Monday, June 3 - We pushed the button to submit our papers. Being the ward executive secretary, and therefore the keeper of the Bishop's schedule, I figured we could move things along rather quickly.
Sunday, June 16 - Unfortunately, it was a very busy time for the Bishop and we didn't get to meet with him for two weeks. It was a very long two weeks. In the meantime the bishop had read through all our stuff. The meeting was short.
Sunday, June 23 - After another very long week we met with the Stake President. It's amazing how time slows down when you're anxious for something to happen. This was also a pretty short meeting.
For the next few weeks we waited, sort of patiently, for news from the Bishop that would indicate the status of our mission application. We couldn't see anything, but apparently the Bishop has a magic way of seeing status changes. It was quite exciting when we heard the papers had been received and when the status finally changed to "ready to be assigned".
Since we apparently can never do anything the easy way, Kathryn and Rob, our daughter and son-in-law in Kansas, decided this was a good time to have their fifth baby. But what if our mission call comes while we're in Kansas? No problem. We called the missionary department and changed our mailing address temporarily.
Monday, July 15 - Ruby May Chase, our 14th grandbaby, arrived as babies often do, and was more than a little distraction from our waiting, but as much fun as it was to cuddle with a new baby girl, we were still a bit anxious for the mail. Ruby is deserving of her own blog, but we'll leave that up to her parents.
An email from the Bishop finally said the status had changed again and we were "assigned". Well, at home in Utah, that would have meant we might expect the letter in the mail perhaps on Wednesday. But we weren't in Utah. We were in Kansas, which is apparently as far away from Utah as you can get. Our daughter's mailbox is one of those community boxes at the end of the street. Presumably it saves the mailman some time. We didn't actually sit by the box every day. Thursday I went down with a can of WD-40 to make sure the mailbox lock was working smoothly. We wouldn't want any problems with that. Friday there was still nothing.
Our son Tom happened to be in the States on business from Japan and since he was in the neighborhood he managed to fly into Wichita to visit for the weekend. Thus, when the letter finally came, we had two of our kids with us, along with Rob and the other grandkids.
Saturday, July 20 - I'm not sure about the origin of the term "red letter day", but this was such a day for us as the mail carrier left a big white envelope in the box. We all gathered around where Kathryn was feeding the baby and we tried to open the envelope. We didn't get all silly and take a movie of the event as some people do. We just took pictures. Sherrie handed me the envelope. This was not one of my best efforts, but I did get it open without destroying anything. I pulled out the letters - there were two of them - one addressed to Dear Sister Dalton and the other to Dear Elder Dalton. Even as calm and composed as I was, I couldn't quite manage to read it out loud without choking up. So, to avoid that problem here, I'll let you read it for yourself instead of my reading it out loud.
Dear Sister Dalton:
You are hereby called to serve as a missionary of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. You are assigned to labor in the Dominican Republic Santo Domingo East Mission. Your primary assignment is to labor with Santo Domingo Dominican Republic Family History Records Preservation as a records preservation specialist. It is anticipated that you will serve for a period of 23 months.
You should report to the Provo Missionary Training Center on Monday, October 14, 2013.
Since then, we've been smiling a lot and doing a lot of preparing. But that's a story for another day.
Tuesday, July 30, 2013
What happens in Salt Lake
Sister Shirley told us to specify on our paperwork that Sister Tomlinson had
requested us, and that would flag our application in the
missionary department. Somehow it felt like we were cheating a bit by talking directly to the missionary department and "flagging" our mission application. I wanted
very much to feel sure that our call came through divine inspiration, and was not simply what we requested. I mentioned this concern to some folks at the missionary department and they explained how things work.
I really loved Elder Rasband's description of how the Apostles assign missionaries. But in conversation with the missionary department, I learned the rest of the story. (This is just the way I understand it. Please don't accept this as gospel.) After the Stake President submits the application, it goes to the missionary department where it is passed around the missionary committee, which, I gather, is composed of people from all the different missionary departments. There are many, family history being one. Each of the departments looks at the application to determine if the candidate looks like a good match for their needs. In our case, Sister Tomlinson was already waiting for our application to come. Several departments might end up requesting the same couple. Once this round is done, the application goes to a committee of the Seventy who prioritize the various requests. (I confess to wondering what would happen if none of the first committee was interested in our application.) After the requests are prioritized, the application goes to the Quorum of the Twelve, where Elder Rasband's story begins. One of the Apostles sees the application on a computer screen along with the requests and recommendations from the previous committees. At that point he gives all the other information due consideration and then makes an assignment according to whatever the Lord inspires.
I believe the Lord prepared us to make the decision we did about records preservation, just as we teach our children and give them hints from time to time, but still are anxious for them to choose the right things on their own. I believe that in this case our will was the same as the Lord's, and I find that a very peaceful, joyful thought.
