Grandma and Grandpa Are Going on A Mission

Ever since George stopped working, I have been talking about serving a senior mission as a couple.  True to our personalities, I was immediately enthusiastic and George was much more thoughtful and concerned with details like finances and our house and our cars.....

I knew that Matt and Cady were planing on moving sometime next year and hoped to live with us while they had her house on the market.  One day I casually asked Matt if they would consider living in our house for 18 months while we went on a mission.  I was pleased when he said that was something they would consider.  Several more weeks went by and George was still 'thinking'.  He wasn't opposed to the idea, just not totally on-board like I was.

Then came a Sunday when several talks at church were about the blessings of serving a mission as a senior couple and the great need throughout the world.  That very evening, Matt texted.  "Mom, are you and Dad serious about going on a mission because Cady and I think it work for us to live in your house while you are gone."

Ah a sign from Heaven that now was the time for us to go!  George recognized it  and knowing they would take good care of our house, we got the process started.

Now came interviews, doctor and dentist appointments, and lots of questions, which ranged from 'what is your interest in learning a new language?' to 'can you drive a truck?'  to 'what is your level of expertise with computers?'. The application process took 5 full weeks.

Senior couples can list eight 'preferences'.  Our list included Nigeria, the Congo, the Philippines, Vietnam, Niue, and Guatamala. Finally our papers were complete and we had our last interview and our missionary application was officially submitted.

Just before submitting our papers,  our Stake President (an ecclesiastical leader over 9 congregations in our area) asked us to consider going to Peru where another couple from our area are serving as Mission Leaders.  They have no senior couples in their mission and are desperate for help.  We enjoyed meeting them through a 'FaceTime' chat.  As we ended our conversation, they said that they were going to officially 'request' that we serve in their mission.  It wasn't a 'done deal' and still required confirmation from the spirit to the Apostle who was extending the call. 

So we had no idea how all of this would turn out.  Where would we be spending 18 months of our lives? Now the wait began!  Three to six week waiting time was the norm.  Patience doesn't come easily to me but I did survive the nail biting weeks before we learned where we would be going.  

November 12th we both woke up to this notification: 

And turned on the computer to see this 

One more click took us to this screen

And then we stopped and looked at each other and knew that we were supposed to open it with our children.  So we waited another day until everyone could arrange a FaceTime that fit work schedules and time differences.

After a few technical glitches getting all of us on FaceTime at the same time, we opened the call and learned that we would be serving for 18 months in Piura, Peru.

It's in a desert area way up in the north of the country. 

Pirua has 12 days with rain on average each year.

Boise has 89 days of rain.

Portland has 157

Harper's Ferry has 117

Phoenix has 33.

Yes it is a desert!

Funny how when the call came, it immediately felt right.

And like really there was no other place where we could have gone.

It was meant to be.

It's where Heavenly Father wants us to serve.

We go into the Missionary Training Center in Provo, Utah on March 3 and fly to Peru on March 15.

So happy and excited!

And a bit nervous as well.