Acceptance Letter

Missionary Call Acceptance

Now that things have settled down somewhat, 

Jackson wrote his missionary call acceptance letter today.  

He will take it to church on Sunday, get it signed by the bishop and drop it in the mail.  He is one excited boy!

The Call

Where In The World Will Jackson Go?

We really wanted to have some type of a gathering for friends and family when Jackson opened his mission call.  We decided to have a "Where In The World Will Jackson Go?" Party.  It was a little tricky knowing exactly when to hold the party, but it all worked out perfectly!

Once people arrived, they guessed where Jackson would serve.

They wrote their guess on the chart  and then put a sticker on the map.  The person that guessed the closest, won a prize!  From our family Jackson guessed: Portugal, I guessed: Hong Kong, Jason guessed: Boston, Hayden guessed: Atlanta and Keaton guessed: Hawaii!

I spent yesterday making cookies and cupcakes for the party.  I think that was probably one of the reasons I was so down about his call not coming the day before.  I had done so much preparing and did not know if the call was in fact coming . . . but it all worked out.  Thank goodness!

I've been planning this party for sometime now .  . . 

I love doing stuff like this!

We had blue and green tie-dyed vanilla cupcakes with cream cheese frosting, sugar cookies decorated like the western hemisphere, homemade oreo cookies, a mini candy buffet and lemon-lime punch!  It was all set up and we were ready for action!  

Earlier in the day, as I was frosting the cookies, Jackson kept telling me that I needed to put the eastern hemisphere on them instead of the western because he really felt like he was going to the eastern hemisphere.  I don't know why I chose to do the western hemisphere, I guess I was a bit more familiar with the shapes of the continents of the western hemisphere.

People started to arrive at 5:00 and guesses were made . . .

Everyone was getting antsy . . . maybe it was just me.  The anticipation was driving me, as well as the rest of our family crazy!  It was such an exciting feeling!  In a matter of a few minutes, we would know where Jackson would be serving his full-time mission for the next 24 months of his life!  A moment we had been preparing for and looking forward to for quite some time now!

We decided to dig into the refreshments and wait for a few more guests to arrive.

We got to the point, that we hoped everyone that was coming was there.  

Cameras were ready and everyone was in their places . . .

Jackson spoke with Granny J. on the phone as she lay in her hospital bed.  She is so sick, but wanted to be a part of this special moment.  We called her so she could listen via speaker phone.  She talked with Jackson and told him how proud she was of him and his choice to serve a mission.  She gave him one bit of advice that makes me chuckle . . . no foreign wife!  

Jackson handed the phone over so they could hear and got his buddy Connor on the other phone while he was at work.  Hayden was also listening via phone because he was at scout camp.

Here we go   . . .

"Dear Elder Roper:  You are hereby called to serve as a missionary of 

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.  

You are assigned to labor in the . . .

MEXICO TIJUANA MISSION!  

It is anticipated that you will serve for a period of 24 months.  

You should report to the Provo Missionary Training Center on Wednesday, November 28, 2012.  You will prepare to preach the 

gospel in the Spanish language."

It was amazing!  There was gasping, screaming, laughing and crying!  I cannot express how incredible that moment was!  I think I was stunned . . . I hate to admit this, but all along, I have told Jackson that he can serve anywhere in the world but Mexico!  I think he received his call to show that Mom is not in charge!  

 Jackson's friend Heather Rasmussen has guessed Mexico.  She won the prize!  It was a Book of Mormon and a $20 Cafe Rio Gift Card!

We enjoyed everyone's company as we floated on Cloud 9 for the rest of the evening.  For the past couple of days, the words to the primary song "Nephi's Courage" have been going through my head:

"I will go; I will do the things the Lord commands.  I know the Lord provides a way; he wants me to obey.  I will go; I will do the things the Lord commands.  I know the Lord provides a way; he want me to obey".

We are ecstatic and thrilled with Jackson's assignment to serve in the Mexico Tijuana Mission!  We are looking forward to the blessings of having a missionary in our family!

Is The Mail Here Yet?

Yesterday when the mission call didn't arrive in the mail, I came home and updated my status on Facebook - I was pretty bummed.  One of my neighbors mentioned that her sister was our mailman.  I asked her if her sister could look in her mail the next morning and let me know if the call was in her mail to deliver for the day.  She said she would talk to her sister and let me know.  For some reason, I just didn't think it would arrive, I was kind of down about it.  But that next morning, I heard my phone and it was a text from my neighbor.  Her sister said it was in her mail to deliver for the day!  I immediately jumped up and started getting ready for a party we had planned later that evening for Jackson to open his call.  

  

The mailman said she could deliver it to our house, but Jackson wanted to get it from the mailbox himself.  We waited until Jason got home from work and started the trek to the mailbox again.

Can I just tell you how exciting this was?  

Jackson opened the box . . .

and pulled out his mission call!

Now, he just has to wait until the guests arrive for his party,  

"Where In The World Will Jackson Go?"

Maybe Tomorrow

The anticipation  of Jackson receiving his mission call has been about killing us.  It is so exciting!  Last week, Jason went to get his hair cut.  One of our friends was getting her hair cut and was asking about Jackson and his call.   Jason told her that we were thinking it might arrive that on Wednesday, July 18.  She told us she would do some checking around and let us know if he had, in fact, been assigned that week.  She works at the church office building so she has connections. A little while later, Jason received a text from her that said Jackson was not assigned, but is on the list to be assigned the next week on Friday, July 20.  The Brethern do the mission assignments on Fridays, packets are prepared on Mondays, put in the mail on Tuesdays and usually arrive on Wednesdays.  

We figured Jackson's call could possibly arrive today, Wednesday, July 25, but allowed an extra day due to the 24th of July.  We had a party planned for when he opened his call and wanted to make sure we had the call before all the guests showed up for the party, so we told everyone Thursday, July 26 just to be safe. 

We got the cameras all ready.  I kind of felt like the Paparazzi following Jackson down the street.  It was so exciting walking to the mailbox, as Jackson turned the key, my heart was pounding.  He opened the door and I could tell by his face that it was not there.  It was such a let down.  Maybe tomorrow . . .