Midnight Madness

Dale Boren with Paul. Stephanie must have taken all the pictures because she is not in one.

Judy Talbot and Debra Oldroyd

Bob Gardner and Kent Talbot

Joan and Dale Wendt and Matt Stutz

Paul Oldroyd, Bob Gardner, and Eddie Cantrell

Called to Serve

At one point our mission departure seemed terribly distant, nearly theoretical. When the application was completed and sent, however, our hopes and plans of mission service took on the sweet trappings of reality. Our anticipation became palpable. On a daily basis we would check the mail in hopes that the “white envelope” would find its way to 206 Lake Ridge Rd. At one point we realized that we were participants in an LDS tradition--not scriptural in birth, but very much a part of the living lore of mission service. We had a brief moment of elation when a big, white envelope did indeed arrive. Our eyes raced to the upper left-hand corner to confirm the origin, but shoulders quickly drooped and voices sighed in harmony the disappointment we both shared. The return address was Pan American Life Insurance. Drama!

As we frequently read in our scriptures, “And so it came to pass,” the big, white envelope did indeed arrive on Friday, 25 September. We were giddy. The “mission discovery process” would begin with a quick invitation to all our friends in our Empty Nesters group. The scheduling issue became complicated because of the LDS Women’s Conference telecast. Judy Talbot suggested that we convene at midnight. Hum! And 12:00 midnight it was! Calls were made with nary a nester groan. We planned for light snacks., ever hoping that if we made them, they would come!

And come they did! From 11:30 until 12:00, there was a houseful of wonderful conversation. At a few moments before the opening, Susie and I took a seat by the Ben Franklin stove. Our blessing stool was in front of us and would serve as temporary home for a lot of cell phones. All this happened on 25 September as it became 26 September, with our dear friends nestled around us and our children listening from the blessing stool.

With a nervous flair, we opened the big white envelope, slid the contents out carefully covering the all important cover letter. I began reading way too fast, resulting in hootings and admonishments to slow down. We each received a letter written on Church stationary and signed by President Thomas S. Monson. We read the following:

Dear Elder Sexton on one letter and Dear Sister Sexton on the other:

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 Chile Viña del Mar Mission. Your primary assignment is to labor as an office specialist. It is anticipated that you will serve for a period of 18 months . . .