I hope they call me on a mission!

In July of 2010, Debi and I sat down and made a list of 22 issues that we needed to resolve before we could go on a mission.  It is amazing, looking back now, 2 years later, how nearly all of them have been resolved.  I thought for my first post I would list these 22 items.  Perhaps, other people have a similar list, though not exactly the same.

1.     Is it safe to go out into the world given the current world conditions?
2.     When is the right time to apply for a mission?
3.     What will happen to my mother while we are gone?
4.     What about Debi's dad?
5.     What will happen to our home and yard?
6.     How will we pay for our "home"expenses?
7.     How will our children get along without us?
8.    What about our grandchildren (we have 28 with one on the way)?  We will miss births, baptisms, birthdays, sickness, school and sport activities--their hugs and kisses--how can we endure that?
9.     Are we really willing to go and serve wherever we are called?  Even if it is not the Hawaii Visitor Center?
10.    What will we do about health insurance?
11.     How will we pay for our mission expenses?
12.    What will happen to our cabin while we are gone?
13.    What will happen to our Marriott time-share units while we are gone?
14.     What will we do with our boat?
15.     What about our cars?
16.    What about my Mustang?  Should we sell it?
17.    Who will take care of the pool with Debi gone?
18.    Will we be able to exercise on our mission?  Can we swim?
19.    What will we do with our unsold lots and the debt associated with them?
20.    What will we do about the 9.5 million dollar lawsuit filed against Greg by the FDIC?
21.    What will we do about our businesses?
22.     Can Debi and I learn to work together in love and kindness so we can have the Spirit with us?  And can we live in close quarters and be happy?

Well, on March 15, 2012 we decided that enough of these issues were resolved, so we filled out the application and sent it off into cyber-space and soon we got a call from our Bishop and then our Stake President and on April 17, 2012 we both got a letter from President Thomas S. Monson calling us to be missionaries to serve in the Africa West Area located in Accra, Ghana.  We were told to report to the MTC in Provo on September 3, 2012.

So the adventure begins!