Opening the Call

We thought you might enjoy watching Rusty open his mission call with the BIG hunting knife dad made for him. The knife was presented to him at the Val Vista Ward's "Enos Journey" for the priests, a spiritual journey in the mountains where the young men have an opportunity to experience a testimony-building experience alone in the woods, similar to Enos.

We wanted all of you to be here when he opened the call, but since that wasn't possible, we hope you enjoy listening as he reads the call he received from President Monson.

Called to Serve

On August 29th, Rusty received his call to serve in the Rome, Italy Mission!

He is so honored to be called as a missionary and is so excited to be travelling to Europe to teach the restored Gospel of Jesus Christ. He leaves November 19th for the MTC and will leave approximately January 19th for Italy.

We are now getting all the preparations complete to send him on his way. This week we purchased a new suit, a few shirts, etc. and he is working on the paperwork for his visa. He still needs to get an extra pair of glasses, complete the immunizations needed for overseas, and buy luggage.

He is excited to learn Italian and got a head start by taking a semester of Italian earlier this year. Hopefully he will continue to increase his vocabulary and begin reading the Book of Mormon before he leaves.


We've done a little research on the Rome area and find the climate to be mild -- it gets up to the low 90's in the summer and the winter is similar to Phoenix. The food, obviously, is supposed to be fabuloso -- and frankly, the food will most likely be a highlight of his mission, since his mother is not well-known for her cooking prowess.

We understand there has been property set aside (not sure if it's dedicated) for a temple in Italy. We also understand the work is slow -- and understandably so. It will be like trying to convert the LDS population in SLC to Judaism. But, the Lord loves and understands the people and blesses his faithful servants. Go Rusty!

Milestones

Kael lost his first baby tooth.

The first year ALL my children are in school full-time (sorry the photo is blurry). Notice it is still dark outside. This was right before Hana went to the bus stop to catch her 6:27am bus.

I am also in the process, in addition to working on building my business now that I have more time, re-starting my art pursuits. I can't express how much I want this, and now as I get closer to it, it is very exciting. The plan is to purchase some encaustic (beeswax-based paints) and supplies and self-teach for now, until I can afford to go to a workshop. This is going to be fun!

We're still trying to figure out where Rich is going to go to school, but feel it is the right thing for our family, and are determined to make it work *somehow*.