The Path Leading to the Call to Serve

Just wanted to write and let you know what is going on in our lives. We have received a Mission Call to serve in the Montevideo, Uruguay Mission as Office Specialists or as the Mission President directs. We are scheduled to report to the Provo MTC on June 29th!!! You are probably say something like they can't go they are too young or their not retired how can they go or, what are they thinking!!?? It all started in late January, I awoke on a Saturday morning with a very strong feeling or thought that "if I loose my job (due to the economy) that Janice and I should serve a mission"! It was very strong and distinct feeling that I could not ignore. I told Janice about the thought and asked her opinion and whether we could do it financially (she handles the money). She was supportive and said we could do it depending on where we were called to go. We then spoke with our Stake President and Bishop and they were both very supportive of the idea. That next week I approached my boss and the owner of the company I worked for and asked them if there was a possibility that I would be laid off. They indicated that they were frantically bidding on projects but that I should start looking for a new job because the construction market was slowing way down. I told them the Janice and I were going to take the next 2 years and serve a mission for our church and asked them if they had a opening when we came back if they would hire me again. They indicated that they would. We proceeded with filling out and submitting our mission papers on March 6th. We received the call to go on April 4th. The wait to get the call was an emotional up and down as we would go to the mail box expecting it to be there and it wasn't. Then doing it again and again. I was laid off from work on March 20th and have been using the time to prepare to go to Uruguay for 23 months. We are trying to learn Spanish and hope to get into the MTC early (in May) to learn the language. Taylor Stoneback and Tim are going to move into our home while we are gone. We will be able to call and Skype our children while we are gone. Christina announced 2 days after we had submitted our papers that she is going to have another baby (due in October). She made sure that our papers were in so we would not back out. That has been hard on Janice to know that her baby is going to be having a baby and she will not be there to help. The Lord has opened the path and everything is aligning like we are meant to go on a mission. We are taking a HUGE step on faith and hope that all we be taken care of while we are gone and the I will be able to find a job when I return. We are excited about serving in Uruguay the more we learn about the country and the people. We will miss our friends and neighbors and family while we are gone!