Christian has been faithfully preparing for his mission for many years. He has always attended seminary, read the Book of Mormon and learned the scriptures, saved nearly all of his hard-earned money, and attended the missionary prep classes twice now. I am so proud of all his work and his desires to serve Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ.
Christian decided that his 18th birthday would be his availability date. He is one of the youngest kids in his class, and his birthday isn't until late July. We thought he would have to wait a bit longer, but the Church just recently announced that potential missionaries could turn in their mission paperwork 150 days before their availability date. As soon as Christian heard this, he immediately began working on them so that he could turn them in on the first day possible (February 23rd). He filled them all out by himself, and I helped by scheduling a dentist and doctor appointment.
On his paperwork, he put that he: wanted to go foreign, would do well learning a language, would graduate from Seminary, did well in school, had no medical issues, and had some experience with the Portuguese language. The paperwork also asked him to include all of the missions that parents and grandparents had served, which ended up being a fairly long list. After interviews with the Bishop and Stake President, he was ready to submit. We left for Florida for his Senior Trip, and the Stake President promised us he would submit them on Friday morning, the first day he could. Christian checked from Universal Studios, and President Holman was good to his word.
Then came two weeks of anxiously waiting. Right now mission calls are consistently coming about two weeks after submission, but we also looked up some hacks to more accurately predict when it would come. Apparently, you go to https://mail.missionary.org and log-in using your church id. If they have created an email address for you, your call should come the following Tuesday. At two weeks, Christian logged in, and sure enough, his missionary email had been created. The status had also changed from "Awaiting Assignment" to "Assigned." We were really excited because my parents were still in SLC doing their mission training, so they could come down for the opening. We invited friends and family to participate in an online game to guess where Christian would go. We even offered the winner a $25 gift card! People put guesses all over the United States and the world!
On Tuesday, I got a text around noon from Christian saying that he had gotten the text saying his call was ready. Unfortunately, Christian had to work that day, so he wouldn't be able to open it until 9:30 pm. Christian was willing to go absolutely anywhere, but he was a little worried that if he opened his call to Evanston, WY South (RM fans IYKYK) or somewhere similar, that people might be a little disappointed. He also isn't very expressive, so he doesn't give the best reactions. For these reason, he was hesitant to invite people over or do a facebook live. We convinced him that everyone was fully supportive of him no matter where he was called to serve, so he finally consented. To be fair, I totally understand his perspective and would feel the same way, but it is different with just family, so I invited both sets of grandparents to come to our house for the opening, and the rest of the family would join us via Zoom.
While he worked, we spent a few antsy hours waiting for the big moment. I used my anxious energy to decorate and make treats for the night. Christian didn't care if we had decorations or not, but I thought it all turned out very festive.
Finally, the moment arrived. We got everything set up, and he started reading. As he got further into the letter, I could tell he was getting more and more nervous. Then, with a smile on his face, he read "You have been called to labor in the BRAZIL, JUIZ de FORA mission!" Everyone was thrilled, and we clapped and cheered! You could see the visible relief in Christian's face to finally know where he was going after all these months. I knew that he would gladly serve anywhere, but this just felt so perfect! He will be learning the Portuguese language and begin his mission service on August 26, 2024. His training will entail one week doing home MTC and then flying straight to the São Paulo MTC for the rest of his training.
After Christian finished reading the letter, we brought the mission up on the tv screen. Juiz de Fora is right next to Rio where we visited last year, and Grandpa Hill actually served in that city during his mission. Back then, the Rio mission covered a huge portion of Brazil, so he was all over the country. He said that when they first arrived in Juiz de Fora, they met in an old home that had been converted to a church, and no one showed up for church. By the time he left, they filled two benches. It was so cool to hear about the humble beginnings of Juiz de Fora, and now it is a full mission. Christian will be able to follow in his dad and grandpa's footsteps and be the third generation Brazilian missionary in the family.
We spent some time looking at the map (McKay won the game by guessing Brazil, Vitoria), googling pictures of the city, and eating cinnamon rolls and brownies. It was the happiest of days for our boy! Our family has felt a very special connection to Brazil for a while now, and this is just another tender mercy that has allowed Christian to further that. Now everyone but me will be fluent in Portuguese. I better work hard to up my game while he is gone!
He still has 5 more months to prepare, but it feels so good to have a plan and know a bit about what the future holds. I'm excited for the growth and spiritual experiences that await him!
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