I have discovered that I am maybe not the most patient person in the world.
All that waiting for Ben's mission call to come was pure torture.
On Sunday December 2nd our bishop checked Ben's mission call status and told us it had been issued.
Living here in Utah we knew that meant it would be delivered on Wednesday.
Finally.
So Wednesday morning about 10:00 a.m. Ben went to check the mail.
There was mail there all right, just not a mission call.
I told him I was sure the mail he had just gotten from the mailbox was Tuesdays mail.
Our mail NEVER comes before 1:00 p.m.
But.... The doubt began to settle.
So he tried to keep himself busy for the day.
I went off to do my regular Wednesday bowling with the girls.
When I came home I drove right up to the mailbox and opened it.
YES!! The big white envelop was sitting right there before my eyes.
I reached in to retrieve it and at that moment Benjamin came running out of the front door
yelling.... "Don't touch that".
We were so excited to see that big white envelope with the return address of
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.
However, watching it sit on the living room table for 4 hours until our family and friends could gather was again TORTURE.
We hung a huge world map on the wall and everyone put up their guess.
Each orange paper is someones guess.
Also family and friends that couldn't be present were able to give out there guesses.
Immediate family, Linc, me, Bailee, Ben and Brooklyn got to make two guesses each.
One stateside and one foreign.
Finally at 7:00
with friends and family present some via phone, the big moment had arrived.
I swear I have never been so nervous in my life. Well maybe that's an exaggeration..
Either way he was SO SLOW opening that thing.
Bailee was telling him he better hold it out of her vision or she would read over his shoulder
probably faster than he could.
He finally get's it opened and scans... silently.
He then says... "Oh Wow."
I look at him and say read it out loud.
Elder Benjamin Paxman
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 Indiana Indianapolis Mission.
You will prepare to preach the gospel in the Spanish Language.
You should report to the Provo Mission Training Center
on March 13th 2013.
No one had guessed it right.
I was the closest with my stateside guess of Kentucky.
No one had guessed it right.
I was the closest with my stateside guess of Kentucky.
We were all so excited for him.
It's also a bonus that he gets to learn a foreign language.
The waiting was all worth it.
He is so excited and ready to go forth and preach the gospel.
I know he will make an amazing missionary.
Many thanks to all who have supported Ben through the years.
It truly is a miracle to find ourselves at this point in his life.
Family and Friends in attendance:
Linc, Myself, Bailee and Brooklyn
Darla, Megan and Kaela Snodgrass
Desiree, Krey, Savannah and Sierra Geis
Eva and CourtneyRae Shoell
Amanda and Sam Paxman, Mckayla, Quaid, Evan and Aiden Burr
Ken Graff
Eric Vance
Aaron Bailey
Joel Nielsen
Grandma Paxman via phone
The Gublers via phone.
Grandma and Grandpa Pack were working in the temple but called as soon as they were out.
Many other family members were informed via text asap.
Many ward members popped by as well.
We are blessed to have so many people who care and love Ben.
