Calling!

NOTE:  In case you don't want to wade through the rest of this right now, just understand that we're sending Christmas cards via Blog this year and would love to get emails instead of cards from our loved ones at laternlater@gmail.com . 

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After a couple weeks of sitting on our mailbox we received our mission call at 6 pm on Saturday, October 25, 2010. 


OK, I'm gonna look...

It's Here!



We finally get to know.  Drum Roll...

Hunter reading our calling

Relieved and Excited Family

"You have been called to serve in the Alaska Anchorage mission," it said.  Richard was ecstatic immediately.  I had to go through my usual deer-in-the-headlights adjustment.  I tried to understand my own reaction and could only explain it this way:  Imagine fighting for the first spot at the guillotine and then having someone give you a free pass.  It takes a minute or two.  Or a day or two if you're slow. 

Reminiscences: We love Alaska.  Richard went there last summer to fish with his friend Steve Hunt.  They each brought home 125 pounds of halibut.  My parents and grandparents both homesteaded in Alaska and I've had a thousand memories rush through my mind over the past two weeks.  I celebrated my first birthday there and met Richard in Anchorage when he came up to work after serving his first mission in Australia.  We had children there and lots of amazing friends.  For us it's like going home.  Home to where my parents worked hard to influence the building of the church in the Chugiak/Eagle River area.  We held the first home Sunday School in Chugiak in the front yard of my uncle's house and I only recall three things:  I wore my best dress, Brother Johnson from Anchorage blessed the sacrament, and my aunt was late for church.  Dad commented that he didn't know how she could be late for church when it was at her house.     

Our letter from President Monson says that we will be reporting to the MTC on November 29 and in Anchorage December 4.  We have no clue where (within the 850,000 square miles) we will serve, which will be a future blogspot.  The mission also includes parts of Canada:  Yukon and Northwest territories.  Wherever it is I have excellent examples of courage and faith to draw from in doing my best to serve those hardy, independent and wonderful people. 

We will go to southern Utah to see Tammi, Allen, Nic, Erin and Jara Lynne on the 18th so expect pictures from that sweet family in the near future.  They are happy and supportive and expressed relief that we're going to Alaska.  Nic will be 19 on the 19th of November.  He's a rugby dude at SUU.  Erin is in her junior year and Jara is in junior high.  They're all three communication guru's so we hope to be able to stay close to them.   

We found a family to live in our home and sold our truck to a police officer who is letting us use it until we get personal things moved to a storage unit.  Only one interested buyer for our Cadillac, who hasn't called back.  We've made room for it in our storage unit.

Jana brought us some news on October 25 -- the day after our mission call:

It's a "Wahoo!" and a "Oh no!"  We missed Bekah's birth and want very much to meet this important person on his/her first debut.  We plan to be as close as possible, depending on our mission president.

Our subdivision entry at Autumn.  



Bekah playing with her shadow



JJ is shooting the photo.