The adventure began this past Wednesday, July 6th when Tom finally received his mission call in the mail. We were sure it was going to come a week before and when it didn't, there was frustration all around! So, Dave and David left that morning for North Carolina and the delimma was should we wait for them to return.... or should Tom go ahead and open the letter?! It was an agonizing decision, but in the end, Dave told Tom he couldn't make him wait anymore and told him to go ahead and open it. I put together a quick, impomptu party and we called and sent texts out to everyone who we thought might want to share the moment with Tom. Joan and Jeff Watkins were the first to arrive, our dearest friends who have supported us every step of the way. 
We also had Steve and Josh Brower, Grandma Marta, Andy Nielsen, Landon Lambert, Andrew Feller and Bishop Bert Wonnacott. Everyone made their guess as to where they thought he would go and we put it on a big map of the world. Jeff, Tricia and Clark all guessed Brazil! We got Dave and David on speaker phone and had Tom open the call. He read the letter out loud and when he got to the part about being called to the Brazil, Belem Mission, everyone let out a big cheer and Tom had a huge smile on his face! I was greatly relieved that he was happy and was getting to go on a foreign mission. He'll learn Portuguese and will report to the Brazil MTC on December 14th.... quite a ways out. We have lots to do, though, so it's not all bad. He is already signed up for a 
Portuguese class at SLCC, to hopefully give him a little jump start on learning the language. We are starting to learn all we can about Brazil and the area he will serve in. It is hot (about 100 miles south of the Equator) humid, rains a lot and is pretty much a jungle. Belem is a large port city of over 2 million people. It is going to be a big change for Tom, but we know he will do fine. Everyone I got to tell at work was very excited for him, but all wanted to know how I felt about it. Because I am not 
LDS, I think people wonder how I can support this for my son. It's like anything else your child has an interest in or wants to try. As a parent, you support them no matter what and you do it with joy in your heart because being a mother or father is not about us! Whatever makes my children happy, makes me happy, too!
The adventure began this past Wednesday, July 6th when Tom finally received his mission call in the mail. We were sure it was going to come a week before and when it didn't, there was frustration all around! So, Dave and David left that morning for North Carolina and the delimma was should we wait for them to return.... or should Tom go ahead and open the letter?! It was an agonizing decision, but in the end, Dave told Tom he couldn't make him wait anymore and told him to go ahead and open it. I put together a quick, impomptu party and we called and sent texts out to everyone who we thought might want to share the moment with Tom. Joan and Jeff Watkins were the first to arrive, our dearest friends who have supported us every step of the way. 
We also had Steve and Josh Brower, Grandma Marta, Andy Nielsen, Landon Lambert, Andrew Feller and Bishop Bert Wonnacott. Everyone made their guess as to where they thought he would go and we put it on a big map of the world. Jeff, Tricia and Clark all guessed Brazil! We got Dave and David on speaker phone and had Tom open the call. He read the letter out loud and when he got to the part about being called to the Brazil, Belem Mission, everyone let out a big cheer and Tom had a huge smile on his face! I was greatly relieved that he was happy and was getting to go on a foreign mission. He'll learn Portuguese and will report to the Brazil MTC on December 14th.... quite a ways out. We have lots to do, though, so it's not all bad. He is already signed up for a 
Portuguese class at SLCC, to hopefully give him a little jump start on learning the language. We are starting to learn all we can about Brazil and the area he will serve in. It is hot (about 100 miles south of the Equator) humid, rains a lot and is pretty much a jungle. Belem is a large port city of over 2 million people. It is going to be a big change for Tom, but we know he will do fine. Everyone I got to tell at work was very excited for him, but all wanted to know how I felt about it. Because I am not 
LDS, I think people wonder how I can support this for my son. It's like anything else your child has an interest in or wants to try. As a parent, you support them no matter what and you do it with joy in your heart because being a mother or father is not about us! Whatever makes my children happy, makes me happy, too!
