Our Missionary

*Note the change made below - what I mistakenly wrote as Jerusalem, was an error of my too excited brain, and should actually be: Bethlehem.

I woke up this morning to BigBuddy looking out the window. "Look, Mom! They're on our side of the creek." Not one, but two, beautiful does enjoying the green grass and the water. It's going to be a good day, we both agreed.
Around 1:15 pm I checked the mail box. It's Here!!! I texted him at work, then found Cowgirl's work number, grabbed my camera, and called Mike, who had just called me. About ten minutes later, Mike was home, I was dialing my cell phone, and Bigbuddy drove into the driveway, got the keys, and went to the mailbox. LittleBuddy was with him.

It's HERE!!!
As he's opening it up, he's so excited, the envelope gets pretty ripped.

Cowgirls on the phone by his ear, as he reads out loud the words,

"going to Brazil Belem, entering the Brazilian MTC on Dec. 14, 2011."
He talks to Shaena and is so thrilled. Tears are in both our eyes. MyGirl is running around exclaiming, "I can't believe I was right. I said he'd go to Brazil. I just can't believe I was right." My dad had predicted the same thing. He then called his grandparents, his best friend back in Maryland, and texted our bishop and his favorite friend that is a girl. He really felt speechless. Happy, overjoyed, and humbled.

He is going to be a missionary! What a tremendous privilege! To be called to represent the Lord Jesus Christ, and bring His message to others is a great joy and opportunity not given to everyone. In fact, the third paragraph of his letter says, "You have been recommended as one worthy to represent the Lord as a minister of the restored gospel." To hold oneself to this standard is not for everyone, but the blessings are great for those choose to do so, and I am very excited for the blessings that await him as a missionary. He has a new language to learn and we have a lot of things to buy and prepare, but he has his VISA, he has his CALL, and he is Willing to Serve!

So, in the past two and a half hours, this is what I have learned about Belem from the internet, either through Wikipedia or letters written by missionaries that have been posted, or by the girl from our stake who just returned from there a couple of weeks ago and spoke in our ward.

The city is named after *Bethlehem, where the Savior was born, and also after the city of Belem, in Portugal. Cowgirl gets credit there for dreaming he was going to be serving in Portugal - very close - speaking the same language, and named for a city there.

It has almost 2 million people that live there, and lately has had a large influx of skyscraper building. It is located on the 5th degree latitude from the Equator, so is considered a tropical climate and has no dry season. Belem is on the estuary of the Amazon River, that spills into the Atlantic Ocean. The mission itself takes the northern border of Brazil and goes halfway into the rainforest.

There is a big disparity between the wealthy and the poor, and the missionaries for the most part live poor, as in no warm showers for two years. The language in that area is known for being the most difficult to understand due to their extremely fast speed, slang, and accent. My boy will be calling upon the Lord regularly, I'm sure, for help. He and I had a good talk last night. When you love the Lord and trust him, it doesn't matter where you're called or what language you're speaking, "And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose." (Romans 8:28)

He loves the Lord. He will love the Brazilian people. He will probably like all the food except for the cowtail soup, which the sister missionary said was chewy, and not very appetizing. He will serve with his heart, mind, and strength, and share his testimony of Jesus Christ.

I know there will be challenges and I know there will be trials, but I am thrilled he has this opportunity. I will now be developing a new love for all things Brazilian. This will be a wonderful experience for our whole family to share, as we do what we can to support him. Part of our faith is to know that we are sending him farther than we can drive if things go bad, and trusting that the Lord will provide what is needed. I shed tears of joy after his call, feeling the same emotion I did when he was born - what a privilege it is to be a mother and to now be the mother of a missionary. I will cherish this day always, for the opportunity it presents!