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!