My son, Jared, was called and accepted the call, to serve as a missionary in the Argentina Rosario Mission of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. This was an exciting time for all of us as we prepared Jared for his mission.
Jared graduated from Camden (New York) High School in June of 1999. He attended Seminary for 4 years, despite the fact that he was the only student for 2 of those years! When asked what he wanted to do with his life, he would state he wanted to serve a 2 year mission, then come home and go to college. He plans to attend either Brigham Young University or Southern Virginia College!
Jared earned his Eagle Scout Award just prior to his 18th birthday. He worked hard getting the project together, despite setbacks and the fact that he had such a short time to plan and accomplish his project. But, he managed it. The next day we took him to the American Legion where he attended Boys' State. This was also quite an honor for him. Then, after school started, we received notification that he had been nominated to the National Honor Society! This was quite a year for Jared.
I had never anticipated that any of my children would serve a mission for the Church, considering that my husband is a non-member and had stated many times over the years that the children would attend college after high school. Whenever any of the kids mentioned missions, my husband would state that they could serve missions at their own expense, after college. But, as Jared began expressing an interest in serving a mission, his father's heart was softened to the point that he never disagreed with the idea.
In June Jared began getting everything ready to apply for his mission. We got the physical, dental visits, and interviews. It was amazing to me how everything fell into place. For example, our dentist is booked up more than 6 months in advance, so we set up an appointment and asked for Jared to be placed on the waiting list. A week later we were called with an opening that same day! In July Jared attended a Stake Priesthood meeting, and after the meeting he approached the Stake President and asked him when he could schedule his interview. The Stake President took him aside and interviewed him on the spot. During the interview, the Stake Clerk took care of the paperwork, and the next day the papers were mailed out.
It took about a month for the call to come. It was an exciting day for us to watch Jared open the packet and read the letter from the First Presidency telling us where he was called to serve. Then began the hard work. No one had ever told me it was so expensive to get a young man ready to serve a mission!
Getting Jared ready for his mission is a learning process for us all. We have lists of everything that he is supposed to need. We have lists of things we have to do: like getting his passport, and the various forms needed to apply for the visa.
In September 1999 Jared planned his trip to the Toronto Temple. He asked his best friend and High Priest's Group Leader to be his escort and our Bishop to accompany him. Then, he bullied me (the mom) to come on the trip, as well. It was a wonderful excursion and Jared learned quite a lot in the Temple.
Jared left us on 4 Nov 1999, to spend the next two weeks visiting friends and relatives before he reported to the MTC. He did a lot of flying: to Phoenix, Los Angeles, back to Phoenix, and then to Albuequerque. He was escorted to the MTC by his ex-Scout leader on 17 Nov 1999.
Jared left the MTC on January 17, 2000, and served about 9 days in the California Arcadia Mission while waiting for his visa to come through. Then, on January 26 he left California for Argentina.
Letters home took about 10 days. Jared's first companion was Elder Kinsley of Tampa, Florida. The only complaint he wrote home about was not being able to understand the accents. They were supposed to make 100 contacts a week, mostly street contacts. He said that his main problem was sunburn and blisters. Life can't be too bad there, as there is a Burger King available! :)
Jared returned home from his mission on November 7, 2001.
In June 2002 Jared began his college career by attending Brigham Young University for the summer session.
I began searching the internet for websites that would help me gather what information I could on the mission and on missionaries in general. I found many sites that are quite helpful. You can find links to most of the sites that I've found on my Links page. Also, there is an email list just for Missionary Mom's (and a few Dad's as well). You can join this list by going to The LDS Missionary Mother's Homepage. There is a general email list, and email lists for specific areas.
Jared with his mission president, President Pino and wife, the day he arrived at the Argentina Rosario Mission. 28 JAN 2000
Jared and a portable baptismal font.
Jared's 20th birthday, celebrated with the Giate family.
Jared and Marcelo after his baptism