The SUBMISSION

Max says:
Finally. I finished with my doctor appointments today. We turned the medical forms over to Bishop Wirkus this evening and just now pushed the "Submit" button on the online forms. The bishop will check our application and make his recommendation to the stake president. President Mendenhall will interview us and send the application to the Church Missionary Department. We are told that a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles will, under the inspiration of the Lord, make our assignment. We should receive our mission call in five to six weeks after the stake president submits it.

We are trying to prepare, by reading the Book of Mormon and Doctrine and Covenants and saying our prayers. We think we are in for a great adventure. Writing the title of this post made me think: we not only pressed the SUBMIT button to start a process, but by doing so we are to SUBMIT to the will of the Lord. We will go where He wants us to go, and do what he wants us to do. A mission requires submission, in every sense of the word.

On Wednesday this week, we met with the human resources director for the Church History Department and I signed my retirement forms. The date is set: Friday, May 31, just nine weeks from now. Mary will continue as a Church Service Missionary in the Family History Department until the end of July. We should be ready to go on a mission in August or sometime soon after.

Mary says;
I'm not sure what we put down as we answered the questions on the form over a month ago.  But we'll go with our first impressions.  The bishop came over to get our medical papers; he seems as excited as we are.  The Stake President has been talking about this for senior missionaries for some time now.  I'm sure he'll be excited about this too.  I feel like we're on the bandwagon with thousands of young 18-year-olds--not the least of whom is our own grandson, Sam Evans, who is putting in his papers as we speak.  He just needs to talk to his stake president and then the process will start;  wait a minute that's all we have to do too.  I wonder where we will be called.  That's the $64,000 question.  And what kind of a mission will it be.  Your guess is as good as mine.