After Waiting Seven Weeks, Our Mission Call Finally Arrived!

The first of March, our Stake President, President Warner, took our letter from Dr. Reichman and our letter to the Bishop telling him we would like to resubmit our papers into the Missionary Department. We waited and waited for six weeks, and then Dick decided to call the Missionary Department. He talked to an older missionary (missionary couple), who told Dick that nothing had been done on our papers and that they hadn't received the letter from the Dr. releasing Dick from medical care to go on a mission.

Wow! We were both very frustrated, because we had been told that our Stake President had taken them in. After the major frustration, Dick called President Warner, who told him that he had, indeed, taken the papers into the Missionary Department. President Warner found out that the papers had been hung up in the medical department. They were concerned that it was over a year since we had had physicals, but Dick told them that both of us had had physicals in the past two months. They were satisfied, and cleared us the next day, Tuesday. On Wednesday, we were assigned, and on the following Monday, we got our call. Our dear mailman special delivered the letter in the morning.

So, are your wondering where we're going? Keep in mind that our availability date was June 1st and that because of my Raynaud's Disease, I had to go to a warmer climate.

WE HAVE BEEN CALLED TO THE NEW YORK, NEW YORK, NORTH MISSION, and we go into the MTC on May 10th. That's why all the odd expressions on my face in the following pictures. Grandpa Dalebout opened the letter and read it for us.

The letter was short and sweet, saying that they had changed our assignment from the Kinshasa Mission (Congo) to the New York New York North Mission. We were not even told what we would be doing there. After talking to the Mission President, we found out that we will be serving in the office, just like we would have done in the Congo. We will be replacing a couple who had to go home early because the Elder had a brain tumor. Is that weird or what?

The mission home is in Scarsdale, which is a nice area just north of New York City and the Bronx. But, it gets really cold there in the winter, and we have to leave in less than four weeks. I'm still shocked. But, after a year, we are happy to be knowing where we're going.

Billy came to visit over the Easter weekend. It's always fun to see him. He and Amy had a nice time together. Just think, in eleven days they will be getting married. Here is the only shot I got as they left for the airport.

A little over a month ago, Grandpa Dalebout came to us and told us he wanted to move out of his house and go to a retirement home. We all decided on Cove Point, which is close to us. He felt overwhelmed in his house with the yard work and housework, plus the loneliness he experienced. So, on Saturday morning during General Conference, a whole army of people came. We were all excited about his nice apartment.

We have loved his house for 35 years, and it's hard to see him leave. For the next week, we tried to make it nice in his apartment by hanging pictures and getting things squared away.

Last Saturday, he took a bad fall in the apartment and couldn't get up. He was on the floor for about ten hours, because he didn't have the strength to get himself up and into the office to a phone. We got a call from Bill (Dick's) brother about 8:00 a.m. Sunday telling us he had just talked to Dad and that he had fallen and hurt himself. So, we went down to see him. He had hit the wall with his head and put a long gouge in his arm, which needed 13 stitches. There was blood on the floor. It was sad. We told Dad to come and stay with us so we could help him. He has been with us for four days. He told us that he would like to go to Logan and stay in a retirement center near Bill, so that we can go on our mission. He has been so adamant that we go on a mission and not stay home because of him. He is a trooper. I think he is feeling better, but we're going to keep him here until he decides on a place he would like to live in Logan. This is really hard on him.

Our friend, Rick Soulier, had a 40-year anniversary party at Brick Oven with some of Rick's closest friends. The anniversary was celebrating his parents moving into the home Rick lives in. He had pictures of when it was being built and the street around it. We had a good time with good friends.

Rick is at the head of the table.

The wedding is coming up fast. All our kids will be here, and I am excited to see them. There are many things going on in our lives. Please pray for us over the next few weeks.