Paul Gets the Call

Megan's baby brother, Paul, has been called to serve in the Ghana Accra Mission (the same Ghana that eliminated the lackluster Americans from the World Cup--double drat). Meg's sister, Sara, conferenced us in while Paul held his press conference from Sherwood; I recorded the call (without anyones permission--please, no one sue me; perhaps the best part of the call is the side-banter between Michael and Meg), so we can all relive the excitement over and over again. Technically, Meg won the guessing game of where Paul would be sent, although Aaron provided the inspiration and Michael provided the names of countries in Africa where the church sends missionaries (remember, I won a national geography award in 7th grade--thanks Witt and Painter). I think it surprised most of us, because the previous three Booren siblings had all served in the US, so we figured Paul would, too.

This of course reminded me of my experience opening the big letter from the Office of the First Presidency, nearly 12 years ago (Jamin's 14th birthday, to be exact). If I remember correctly, I patiently waited until everyone living at home was around, and I carefully opened the envelope; Mom was telling me to open it up ASAP, but I stuck to my routine of running after Schreiner's and before dinner, so Dad could come home first. I really did think Japan was my only destination, because that is where I least wanted to go--but today I can't think of going anywhere else; it was the right place to go. So it really wasn't a surprise to see the destination; it was just a question of, "Where the heck is Okayama?"

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