I really loved Elder Rasband's description of how the Apostles assign missionaries. But in conversation with the missionary department, I learned the rest of the story. (This is just the way I understand it. Please don't accept this as gospel.) After the Stake President submits the application, it goes to the missionary department where it is passed around the missionary committee, which, I gather, is composed of people from all the different missionary departments. There are many, family history being one. Each of the departments looks at the application to determine if the candidate looks like a good match for their needs. In our case, Sister Tomlinson was already waiting for our application to come. Several departments might end up requesting the same couple. Once this round is done, the application goes to a committee of the Seventy who prioritize the various requests. (I confess to wondering what would happen if none of the first committee was interested in our application.) After the requests are prioritized, the application goes to the Quorum of the Twelve, where Elder Rasband's story begins. One of the Apostles sees the application on a computer screen along with the requests and recommendations from the previous committees. At that point he gives all the other information due consideration and then makes an assignment according to whatever the Lord inspires.
I believe the Lord prepared us to make the decision we did about records preservation, just as we teach our children and give them hints from time to time, but still are anxious for them to choose the right things on their own. I believe that in this case our will was the same as the Lord's, and I find that a very peaceful, joyful thought.
Starting the process
The plan was to go on a mission. Conditions were finally right. We met with the Bishop and started the paperwork. Doctors and dentists were visited. Clearances were received. The online application was dutifully filled out. On Monday, June 3, we pushed the "submit" button and began the process.
Of course, before all that happened we had some thinking to do. I had been just a bit reluctant to sign up unconditionally; there were some things I really didn't want to do. After some prayerful consideration about why we really wanted to go on a mission, I finally reached a place in my heart where I could honestly say I was willing to serve the Lord on His terms, not mine, and would happily go wherever we were called. It should be understood that Sherrie, always more responsive and submissive to divine guidance, had no such difficulty, just a slight preference not to live in a mud hut or wear panty hose.
When the time came to answer the question about preferences, and I was ready to say we had no preferences, things changed a little. We talked to some other folks and people in the missionary department and began to feel that it wasn't enough just to sit back and wait for direction. Instead, we felt we needed to study it out in our minds, look at the missionary opportunities bulletin and try to decide for ourselves what we might enjoy and where we might best be of use.
We should always submit our will to God's. However, ultimately we should come to the point where our will is the same as His. One of the ways we learn about God's love for us is to become parents and try to raise our own children. When my children were younger I wanted very much for them simply to obey me. They often asked, but were not really interested in the reasons why, nor was I particularly anxious always to explain. As they got older it became more important for them to choose for themselves. I wanted them to choose the right not just to please me, but because it's what they wanted.
So we sat down together and looked through the missionary opportunities bulletin. I had perused that document many times over the past several years, but nothing ever really caught my fancy. This time, however, as we read through together with a purpose, we both felt drawn to the idea of a records preservation mission. We called the listed phone number and talked to Sister Shirley. She told us a few things about records preservation and a couple days later we had made our decision and called her back to see how to proceed. We followed her directions, pushed the button and committed ourselves.
Of course, before all that happened we had some thinking to do. I had been just a bit reluctant to sign up unconditionally; there were some things I really didn't want to do. After some prayerful consideration about why we really wanted to go on a mission, I finally reached a place in my heart where I could honestly say I was willing to serve the Lord on His terms, not mine, and would happily go wherever we were called. It should be understood that Sherrie, always more responsive and submissive to divine guidance, had no such difficulty, just a slight preference not to live in a mud hut or wear panty hose.
When the time came to answer the question about preferences, and I was ready to say we had no preferences, things changed a little. We talked to some other folks and people in the missionary department and began to feel that it wasn't enough just to sit back and wait for direction. Instead, we felt we needed to study it out in our minds, look at the missionary opportunities bulletin and try to decide for ourselves what we might enjoy and where we might best be of use.
We should always submit our will to God's. However, ultimately we should come to the point where our will is the same as His. One of the ways we learn about God's love for us is to become parents and try to raise our own children. When my children were younger I wanted very much for them simply to obey me. They often asked, but were not really interested in the reasons why, nor was I particularly anxious always to explain. As they got older it became more important for them to choose for themselves. I wanted them to choose the right not just to please me, but because it's what they wanted.
So we sat down together and looked through the missionary opportunities bulletin. I had perused that document many times over the past several years, but nothing ever really caught my fancy. This time, however, as we read through together with a purpose, we both felt drawn to the idea of a records preservation mission. We called the listed phone number and talked to Sister Shirley. She told us a few things about records preservation and a couple days later we had made our decision and called her back to see how to proceed. We followed her directions, pushed the button and committed ourselves.
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