We have tasted of the joys of serving the Lord and just could not delay any longer. It has been 18 months since we returned from the Philippines, we are healthy, the family situation is good and we are ready to, once again, enjoy the blessings of serving the Lord. We got our physicals, submitted our papers online, interviewed with the bishop and stake president... and waited for that big white envelope to arrive. While we were waiting we received a call from the Missionary Department. They said they had five assignments in mind, two domestic and three international. then they asked if we would be willing to serve 18 months... that would open up those international options. We prayed and got back to tell them that we would be happy to serve 18 months. We received another call from the missionary office... this time they wanted to know if we would be able to spend a bit more each month. Again, we prayed and let them know that we would be willing to spend more. Now came the long wait. I had mentioned to the stake president that it would be wonderful to serve in England with Marlene. That is where I served my mission as a young man. We checked the posted mission costs for couples and saw that we could qualify for an assignment in England, maybe...
The excitement of the anticipation is fun and one of the joys of a mission. You have no responsibilities and all of the shared joy with family and friends as you wait for that big white envelope.
The envelope came and we alerted the family. We were all connected in person or electronically.
Where will grandma and grandpa go this time? Lots of guesses, but none of them were even close.
Yes, there was a cheer and a sigh of relief from the family... mom/dad, grandma/grandpa are not going to some far distant corner of the world, they will live at home. We are so grateful to our family for their love and support, and willingness to allow us to leave and go wherever the Lord called us. I know that the Lord heard the silent "prayers of the heart" that were offered when we announced that we were going to serve another mission.
We are so pleased to receive this call from the Lord to serve in this very unique way.
We didn't know exactly what the responsibilities of a "missionary coordinator" were, but we soon found out when we called the missionary department. They told us that we would be replacing Elder and Sister Foster in the Welfare Services Department and that we should call them and coordinate a time to meet with them to discuss our new assignment. We called them right away and learned that we will have a role in the selection, orientation, and support of the welfare services missionaries; i.e. Humanitarian, Employment Resource Centers, and Family Services missionaries. We will meet with them on September 24th and learn enough to have a keen sense of responsibility and a healthy fear associated with our role in many missionary's lives and their work worldwide.
