Leaving home

The time has arrived!  We spoke in Sacrament Meeting on December 10, 2017 (our farewell) and hosted a brunch at our home after church.  We were happy to see so many good friends from our former Taylorsville ward, the temple, missionary couples we served with in Ghana and lots of family.  It was a delightful day for us and provided a reality check that we would soon be living in another country.
We have been busy packing the house and deciding what we have room to take in our suitcases.

Our room and the guest room were filled with clothing, shoes, suitcases, medicine, books and many other items.  It's difficult to decide what you need for 18 months and then fit it all into four large suitcases.  We did the best we could and were out of the house around 7:30 PM on December 28.  We moved to Karen's sister's house in South Jordan for the weekend so our tenants could move into our home on the 29th.  Only two more days until we arrive at the Provo MTC.

We have mixed emotions about leaving our new home and all the comforts we are accustomed to.  We also feel very blessed to be given another opportunity to serve.  We already feel a bond with the people we will serve and partner with in Croatia, Bosnia and Slovenia.

Language Immersion at the MTC

On September 19, 20, 21 we traveled to the MTC in Provo for a 3-day Croatian language immersion.  We had been assigned a tutor, Joseph Shillabeer, and had Skyped with him one day a week for the previous three weeks.  Our lessons were in building T3, one of the newly erected and recently opened training buildings on the MTC campus.  It is a beautiful facility.  As with all the MTC tutors, Joseph is also a student so we did not spend all day with him.  We had personal study time, and study buddies assigned for the other hours.  Study buddies are student volunteers and they had all served in the Adriatic North Mission.  They helped us with pronunciation, taught us how to tell time, and told us a little of what to expect when we arrive in the country.  They had all served in the various countries within the mission and without hesitation, they all said Bosnia was their favorite.  One exception was the scenery in Slovenia, which has part of the Alps and looks very similar to Austria.  We are looking forward to seeing that part of the world.
Language training went well.  The days were long for us and it was a lot to take in.  By the end of three days, we were ready to take a little break.  We have written short prayers (blessing on the food) so we can get used to praying in Croatian.  We also listen to conference talks in Croatian so we will be accustomed to hearing the spoken language.  We understand that it is not required for senior missionaries to learn the language but we want to attempt it anyway.  We think we will feel more comfortable and be able to navigate around the country a little better if we are somewhat familiar with their language before we arrive.
We are in awe of the the Church Missionary program - how smoothly it runs for such a large, complicated organization.  When you consider all that is involved (mission assignments, travel, language, etc.) it is pretty amazing.  And who else could offer such opportunities to serve?  We are grateful for the blessing of being able to serve another mission and look forward to beginning our new adventure!

Receiving a call to serve

We received our mission call in the mail on Thursday, June 22, 2017.  We have been called to serve in the Adriatic North Mission, assigned to the Bosnia Welfare Country Office.  We are to report to the Provo MTC on January 1, 2018.

We were both very surprised, as we had been asked by the missionary department to request the country of Montenegro and report in September.  As soon as we submitted our call acceptance, the then mission president called and asked if we were able to come sooner than January.  We said that we were and he expressed his surprise at the country assignment as well.  He worked with the missionary department for nearly a week.  When he called back, he said he had been unable to change our assignment or reporting time.  For whatever reason, the brethren want/need us in Bosnia.  He said that he believed in inspiration and at this point, we needed to follow the brethren.  We agreed, as we had received our own confirmation that Bosnia is where we should serve.  We don't know why but are excited to find out!