From the very first time that the concept of a mission enters your mind, to planning and preparing to serve, to the time that you actually submit those papers to Church headquarters in Salt Lake City, dreams of where you will be sent dance in your mind.
I first thought of places where family are living. Our dear daughter-in-law, Fiona, is originally from Taiwan. Her mother, brother, and sister live in Taipei City.
What a privilege it would be to meet Fiona's family. Of course, I would have to learn Chinese to communicate with them. I never felt confident that I could do that. Nonetheless, it was a great dream.
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil was also a delightful thought since Mike and Gabi Loose, our nephew and his wife, just moved there this year.
Again, another language was at hand. Gabi and I talked about how fun it would be that we could talk "the talk" with one another. Mike and Gabi have been "super" cousins to our boys in Calgary and we all miss them greatly. So being assigned to Rio was a dreamy possibility.
There were many genealogy connections such as, Oklahoma, Missouri, Kansas, Tennessee, Arkansas, Kentucky, Ohio, Georgia, Pennsylvania, North and South Carolina, Virginia, New York, Ontario, or Quebec.
If it was going to be in the United States or Canada, I was just hoping for something east of the Mississippi where my missionary efforts could take in the living and the dead.
Europe was always in my thoughts. Going back to the country of some genealogy roots was thrilling. Germany, England, Scotland, Ireland? Brian's grandfather, Fred Walburger, was born in Germany in 1879. It has been 132 years since Fred left his homeland and his native tongue to live in "Zion".
Only 1 cousin of Brian's family, Mark Walburger, was ever assigned to a German mission. I thought Brain may be the second.
There was another of Brian's ancestors that I had thought of but pushed it aside quite quickly, thinking there was nothing going on there with the Church. Samuel Amos Woolley was Brian's great-great grandfather.
Samuel Amos Woolley
In August 1852, Samuel attended a special conference in Salt Lake City where President Brigham Young would issue mission calls to men who were attending that meeting. Samuel was a 26 year old husband and father of three children. I wonder what Samuel and his wife, Catherine, talked about when he came home to report that he and 8 others were asked to go to Calcutta East INDIA Mission. He had no one to talk to who had been there before because those 8 were some of the first missionaries from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to serve in India. He didn't even have time (nor took the time) to go to a library (that is an 1850's equivalent to Google!) to learn what was ahead of him.
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Samuel arrived, in April 1853, in Calcutta. Visas were not an issue then but he had traveled first by wagon train to get to San Fransisco. They waited and worked there til everyone arrived and they boarded a ship January 1853. I'm sure the populace of 400,000 people in Calcutta was a bit over whelming for this small town Salt Laker.
Now that we know that our assignment is also India, I wonder, will we see the same things that Samuel saw? Will its antiquity be as charming as its newness was when Samuel saw it for the first time?
New Delhi had only 600,000 people in 1853 when Samuel walked its streets but today its the same streets just more people. I look forward to seeing what Samuel saw.....feeling what Samuel felt.....and continuing the work Samuel started.
Of all the places.... I would have never guessed......
From the very moment that we read India New Delhi Mission the boys went internet crazy. Within seconds we were hearing East Indian music. They were playing it loud and proud. "This is gonna be your life Mom... get used to it!"
They quickly ushered in the world of You Tube images of India.
They began with transportation. (you know, if it came off the internet it MUST be true!)
Just jump aboard and hang on....
Or you could try a bus....
Or you could travel by boat....
But really, why not just travel as the natives do? We have never heard of any fatal elephant crashes!
Another child got on Google which has more bytes of information than India has people! We learned that New Delhi has 11 MILLION people in its boundaries, but within the metropolitan area of New Delhi there are 23 MILLION people!
There was much more information to be learned about India,
You know Mom, you'll arrive in India around May. Did you know that May and June are the Monsoon months of India? You might want to pack some gum boots.
As well meaning as they were, we got our best information from the mission president and his wife, Peter and Kelly Sackley, via Skype on Sunday 8 Feb.
