Chris’ Mission–Mission Call

These last couple of weeks have been lame since Hub got home. It was so fun to have my own house while he was gone. The big news of the day is that I finally have my mission papers turned in. It has been tough, but they are finally in. I didn’t think I was ever going to make it. I have had so many delays, but hopefully I can get out there soon. My kidney tests finally came back negative, with no problems, after a blessing my Dad gave me. I feel so good about going on a mission now and I am so excited. It was the greatest feeling last night after I left my Stake Presidents interview. I stopped the car and prayed harder than I have ever prayed before. It felt really sweet.

Today was Ryan Mathers homecoming. He is such a stud and he did an awesome job. He has been working with me this week and it is sweet getting to know him again. Genene sang an awesome song called “His Hands”. I told everyone about my papers today and my Mom wrote down everybody’s guess on where I would go. There were a lot of guesses to Russia. That would be cool, but I probably won’t go there. I wrote letters to David and Darren today too.  August 6, 1992

Well, I finally got my mission call on August 17. It was a long process but I am finally there. I am going to the Lansing Michigan Mission, the same place my Dad served. I am kind of disappointed about not going to a foreign country, but this is probably the best place for me and I’m sure it is where I belong. I go into the MTC in just 6.5 weeks on October 7th and I will probably be in Michigan by November. I can’t believe it is finally here. I am so excited but also scared and worried in ways. It will be so hard to be away from my family and friends for two years. Especially during Christmas and stuff. I am listening to Christmas music right now, it is so rad. I had fun today hanging out with my family all day except for a couple of hours when I was at Hubs. Well, a mission will be hard but I know it is what I should be doing. My dad conferred upon me the Melchezidek Priesthood today and they announced my call in church. Everyone is really excited. I am too, I just hope I can be the best missionary ever. If I am going to do it, I might as well go all out.  August 23, 1992

Yesterday was a big day for me. I got my Patriarchal Blessing. Me and Mom and Dad and fasted all day and they went with me to get my blessing. Bro. Hirshi is the Stake Patriarch and he is awesome. He must be so in tune with the spirit to have the power he has. He gave me a great blessing, a guideline, that I am sure will help me throughout my life. It was such an awesome spiritual experience and it will even help me with my farewell talk because I remember a couple of things that he said that I want to say. I will get a copy of my blessing in about 1.5 weeks, hopefully before I go into the MTC. After my blessing, we headed down to Chin-Wah to relieve our fasting stomachs. It was great.

Today is another big day. I’m not working because we have our 40 hours. So I am hanging out in my Christmas sweatshirt listening to Christmas music. I love it and I will miss Christmas. After I write in my journal, I am going to work on my talk and then Dad and I will go shopping for shoes and garments. Then, I have to be at the temple today at 4:45 so I can go through and get my endowments. Genene is going through for her first time with me. It is going to be so awesome, I am sure. I can’t wait, but I am kind of nervous.  September 25, 1992

Wow! The temple is so many different things at once. It is spiritual, overwhelming, uplifting, weird, exciting, etc. It was a very good experience, though, and I will get used to it after a couple of visits. It was cool to be there with Genene and Clay, Darrell and Heidi, Ryann, Sherri, Grandma Johnson, Pat, and Grandma and Grandpa Polson. Dad was awesome the whole time. He walked and talked me through every step and helped me a lot. It was really neat the the spirit was very strong. After the temple, we all ate together at Johanna’s kitchen and it was fun.

Today has been a hectic day. I finished my talk, cleaned the yard, practiced my song, and cleaned the house. I hope we are all ready for my farewell tomorrow and I hope it goes good. My talk seems a little jumpy and it is quite long, but I will work through it. I’m sure I will do fine. I wonder who will be there tomorrow. I am excited, it should be a lot of fun.  September 26, 1992