Mission call

Opening a mission call from the First Presidency is a very humbling and exciting time.   Our Mission application had been ready to go in back in the end of February of this year .... but we wanted to 'check out' the Philippines, Cebu East Mission where Tharon's brother, Kevin, was serving along with his wife, Kathy Richards Bell.   We were there and witnessed the humble and amazing members living there, along with the hundreds of Missionaries who have given up 2 years of their lives to serve there.  .  But alas, I brought Tharon home after being sick for 7 days ... thinking that he had developed walking Pnuemonia .... but in reality he had developed a blood clot in his leg and parts had broken off and traveled up into his lungs.   We were blest to actually bring him home.   So we put our Mission papers on hold and give him months to heal.   Any reference to serving in the Philippines is now taken off of our application to serve.

   7 months pass and Tharon regains his strength.  His family learns of a genetic mutation that exists in their chromosomes, and he and most of his siblings are prescribed a blood thinner that they must be on the rest of their lives.   He receives a clean bill of health to send in Mission Papers.  

   We gather family together and open our Mission Call ....... and were deeply humbled and surprised to read that we are called to serve as Welfare Specialists in the Philippines, Baguio Mission.   All of our children were in disbelief ..... myriads of feelings and thoughts run through mine and Tharon's minds.  Truly, He must want us to serve the Filipino people.

   Contact is made with the Baguio mission and we learn that the Senior couple that we are to replace (Elder & Sister McClure) are scheduled to leave in the middle of February .... and we will not arrive until very end of February.   So we contact the Senior Missionary Department and request to enter the MTC a month earlier.  The Asian Area Welfare Director was in Provo attending his training, and approval was quickly given for our request.  ( Having served a Humanitarian Mission previously in the Czech Republic, we understand how immensely advantageous it is to have some 'lap over' time and training for the humanitarian work to get off the ground quickly.

   So we are now preparing to enter the MTC in January.