Sean Not John: Mission Call

I was called to serve in the Germany Munich Mission as a full-time missionary by President Ezra Taft Benson. I do not remember the exact day I received my call letter in the mail. However, the letter from President Benson is dated November 6, 1986.

At the time I received my call, I was at Brigham Young University (BYU) living in the Helaman Halls dorms on campus. I lived in Taylor Hall. On the afternoon I received my call, I stopped by the Cannon Center on my way back from class to check the mail. I had a note to check at the front desk for mail that was too large to fit in my campus mailbox. I knew it was my call.

The lady at the front desk had a bin at the desk filled with identical envelopes (my memory is around 25 - 30). They were all mission calls for people living in the dorms. She gave me my envelope. I went home to my room to open and read the letter.

I opened the letter and read it carefully. I was all by myself in my room. After reading the letter, I called two friends (Lisa Cunliffe and Cheresse Stoddard) who I had promised to be the first persons I told about my call. I then called my mom who was at work (kindergarten teacher at Holdaway Elementary School in Thayne Wyoming). The secretary at the Holdaway had to walk down the hall to get my mom from the classroom.

The next person I called was my sister Kris. Kris lived in Smoot Wyoming at the time and was an at home mom, so I knew she would be home. When she answered my call, he already knew about my mission call because my friend Lisa was roommates with Lorene Walton (also from Smoot), Lisa told Lorene who called her mother in Smoot, who called my sister Kris who lived down the street from her. (Lesson learned...news travels fast in rural Wyoming!)

I was set apart as a missionary on January 11, 1987. I entered the Missionary Training Center (MTC) in Provo Utah on January 14, 1987. I arrived in Munich Germany on March 17, 1987. I returned home on January 13, 1989. I was released as a missionary on January 14, 1989.

I am including a copy of my original mission call and a draft of my acceptance response letter as scanned images below.