DAVID'S MISSION CALL...

(Little did we know when we took this picture this past summer

that the Spokane temple would be part of David's future mission!)

Today was an exciting day for us as we opened the mailbox to find the envelope from the Office of the President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints....Yes, the valued big white envelope that every worthy young man waits anxiously for at the mailbox. Unfortunately at our house, we didn't know that everything had been totally completed with the Bishop and Stake President, so it was more of a shock that it had arrived because we weren't expecting it so soon! But it was a wonderful shock at that! Scott called David and showed him the envelope and then we woke up Steven from a much needed nap. It was pretty exciting to watch David open the envelope as the rest of us sat in the living room. We have a tradition in our family that when the "Elder" envelope gets opened we cover the letter so you can only see one line at a time. This prevents the missionary from seeing where they are going until they get to that line! Fortunately, it is usually the second line of the letter, after the opening. David was thrilled to find out that he will be serving the Lord in the Washington Spokane Mission, English speaking. He will report to the MTC in Provo, Utah on December 10th. As his mother, I have to admit that I really felt like he was going to go to Washington or Oregon, so I wasn't surprised when he said that. The fun part is that he will be serving in places that we just spent our last Allred Family Reunion visiting. He is now looking forward to all the things he needs to do to prepare for this wonderful experience that he will have serving the Savior. We are so excited for him. After opening the call David then shared the news by first calling Michael, Kim and Sage, then lots of other loved ones, relatives and friends. What a special day! We are so extremely grateful for David and his desire to serve the Lord.