Thank you for all of your guesses! But if you haven't heard by now, Joseph was called to serve two years for the Church of Jesus Christ in the THAILAND, BANGKOK mission!!! He has four months to get ready, as he goes into the Mission Training Center in Provo, Utah on January 25th. His mission also includes the neighboring countries of Laos and Burma. Mike's secretary's husband, Jim Brunatti, actually guessed Thailand! Way to go Jim!! :) No one else came close!!
I have to say, I was (still am) in a state of shock. I mean, I may have thought of China or Japan as a remote possibility, but I always thought he may go to Europe or South America. But, Thailand??? I had to look at the map because I honestly had no idea where it was!! I knew it was in Asia...that's it! Well, these countries (Thailand, Laos & Burma) are under China, to the right of India and to the left of Cambodia & Vietnam.
Joseph is SO EXCITED!!! I posted the video of him "announcing" his call on this blog. He opened it by himself up in the mountains first, then came home to some anxiously awaiting family and friends. You'll have to watch it - Joseph's story is so sweet. :)
This has been an incredibly fun ride so far!! Joseph met with his Bishop and Stake President for interviews on Sunday (Sept 18th). After the Stake President (Michael Fenton) went home, he sent off the paperwork to the church headquarters. He texted us every step of the way with the status of Joseph's mission call (what a great guy!!). On Monday morning Joseph got a text that said "It went from SENT to RECEIVED". The next day he said, "Waiting for assignment" (which was made on Thursday), then Friday morning he sent the last text that said, "CALL LETTER SENT"! He told us it would be in the mailbox on Wednesday, Sept. 28th, and sure enough, it was!!! :) Mike was here when Debby, our mail lady came (I sat on our front porch the day before, in case it came early...so I got a photo of her NOT putting the call in our mailbox!) and he took it from her and put it on our kitchen counter. As I drove up to the house, knowing the call was there, I felt like our home was sacred ground. :) A letter, signed by our prophet, was on our counter!
Joseph and I had this planned ahead of time - he would go to school and his last class ended at 4:00. I was going to meet him at the Draper Temple at 5:00 with his mission call and his journal (I added a bottle of water and a blanket to sit on!). Then he would hike up the mountain behind the temple and open his letter. (This is where the video explains the rest!)
He came home a little earlier than 7:30 and the only people who were here was his Grandma Gibbons, his cousin Jordan's girlfriend, Danielle, and me. Of course, we tried to get him to tell us where he was going, but nothing!!! He DID say (and we could tell by the gigantic smile on his face) that he was HAPPY about the place he was going. But the VERY ironic thing is, Grandma Gibbons mentioned she just had Thai food and we talked about how much we all loved Thai food!!! We could've talked about ANY other kind of food, but isn't that hilarious that we talked about the very food he would be eating??? Ha Ha!!
We are so grateful for the family and friends who were with us for the announcement! It was so exciting and in typical Joseph fashion, it was a unique experience! He is very excited and he knows this is where the Lord wants him to serve for the next two years. And I do too!!! I will just pray for him a LOT! :)
