Called to Serve Him

I am beaming with pride as a big sister! My little brother (who is actually much bigger than me) received his mission call last night!

New York, New York South Mission- Spanish Speaking !

For anyone who knows my little bro, you know that when he was younger he was a royal pain in the rear- even moreso than other little boys are to their 2 older sisters! But I've been so impressed with him as he's grown up into a man...which is really weird for me to say!

He has really made the decision to serve a mission all on his own and not been pushed into it or "expected" to go. When I think about the other youth from my home ward, even over the years since I was still at home, very few have served missions and a lot are inactive. But David and his friends all decided a couple years ago about the path they wanted to take and they're all going to be leaving on missions around the same time. In fact his best friend got his mission call yesterday too (to Eugene, OR) and reports to the MTC a week after David! It hasn't been the easist road for him to take and he's had challenges to overcome and the criticism of those who don't understand why he would PAY money to go give up two years of his life, but he's held his head high and worked through those things and stuck to his commitment to himself.

I remember a day when I stopped by my parents house on a weekday around 4:00 in the afternoon after school got out and no one else was home except my brother and one of his friends who were sitting in the living room reading the Book of Mormon together until they had to leave to go to work. I was quite taken back and really impressed to see two teenage boys spending the afternoon studying the gospel.

David has worked hard the last few years at QT (the convenience store) and has saved enough to pay for his whole mission on his own and even some extra to buy some of the things he'll need to go out. No offense to my little bro, but 5 years ago I would have bet you money that he would never hold a job- let alone be Employee of the Month and get recognized for going above and beyond on a regular basis.

I know he's going to be an awesome missionary because he has a strong testimony that the restored gospel of Jesus Christ is true and wants to share that knowledge with others so that it can bless them in their lives.

I know that you don't hear me say it enough, but I really do love you Dave!