Mission Leaders

Right before General Conference in October of 2021, we got some big news. My parents told us they had a zoom call with Elder Rasband. Following that chat, they had an in-person meeting with President Oaks. My parents were asked to serve as Mission Leaders (aka Mission President and Companion).

I remember the night they told us about their call vividly. It was actually the day that our new flooring was finished being installed. My parents were over to help us move our furniture back. They came early and said they had something to tell us. My initial reaction was excitement for my parents. They will do a wonderful job and the missionaries they serve will be blessed immensely by them. As this news has had more time to settle, I've realized what this call means. My parents are leaving for 3 years. I will miss them more than I can say. When they return, James will be 8 years old which kills me. 

My parents were told there was a good chance they would serve in a Portuguese speaking mission. They had to wait to get their call and found out in December that they're headed to Brazil. Their call was very specific about keeping the location of their mission (only telling immediate family) confidential until it was announced in the Church News. The Church News featured all the new mission leaders today, January 7, 2022, so the secret is out! My parents will leave on July 1 and are headed to Ribeirao Preto, Brazil. They are so cute and have been studying Portuguese like maniacs. Fortunately, my dad served his mission about 40 years ago in Curitiba, Brazil, so I expect the language will come back to him fairly easily. My mom is so studious, that I think she'll be fluent in Portuguese soon.

The timing of my parents call is truly miraculous. In preparation to leave, my parents had to have physicals and several medical tests. This is why my mom's cancer was discovered. She had to have a mammogram. After the mammogram, the doctors said they almost didn't call her to come back in for a follow-up because the results seemed nearly normal. Thank goodness they called her back. If my mom hadn't had to do all the mission paperwork, her cancer wouldn't have been caught and would have been much more advanced. She has now had 2 surgeries to remove the breast cancer and will start radiation next week. We're all extremely grateful that she gets to skip chemotherapy. Blessing of the mission call!

My parents have always had good health. They workout very consistently. Around the time of their big news, my dad found out he tore his meniscus. Surgery is usually the solution to fix a torn meniscus. It seemed like my parents were falling apart. After no medical problems for years and years, suddenly my mom has cancer and my dad is limping around. Fortunately, my dad's doctor suggested a steroid shot in his knee to try to avoid surgery. So far the shot has helped and surgery seems less likely. (fingers crossed) 

My parents have to sacrifice a lot to fulfill this call. They both have their dream jobs. My mom recently packed up her office at BYU which was a sad day for her. She will leave a big hole in the BYU English Department. I mean, what professor brings In-N-Out and Krispie Kreme doughnuts to their students? Apparently my dad even got choked up telling people at work that he's leaving. He was nervous to notify his work, especially since he recently signed a 5-year contract with them. Things went smoothly though. It helps that the owners of the company are religious. My parents are wonderful examples. 

You might not recognize my cheery dad pictured below. We tease him about the gleam he has in his eyes. We have even gone as far as calling him a "fraud" because he never smiles so big. He's excited to serve in Brazil again. He has already taken this calling seriously and has spent hours tossing and turning at night. He has even lost weight and who knew there was any weight to lose?

Thinking about saying goodbye in July is devastating to me and breaks my heart. I know I'll bawl my eyes out and I'm not a crier. For now, we're enjoying every second we can with them. Just last week, we had professional pictures taken of all of us. (Thanks to my niece, Alexa who saved the day when our other photographer was hospitalized). And yes, I'm still glad we moved to South Jordan, even though my parents are deserting us. I love where we live and we have taken advantage of living so close to them. We plan to visit my parents at some point during their time in Brazil which will be a once-in-a lifetime experience. I've always known I have the best parents and now they get to go parent hundreds of missionaries. What lucky missionaries. Wouldn't it be neat if one of my nieces or nephews (on the Ditto side) gets called to their mission!?