We now realize that India is exactly 12 hours plus 30 minutes away (I can't help but believe that extra 30 minutes has something to do with New Foundland!). So we called via Skype at 8:30 pm (Alberta time) and talked to them where it was 9:00 Monday morning. Understanding the time change seems to be quite easy and convenient.
Even though the traffic is like this.....
We will ride around the city in little taxis called, autos, like this. This will cost 50 rupees which equals $1 Canadian. Now that's a bargin.
We will live in the mission home/office compound. Our main assignment will be in the office. We will be assigned to a Branch and will have to find other projects like humanitarian or PEF (Perpetual Education Fund) projects. I can hardly wait to get started BUT Pres. Sackley told us that the first hurdle will be to get our visas in order. So we pray for the visas to come through.
Now we are waiting again.....
Friday 6 February 2015
The envelope arrived on Wednesday 4 February 2015! But there it sat on my counter top! We had decided that we would open it with the kids in Calgary. That would not happen until Friday. Brian was in Medicine Hat doing some contract work for the Co-op. (Although, it didn't really bother him at all like it did me because he had received an email on Monday from an anxious mission President welcoming us to the mission!) We felt it would be important for the grandchildren to have that special missionary experience of opening the letter and reading the destination. We felt like they would better understand why Grandpa and Nana were leaving.
As that envelope sat on the counter and taunted me, I questioned my whole theory on the missionary experience. I picked it up, I put it down a thousand times in those 2 days. I held it to the light then I checked all seams. I arbitrarily ran my finger nail under the flap hoping that an office worker had ignored the water levels of the mailing machine or just plainly had poor quality spit. No such luck! That envelope was like Fort Knox! I then came to the conclusion that the Church really needs to lower the quality of their envelopes.
Brian and I drove up to Calgary on Friday 6 February 2015. I'm dying because he knows and I don't! To Brian's credit he gave no hints (at least none that I picked up on).
Finally the time arrived....6pm. All the families were there (Joel/Fiona, Taylor/Natalie, Vaughn/Tasha, and Sloan/Naomi and 11 children). Adrianne and Brant were hooked up via cell phones (Face Time). I opened the envelope and I couldn't believe my eyes. I couldn't believe what I was reading.
INDIA NEW DELHI MISSION
Vaughn immediately found some East Indian music on his phone and played it very loudly. They were all finding things on the internet about India. It was all fun. All the phone calls began. We called family members and friends but especially Tami who served her mission in Sri Lanka which has given her a special love for the people of India. And the people of Sri Lanka loved Miss Tami back (but then again, who doesn't?)
The most tender moment was when little Lily came to Brian and I (mostly Brian) with big sad tears saying, "Just how many years are you gonna be gone?" She was so distraught. We assured her that we would be able to stay in contact with her via email, Skype, and letters.
All in all, it was a very special evening. We are very excited and privileged to be assigned to this mission. I keep thinking about all the places that we could have specifically requested because we knew a mission president (Brian Leavitt, Pres. of the Nova Scotia Mission--he contacted us last October; Jim Toone from the Arizona Tempe Mission; or Brent Thomas from an African mission; and the Temple President of the Kona Hawaii Temple who gave us his card hoping we would request his temple). If I had not left it in the brethern's hands look what I would have missed.
In December 2014 the final physical and medical test was taken. I have been poked, prodded, mashed, smashed, swabbed, and swiped in every way possible! All in preparation for Brian and I to push that "submit" button for our mission papers. That button has been pushed and...
Now we wait.....
Although, I have waited for this for forty years. As a new convert in 1972, my first instinct was share the amazing message that had just been given to me. I wanted to prepare to be a missionary, to share the gospel with others. I know now that I had a lot of preparation to do before I could go forward with that vision. My first mission was to be a wife, mother, and student of the gospel.
Preparations have been made and the gate is now open. I look forward to opening that same gate for others. An ancient prophet taught, "the gate of heaven is open unto all, even to those who will believe on the name of Jesus Christ, who is the son of God." (Helaman 3:28) So, wherever we are sent, we hope to lead people to that same gate that I found so many years ago.
My next entry will be with a large white envelope in hand telling us WHERE and WHEN we go......
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