of. President Barney was ill so President Hansen interviewed us instead. This was fun because when Norm (President Hansen) was our bishop, he liked to tease us about going on a mission so it was appropriate for him to interview us. We've turned in our paperwork . . . physicals, dental forms, etc. President Hansen will report to President Barney who will then add his comments to the online form and hit submit. The submit button should be hit in the next day or two. We should be receiving our call in four to six weeks.

During our interview, President Hansen challenged and encouraged us to continue to improve each day in our scripture reading and studying, daily prayer, and especially listening to the Spirit and acting on the promptings given. All these things will help prepare us for our call to serve.

Tuesday, May 13, 2014

Answerless Questions

It's interesting to me how my mind wonders about this, that, and the other. As I'm doing something in the house or yard, my eyes will catch on something, and I think, Do I need to take that with me, or can I wait and buy it when we get there? Of course I can't answer those questions yet because I have no idea where we're going. I also think. Okay, with Josh and his family living here while we're gone, do I need to disconnect the phone, internet, etc., and let them deal with what they want? Will I have to reestablish service when we return? Those are the kinds of questions that are running through my mind on a daily basis.

I am trying to be patient. There is much to occupy my thoughts and time. We are going to SLC this weekend to clean out the house in which I attended high school and get it ready to sell. We have a charity organization coming Thursday afternoon to haul off the furniture and other leftovers from the estate sales. Then Sherrie and I will clean the carpets, etc. so it's ready to go.

If all goes well, we will meet with President Barney on Sunday and be good to wait for another four to six weeks for our call to arrive. Oh, the anticipation!

Sunday, May 11, 2014

Another Step Closer

We finished up our physicals and hit the submit button. We met with our bishop this morning. He hit the submit button so the next step is to meet with out stake president. Bishop Ridd sent a text to the stake executive secretary indicating we needed an appointment with President Barney as soon as he is available. Then the wait begins. Patience is a virtue! This is getting pretty exciting. We were hoping that we could meet with President Barney this Tuesday, but he's busy so it may not happen until next Sunday. . . . A little bummed, but we must be patient.