Rachel's mission call!

At 4:00 this afternoon (2:00 MST), we were in the process of chucking our couch off our second storey deck (for not the first time—that thing is sturdy) when Rachel suddenly exclaimed, "I got my mission call! My mission call is here! I have an email with my mission call in it! What do I do?! Guys! What do I do?!"

"Well, first I guess we'll finish pushing this couch off the deck that we have balanced on the railing and then you'll open your mission call."

Listen...

I have tried to give these couches away on multiple occasions on multiple platforms. No one wants them. They're a little scratched up (thanks, Waffles) and definitely not trendy. Our local Goodwill didn't want them. So they were destined for the landfill one way or another. 

We could have kept them to sit on for the next little while, but Andrew started this project with Miriam and Benjamin while I was in a meeting and by the time I came out they had already taken a saw and crowbar to it and were working on the first deck-chuck. So we were pretty committed to the destruction path at that point. 

He figures that this way we can sneak bits of the couch into the garbage can every week and save on the cost of disposing it. 

Anyway, we threw the couch off the balcony for the second time and then gathered around to watch Rachel open her mission call. She didn't want a big to-do about it (and even told me that if came while she was in Florida—she drove down to Florida for Corbin's mission farewell...he's off to Argentina soon—that she would just open it there and text me about it so I guess we're lucky it arrived the day after she got home from Florida), but we did take a minute to have everyone make a quick guess about where she might go.

Zoë: Tanzania or France

Alexander: Utah
Miriam: Berlin

Benjamin: Stockholm

Dad: Pennsylvania

Mom: Spanish Speaking or Canada

Phoebe: California

Phoebe was (h)annoyed* at being called inside to listen to Rachel open her boring mission call (you can hear her saying, "Are you almost finished so we can go back outside?" at around 18 seconds into the video). She had guessed California only because someone mentioned that Grandpa had mentioned and Arabic-speaking mission in California—that sounded like a fine guess to her! (Could we get a move on things already?)

Rachel has been studying Arabic at BYU, studied Spanish in high school, and marked down that she was willing to learn a foreign language and leave her home country (a surprising number of missionary applicants are not willing to do those things, I'm learning...). She didn't particularly want to serve a "local" mission, but had made her peace with it—I've had cousins who've served in Utah and Washington. Two of her roommates are going to Canada—one British Columbia, the other Manitoba. There's nothing wrong with local missions, but Rachel wanted a bit of an adventure (since the rest of us are heading off on an adventure without her).

And she'll be getting one! Here she is screaming about the location:

And here's a video of her reading her call (she read the preamble** to herself and only told us the location, which I'll put below the video in case you want to watch it and hear the news straight from Rachel's own mouth):

She was absolutely floored by her call.

She was happy and scared and excited and overwhelmed. 

She'll be headed to the Vietnam Hanoi mission in mid-September and will serve for 18 months. 

After everyone was recovered from the shock of Rachel's mission call—so far away, so soon, so exciting! We got ready to run to Target.

Benjamin has Young Men's camp this week and his shoes are...not adequate for romping around the woods, so we needed to get him some shoes rather quickly. 

Andrew suggested that on the way to Target, the big kids and I go out to eat at the new Vietnamese restaurant down the street...while he fed the little ones at home because they don't have refined palates (and he claims to not like Vietnamese food—he has the soapy Coriander gene). 

So that's what we did! Here's Rachel in front of Wonderpho:

We rarely go out to eat but managed to fumble our way through ordering. We mostly ate off the appetizer tray, sharing some spring rolls, egg rolls, and bánh mì (sandwiches), along with two "kid" bowls of pho. That was really plenty for us! 

The restaurant kindly brought out some small bowls so that we could more easily share the pho. Here's Miriam with a dish:

Zoë was having a hard time with her chopsticks...

...but she managed:

Rachel is a huge fan of barbecue sauce, so she rather liked the bánh mì (which I assume had plenty of hoisin sauce on it...which I just learned should also have been added to the pho broth—we had a huge bottle sitting at the table). Rachel and I were fans of all the sauces—the peanut sauce, whatever was on the bánh mì...all good.

Because it was a special occasion we even got dessert—coconut avocado ice cream! The avocado was much stronger than I was expecting, but it was good. Here in North America, we usually think of avocados as a savoury food, but many cultures categorize it as a dessert fruit. 

Zoë and I were excited to recognize the word "bơ" on the menu. We knew that meant avocado because we just happen to be reading A Two-Placed Heart by Doan Phuong Nguyen right now and while her nickname is "bơm" (apple, sounds like "pomme" because it's borrowed from French...there's a lot of French influence in Vietnam thanks to good ol' colonization, anywho...), her little sister's nickname is "bơ" (avocado, sounds like "buh").

Here's Zoë considering whether she liked it (she liked it better with the coconut cream mixed in):

And here's Benjamin and Miriam with their ice cream:

It was a good experience! Rachel will come back an expert in Vietnamese cuisine, I'm sure, and then she can help us confidently order off the menu the next time we go to a Vietnamese restaurant with her.

Now in addition to getting ready to move our family of seven to the other side of the world, we're also trying to prepare our freshly-minted adult daughter to an entirely different other side of the world! 

(none of this is remotely stressful; we're fine)

((please send help...or at least prayers))

Rachel is intrigued about this mission because proselytizing is technically illegal in Vietnam, except under very strict conditions. So she's excited to find out what she'll be doing there. 

She'll start out doing some home-based training at my mom's house (Josie and my mom are already planning on practicing some Vietnamese with her!) and then she'll move into the MTC for about six weeks before heading to Vietnam (if everything goes smoothly with her visa process). 

I think she'll miss recreational reading the most, but with such intense language training...perhaps she'll miss it less than I think she will. She's a little worried about the heat, but...we all are...so we've both been researching lightweight dresses to wear in either Qatar or Vietnam (dresses are much breezier than pants are).

She'll be on a bike, it seems—she was told she'll need to buy a helmet and bike lock when she's in-country. And she knows she'll need a good raincoat.

There's lots to do! One way or the other we'll get it all done.

(Good thing Alexander planned an FHE lesson to remind us all to put our shoulder to the wheel!)

* This was Zoë's clever pun about Rachel's mission call that she immediately came up with.

** You are hereby called to serve as a missionary of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

You have been recommended as one worthy to represent the Lord as a minister of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ. You will be an official representative of the Church. As such, you will be expected to honor the covenants you have made with Heavenly Father, keep the commandments, maintain the highest standards of conduct, and follow the righteous counsel of your mission president. As you devote your time and attention to serving the Lord, leaving behind all other personal affairs, you will be blessed with increased knowledge and testimony of Jesus Christ and his restored gospel.

Your purpose will be to invite others to come unto Christ by helping them receive the restored gospel through faith in Jesus Christ and His Atonement, repentance, baptism, receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost, and enduring to the end. As you serve with all your heart, might, mind, and strength, the Lord will lead you to those who will hear His message. They, too, can then have the opportunity to receive sacred ordinances and make covenants with Heavenly Father.

You are assigned to labour in the Vietnam Hanoi Mission and will prepare to preach the gospel in the Vietnamese language. You will begin your missionary training on Wednesday, September 16, 2026, after being set apart by your stake president. Please see the Missionary Portal for additional information on your training experience. It is anticipated that you will serve for a period of 18 months.

Our Heavenly Father will reward you for the goodness of your life. Greater blessings and more joy than you have yet experienced await you as you humbly and prayerfully serve the Lord in this labor of love among His children. We place our confidence in you and pray that they Lord will help you become an effective missionary.