February 20, 2013
Today was the day that Kate's call came in the mail.
Katie has wanted to serve a mission for as long as she can remember, and having all her application materials and interviews completed, her papers were submitted the second week of February.
Her "call" arrived in the mail on Wednesday, the 20 of February, 2013.
Kate lives in an apartment near campus, and was in class at Brigham Young University when her dad let her know the large white envelope had arrived.
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| It was prominently displayed on the counter for her to find when she came home.
She knew the family wouldn't be able to get together until after everyone got off work, so she patiently went to the rest of her classes for the day and came home around 5 to pick up her envelope. Most people open the letter in the presence of family and friends, but Kate had another plan. Unbeknownst to us until recently, she has always planned to take it up one of her favorite mountains an open it alone. Since the snow was fairly deep at this time, she chose instead to go to one of her beloved waterfalls up Provo Canyon . . . one kind of hidden away where she could be alone. She was able to walk though pristine snow to her special spot. There she learned what the Lord had in store for her. Eventually she called to say she was ready to come back home and learning everyone had arrived (Joe, Lindsey & family, Grandma & Grandpa, Jesse & Tara and family) she returned.
We were all so excited we could hardly stand it. She walked to the family room and read us the opening paragraph.
"Dear Sister Lewis, You are hereby called to serve as a missionary of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. You are assigned to labor in the
Alpine German-Speaking Mission." This mission includes Southern Germany, Austria, Liechtenstein, and German-Speaking Switzerland!
I love these pictures of Lindsey and Kate right after she read her announcement. I am so
grateful that they are sisters who love each other so much. The photo may be blurry but it captures such a special moment that is very dear to me. 
Then of course it is time to get on the phone and start calling family.
Friends would have to wait,
since after our celebratory dinner she was headed back to her apartment for another party to share the news with friends.
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| We were all thrilled with her call. But as Katie told us, when she got to her waterfall and opened the envelope and saw the baptism picture she was overcome with not only gratitude that she had been called on a mission, but also a sure knowledge that it didn't matter where she would serve because she KNEW she would be on an errand for her Heavenly Father and serving His children and teaching about Him and His Son. As for me, I'm thrilled. My mom and dad, with my older brother, immigrated to America from Switzerland in 1952 just a few months before my birth. No other family ever came to this country so many of my living relatives live in Switzerland and that is the land of almost all my ancestry. I'm happy for her to learn the language and strengthen the thread of continuity to my Haggenmacher-Grob heritage. As for Katie, she's been fortunate to spend the last two summers working as a guide for ALPENWILD, a Provo based tour company specializing in taking small groups on hikes through the Swiss Alps. Since almost all her tours were made up of Americans, she hasn't had an opportunity to learn German so that will be all new for her. She probably won't spend as much time in the 18 months at those high elevations either, but I'm guessing she will be elevated to news highs of spirituality! |
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| Summer 2012 on the Haute Route |
