After Grandpa Dickson passed away my parents realized that it was time to move away from Washington. Grandma was in a good place and my Aunt Sharon and Uncle Lynn were ready and available to move in and take over her care.
Instead of heading back to their home in Nauvoo they decided to leave the renters in that are already there and to head out on a mission. My sister Tracy invited them to come and live with them in their home in Grantsville. My brother-in-law is the Stake President there and was happy to get the ball rolling for them to get their mission call from there.
We loved having them around for the few months while they waited for their paperwork to all be complete and then for their call to come. They spent Thanksgiving and Christmas around the family here in Utah. Their call came on January 8th. We had most of the family either there in Grantsville or on conference calls to hear the news.
(I just love that they are taking a selfie to show everyone that their call came in the mail!)
They were called to serve in the Maryland Baltimore Mission as Member and Leadership Support (or MLS) Missionaries! They were to report to the MTC in Provo, Utah on February 16th 2015 and they will serve for 2 years. Here they are on the phone with family after they opened their call.
After they accepted their call their mission president called them. He asked if they would be willing to serve in the mission office instead of being MLS missionaries. My parents were thrilled for that opportunity and I think they looked forward to serving even more after that call.
It was so fun to get their first picture from the MTC! After having all of their kids send out the same picture in front of this map, now it was their turn. I have to admit that I got a bit teary eyes many times hearing about their experiences at the MTC. What a great thing for them to get to do!
Another fun thing happened while at the MTC. The second week they were there they kept running into these two fine people! My little sister Tera has her parents-in-law going on their mission as well. Here are Elder and Sister Blackham with my parents at the MTC before leaving on their mission to London England as MLS missionaries. We have the wonderful opportunity of living in the Blackham's home in Centerville while they are serving for the next year and a half. It's so fun for Tera's kids to have a picture of both sets of grandparents together in the MTC!
Saying our good-byes one last time after the MTC and before leaving for a cross-country drive. I am so grateful for such wonderful examples of love and service that they are to me and to my kids. The Maryland Baltimore Mission is lucky to have them! So are we!
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