It's Starting - October 14-19, 2017

Nick was asked to speak in church on October 15 as a sort of mission farewell talk. We only had a weeks notice so no time to get family from out of town here. And he still didn't officially have a call. We kept asking our Bishop and Stake Leaders what was taking so long! Finally on Saturday October 14, he received his call in the mail. The mission call for a young church service missionary is different from traditional mission calls. (What about this process hasn't been different?!?) The missionary already knows the assignment when they open it, and it's assigned from the Stake President instead of from SLC. Still a very exciting day and it made things seem very real all of a sudden!

Nick gave a great talk in church. So many people told us how touched they were by the spirit he has and by his testimony, and by the fact that he spoke without using any notes! The Bishop and Stake President came over that night to set him apart as a missionary and representative of Jesus Christ and His Church. That's always a powerful spiritual experience. And one advantage of having a service missionary is that Mom got to put his missionary name tag on him for the first time!

Nick with President Hansen and Bishop Tomlinson

Nick before he left for Midwest Food Bank on Monday, October 16

Nick left our house to serve at Midwest Food Bank on Monday morning, and....was told that the assignment had fallen through. He spoke with his mission leaders, Elder and Sister Packard and Elder and Sister Pugmire, and they started looking for another assignment.

On Thursday, October 19 Nick was able to do his first real work as a missionary. He went to the Chandler Records Operations Center and worked on old immigration files to get them ready for indexing. And when he came home, he had a surprise. His door was decorated to celebrate his missionary service. We love him!

Mission Conference-September 16, 2017

How many missionaries get to attend a mission conference before they even receive their mission call? And how many missionaries get to be in their mission picture too? The Pugmires called and invited Nick to attend a combined conference for the AYCSM and the Arizona Tempe Mission. Elder Rasband was supposed to speak, but at the last minute he was called away to assist the saints after the hurricane and flooding in Texas. So Elder Clayton of the Presidency of the Seventy took his place. Nick is in the back row towards the left. See that shiny tag he's wearing? No it's not his mission tag, yet. It's just a "Hello My Name Is...." tag.

Change of Plans - July - September 5, 2017

Like many Latter-Day Saint young men, Nick spent much of his life planning on serving a proselyting mission for our church. We always knew that it might be a struggle due to his high-functioning autism. He started paperwork and evaluations in March 2017 and finally submitted his paperwork in June. The Bishop of our ward had many conversations with the Missionary Department in Salt Lake regarding Nick. But at the end of July we met with our Stake President and Bishop and were told that due to Nick's autism, he was honorably excused from serving a traditional two year proselyting mission. Of course changes in plans are disappointing. But Nick's father and I are super proud of Nick for being willing and worthy to serve. That's all the Lord asks of anyone, and it's a huge blessing to have a son who wants to serve a mission. Quickly our conversation turned to other options. There is a new mission group near us, the (AYCSM) Arizona Young Church Service Mission, where Nick could serve while living at home. There's also a new mission in Salt Lake City, The Salt Lake City Church Headquarters Mission, where Nick would live in Salt Lake and serve at various Church facilities in the area.

Our Stake President reached out to the Salt Lake City Headquarters mission and we submitted more paperwork about Nick to see if he would be able to serve there. We found out at the end of August that the mission leadership said they would consider him if he met the following requirements.
1. Work 20 or more hours weekly for at least 3 months at a local Deseret Industries coordinating closely with a DI job coach who will report to the mission regarding the missionary candidate's functional capabilities; and/or consult with ecclesiastical leaders for service opportunities as a YCSM (Young Church Service Missionary) within the ward or stake. Serve successfully for a minimum of 3 months as a YCSM.
2. Regularly attend and be an active member of a YSA ward.
3. Live the missionary lifestyle; i.e., rise and retire at the appropriate time, practice adult daily living skills, engage in the study of Preach My Gospel, FamilySearch, Adjusting to Missionary Life, and the scriptures.

4. Report regularly to the bishop and/or stake president concerning the full-time mission preparation experience.

So we submitted paperwork (again!) for Nick to serve in the AYCSM. We met with Elder and Sister Pugmire, the mission leaders. The AYCSM is a flexible pilot program for the Church. It is unique in that instead of only serving for Church Operations like young church service missionaries do in Utah, missionaries serve with community organizations as well Church Operations. The missionaries actually interview at their potential service sites before they even receive their mission calls. Nick interviewed with the Midwest Food Bank in Mesa and the church's Records Operation Center (ROC) in Chandler and we started waiting for his mission call.

In the meantime, Nick received his temple endowment on September 5 at the Gilbert Temple. It is a blessing as parents to see your children progress in faith. And it's exciting to see what their future holds!