So Very Far Away

The long awaited day has finally come! Stachelbeere's mission call finally came. It actually came last Friday but his Mom, sister and brother were away at youth conference and really wanted to be there when he opened it. So he was kind enough to wait until Saturday when they got back. So we packed everyone up and headed to Perkins for a celebratory dinner. Blaubeere and her whole family came over and went with us. And his sister, Heidelbeere, had said she wanted to be on the phone when he opened it so we got her on the cell phone, on speaker phone, and then he opened it. We tried to get Erdbeere on the other phone but he was too quick. This was like waiting to hear the winner of a big contest announced; "and now the winner and luck country that gets to have Elder Stachelbeere serve for two years is . . . . . . " The Marshall Islands! Wow! Everyone's first reaction was, "where's that?" Fortunately the call came with a map that showed where it was. Its out in the middle of no where, out in the ocean; longer than wide by far. There are some spots where you can stand on one shore and throw a rock clear across the island into the ocean. The highest point on any of the islands that make up this small country is 30 feet above sea level. Pray there are no tsunamis there for the next few years. He won't enter the MTC until in October so he can get all his shots and papers lined up. Wow - Marshall Islands. Every body had their guesses in but nobody guessed Marshall Islands.

Opening the letter - the moment we've all been waiting for!