From the last post to now has been a flurry of dental appointments, medical appointments, paperwork and interviews. We've been poked, prodded and had things put where, ahem, the sun don't shine. The final outcome is that while some parts of the human body go out of warranty soon after turning 60, they are still in good enough shape to go on a mission! Yahoo!!!
We are transitioning from army life (Mike finally retired April 1st) to home life to mission life in one quick six month period. Now we are in the middle of putting all those things we won't need into one room so the remaining occupants can have a space to call home.
When we made the final decision to go on a mission we researched the church's website pertaining to senior couples. There are lots and lots of opportunities to serve all over the world and while we are willing to go to any of those places, it comes down to what we can afford. We still have to maintain a home while paying for a mission. We made a call to the Retired Military Couple mission to see what that would entail and were quick to get on their list of people they wanted. With Mike's impressive resume (nursing, military, business, firefighter, teacher etc) we would be on any one's list of people to have on board. You notice I didn't include a resume of my own; totally riding on his coat tails!
Originally they had us slotted to serve at Fort Hood about an hour or so from where we were in Grand Prairie, Texas. I would have been thrilled to be back in Texas and get to see our friends, both army and church. Alas, it isn't to be. The cost of the mission went up drastically to about a thousand dollars more per month so it took us out of our budget range. Now they have us, if they get their wish, going to Camp Legeune, North Carolina. We'd would be fine with that since we've not seen that part of the country. I know it will be a different climate but hey, we survived Texas!
I've been fascinated by the process of placing senior couples. It's not the same as with the young missionaries. For seniors, they look at the couple and what talents they bring to the table and then essentially the mission puts in their request for that couple. While it's taken into account where the couple has requested to be, it all comes down to where the Lord wants you to be. Near as I can tell, the process hasn't failed yet!
We are excited, ready to go and with the only nervousness coming from our home not quite ready for our departure, we are completely at peace about embarking on this new adventure. Our testimonies are strong, we rely on the Lord to take care of our families in our absence and know "all is well, all is well"!
Let the adventure begin!!!!
