Ohio, Columbus...Spanish speaking!

Some moments in life are big moments, but you might not see them coming or realize them until you reflect back. Others you know about in advance and look forward to. Opening a mission call is one of those forward-looking moments. Part of your life will be defined as before my mission, during my mission, and after my mission. Baptism, Priesthood, Mission, Marriage, and Children are all forward- looking moments that define a life. We are grateful for this time we had to share with Kevin in opening his mission call.

The envelope came on Wednesday, September 5th. Kevin did not come home until Friday the 7th. Curt wanted to display it on the mantel. I said, "No way." The envelope spent those two days in a box in the closet. Out of sight, out of mind. The temptation to rip it open was lessened that way.

Kevin and his call finally in the same room.

Thanks to all of our family and friends who came to share this moment. Cheyenne even got someone to cover her shift for two hours so she could be there.

We had everyone guess a stateside mission and a foreign mission. The closest anyone got was Pittsburg guessed by Kevin's friend, Blake.

The moment arrived! Kevin thanked everyone for coming, opened the envelope and read his call.

We had some of Kevin's friends on speaker phone who couldn't make it, but they couldn't hear us (one was at  the Aggies/Utes game) so they got the message via text.

After he read that he'd been called to serve in the Ohio, Columbus Mission, he kept reading. The second line of the second paragraph said he'd be teaching in Spanish. Who knew that Ohio had a need for Spanish speaking missionaries?! This was very exciting, since he really wanted to speak a language, and he has had four years of Spanish. Prospective missionaries don't get to give a language preference, other than whether or not they'd like to learn one. You do write down any language that you've studied and for how long, but don't get a choice of what you'll be assigned to speak. However, if Kevin did get to choose, his first choice of language would have been Spanish! 

Here Matthew writes his inspired guess of "Columbus, Ohio." Of course, he was inspired to write this AFTER Kevin opened his call. He had to cross out his first guess of San Diego. (His first guess was half right since there are a lot of Spanish speakers there.)

We are looking at the booklet they sent us and figuring out the mission boundaries. My mom served in the Great Lakes Mission, and she spent eight months in Columbus. She was very excited when Kevin called to tell her the news. It's interesting to note that part of the information you're asked to provide when you submit the missionary papers are the names of the missions where siblings, parents, and grandparents have served.

Awesome cousins!

Since Kevin's call, we've heard from ward members and Facebook friends who've lived near Columbus and Cincinnati, Ohio.  Everyone seems to really love the area. Kevin's mission also includes a small part of northern Kentucky and a slice of Indiana. He reports to the MTC on January 23rd. It will be a great two years!