Today was the day that reality set in. Dallin received his mission call! Am I really old enough to have a son leaving on a mission? I had been communicating with Dallin, asking if he had heard anything yet this morning. He replied saying he hadn't and that he wasn't really expecting to hear anything today due to the holiday on Monday. So a little deflated, that ended our conversation.
About a half hour later I received a voicemail from him. In a much chipper voice he informed me that the letter had arrived at his Mom's house. So just like that the anticipation was incredible. I think I was more nervous than Dallin and if I wasn't he sure hid it well. After several phone calls it was just a matter of waiting until 6:00 PM to go to his Mom's house to watch him open his letter. Dallin had a whole room full of Family and Friends anxiously awaiting the news contained inside that envelope.
Dallin read; "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 South Africa Johannesburg Mission." Everyone, unable to contain ourselves any longer, cheered at the news. Dallin calmly continued to read the letter aloud for us, but at this point he had a huge grin on his face for the remainder of the letter. "You should report to the South Africa MTC on Thursday, 14 May 2009. You will prepare to preach the gospel in the English language. Your mission president may modify your specific assignment according to the needs of the mission."
Needless to say I am very proud of Dallin and this amazing commitment he has taken on. I have no doubt he will grow immensely from this experience and will be a great example for the people of South Africa. Dallin will be missed here at home but we all know that he is doing what he should be doing.
I Love You Dallin! And I am very proud of you
