Josh gets his Mission Call

Rusty was trying to decide if he should drive home on Labor Day, or if he should stick around another day in case Josh’s mission call came on Tuesday.  We asked Bishop Cook to check the missionary portal, and it said that, despite Josh having his stake president interview almost 2 weeks ago, that his papers had only been fully submitted with SLC for about 4 days.  He told us it would be very unlikely for Josh to get his call so soon.  Rusty loaded up the truck and the dog and hit the road.  And it was a looooong 11 hour drive home.  Traffic + charging was not a great combination.  

Fast forward to Tuesday afternoon.  I was getting a drink at Sonic with Liv when Josh called.  “Mom—have you checked your texts?”  This is what I see….

I’ll forever chuckle at his mission call getting a “BAD NEWS.” Darn that timing!! I knew this was going to happen!

He was FREAKING out.  It was adorable.  “What should I do, I don’t know what to do, oh my gosh, I can’t believe it!  I think I’ll just open it right now, should I open it right now?”  

Me: “JOSHUA BANKS, don’t you dare open it right now.  Take a second and breathe!” 

Josh: sees childhood friend: “NATHAN BIRD?!? You are kidding me!  I just got my mission call!”  

Me: “Josh, give me time to get home and talk to Dad and then I’ll call you back and we can all decided together the best time to open.”

Josh: “Ok—but hurry.  I don’t know if I can wait.”

Rusty and I talked, debated about flying out that night to be with him when he opened it, called Halle to talk through her schedule, and ultimately decided that we would open it as a family that night (10PM—thanks college life!) and then Rusty, Blake and I would fly back out on Friday and we’d do a big friends and family reveal then.  

We all waited anxiously till 10PM.  We all jumped on FaceTime as he was walking to the bus stop.  He decided he wanted to open the call at the Provo City Center Temple.  Well, he missed the bus.  He said that one would come in about 15 more min.  I could not wait that long and told him to call and Uber. We all stared at the Uber ceiling as Josh rode to the temple. He found a quiet spot and finally we were ready.  I don’t know that I’ve ever had such knots in my stomach!  He opened it, read the responsibilities and blessings of being a missionary and then there it was: Washington DC North, speaking Mandarin Chinese.  He was BLOWN AWAY.  I’ll never forget the look on his cute face.  He had such light in his eyes and he was so, so excited.  Halle was pretty surprised too!  I think this is going to be so perfect for Josh.  He’ll have both city and suburbs, and get to meet every kind of person from really poor and struggling, to affluent politicians.  He was shocked about speaking Mandarin, which surprised me—I thought it was pretty likely, given his (very limited) HS background.  It was such a sacred and special moment to share as a family, and I’m so glad we did it this way.  I get tears in my eyes every time I think about it.  

Josh was so amped up that he decided to jog back to campus after we all hung up.  And then sometime between 11:30pm and 8am the next morning, he found a Mandarin 101 class.  8am, 5 days a week.  We all know how Josh feels about the morning hours, so this is a pretty big commitment.  I am so proud of Josh. This is a big deal and I know he’s going to learn and grow so much.  Jan 26th is going to be here before we know it!  

I FINALLY got my hug!!

The friends and family reveal in Utah was so much fun. Our family was sworn to secrecy until after the reveal.  We got pizzas for his friends, and my mom made 2 kinds of delicious Rice Krispie treats.  We all went over to Provo and met in the Rec room of his dorm hall, Heritage 14.  There were a TON of people there!  My mom and dad, Landon and Jhena and the boys, Nat and Jack drove down from SLC (Michael, Leo and Simon were away at a mountain bike race).  Cory and Carson came.  We had a good representation from the Colorado Crew, and then lots of new BYU friends.  There were even two friends from FSY a few years ago when Josh and Blake went to Moab

We had planned to use Instagram Live, but apparently the rules had recently changed—neither Josh nor I had a big enough following to utilize it.  So, we pivoted to Zoom at the last second.  And in so doing, forgot to record.  I was sick to my stomach when I realized this fun moment had been missed. I’ll just have to sear it in my brain.  Mission calls at BYU are so fun because everyone is so excited.  There was cheering and clapping and it was so loud that it scared Finn to death and he started crying.  But not for too long.  He said, “I’m going on a mission too!” And I said, “Like Josh?”  He said, “No!  Like Darth Vader!!”  

I made my poor mom and dad wait—I gave them no hints at all. But I knew they’d be glad to hear it from him and see how excited he was.  And it did not disappoint.  SO MUCH FUN.  

We chatted with friends new and old, and took a million pics.  The pizza was gobbled down in no time and Josh and I were starving!  So we loaded up the van and went to Guru’s.  It was so delicious!  And fun to get to hang out with the family and prolong the celebration.  

Blake, Rusty and I came back to Provo the next night for the BYU football game.  Live sports are so awesome, and that crowd cannot be beat. The fans are rabid.  Blake and I tried to learn the fight song, and of course, we ate a Cougar Tail.  I give it a “meh.” After the game came the sad part—we had to say our real goodbye to Josh.  When we left him at the dorms, we knew we’d be seeing him in a week or two.  But this time we don’t know when we’ll see him again!  We gave some tight squeezes outside the stadium and sent our little missionary/college boy on his way.  

That’s a LOT for a mama heart to handle in not very many days.  Starting College and a mission call.  How is this happening?  I’d like my tiny blonde, hilarious, wise beyond his years toddler back, please.