The Call..

This story began about March 30th 2006. I arrived home from the Air-port to see my friend, Elizabeth leave for your mission to California. When I arrived home I had to quickly leave for a Baskteball game. I ran out the door and saw the postman delivering our mail, I saw he had a large 'Express Post' envelope and rather than stand there and watch him struggle to put it in the letter box, I ran up to him and he handed it to me. To my horror I read: Sister Ellen J. Carmichael on the front. WHOOOOOAAAAA! This is my mission call I thought. So I ran in side, and gave it to Laura and said 'Laura I think i just got my mission call' she said 'WHAT' - so I repeated 'I think I just got my mission call... but I can't open it, I have to go to basketball...' and then i ran out the door... wondering if what i gave her would still be intact when i arrived home. The game of basketball lasted for what seemed like hours and hours... I then ran home (actually I drove home) and entered the house with Laura standing there trying to peak through the envelope. Nan and Pop hand randomly stopped in for a visit and I remember Pop telling me to 'just open it and tell us where your goin'. I didn't open it. I wanted to wait for the others. So Laura called Dad, and I called Mum and Hannah (who took forever to get flammin home). When everyone got home I then sat in the lounge room and opened the envelope...........

BUT, before I did..... We guessed different places as to where I might go. Nan said it might be somewhere exciting, or it could be Australia. Pop just said it had an 'a' in it. Laura suggest London, or Japan. Mark said Japan. Mum said she didn't know. I had no clue, I just said I wanted to go somewhere where they speak english and it's not to cold (or something to that effect)... 

So then it was TIME... to OPEN to letter.. and READ what it said.. a letter from the PROPHET.. WOW - that is COOL.... I slowly opened the envelope. I wasn't sure what I would be reading, or where to read... I opened it up and read aloud:

Dear Sister Carmichael:

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 Finland Helsinki Mission. It is anticpated that you will serve for a period of 18 months.

I remember when I read the words Finland Helsinki - I didn't know how to say Helsinki... I also remember reading faster in my head than outloud and when i looked at those words I also said aloud 'WHAT THE HECK'... and then I remember reading the following....

You should report to the Missionary Training Center at Prove, Utah on Tuesday, 13 June 2006. You will prepare to teach the gospel in the Finnish language. 

At this point, I stood up and started to cry and I said 'I have to learn Finnish'... and at somepoint i remember saying, I didn't even know there was a place called Finland...

We then tried to find a map and and find out where the heck it was - Mum said it was somewhere near Russia - 'where's Russia' I asked.... We jumped on the internet, typed in Finland and all gathered our thoughts of 'Where the hell is this place and what the heck just happened???

We looked at the booklet they gave us, had a look and read about my Mission President and his wife and then just let it all sink it..