honduras.

once upon a time my little sister grew up.

see that white envelope right there? 

it's kind of a big deal.

kind of a really big deal.

from the day we latter-day saint children are small we begin singing,

 "i hope they call me on a mission, when i have grown a foot or two"

now, though jenn has been taller than me since day one, it has been so neat to watch her go through the process of deciding to go on a mission.

missions are really cool things. 

(click the link for more details)

latter-day saint youth dedicate a year and a half or two years of their lives to go and serve the people of wherever the Lord may call them. they take an eighteen month or two year break from phone calls, television, music, and regular life and spend each day sharing a message of good news with anyone and everyone they meet. 

whether or not you believe in God, whether or not you claim a religion, missions are awesome.

our missionaries and members serve by teaching english, helping people move, and showing love.

when one decides to go on a mission, you fill out papers and do the necessary work, and then you wait.

you wait for your call.

currently there are 

"52,000 missionaries are currently serving in 350 missions around the world. " (mormon.org)

and you can be called anywhere.

we believe, we know, it is an inspired decision, one that comes from God.

a white envelope comes to your door, and in that envelope you discover where you are going, when you leave, and what language you will speak.

that's why this white envelope is such a big deal!

before october 2012, boys usually went on missions at 19, and girls were allowed to go on missions at 21. jenn figured she had years to think about a mission!

in october 2012, our church leaders announced that boys could now go at 18 and girls at 19.

all of a sudden, jenn had a grand decision on her hands.

  deciding to dedicate a year and a half of her life to the lord should be taken seriously!

after much thought and discussion and prayer, jenn made the decision to go.

wow.

she filled out the papers and forms, and then she waited...

on january 25, that envelope arrived.

friends and family gathered to hear the exciting news!

thank heavens for technology...

the time came for her to open it.

there is a very specific way to open the envelope and flip it just right so you don't spoil where you are going too soon. 

and then she read, as all future missionaries do,

"Dear Sister Bodine, 

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 Honduras Tegucigalpa Mission. Reporting to the 

Guatemala Missionary Training Center on Wednesday, June 12, 2013...."

(please note the AWESOME facial expressions in all following photos)

 as soon as she read HONDURAS we all screamed because, of course, that is where anj had guessed she was going! and honduras is just a pretty wild place in general...

 he was pretty pumped.

and so was everyone else!

the tears flowed, the joy was felt.

it truly was SUCH an exciting moment.

 it's still hard to believe that my adorable, little sister is going on a mission.

 i am so proud of her, and i am so excited for her.

we all are.

 i love seeing and hearing how excited she is.

the people of honduras will be lucky to have her, and i know she will be blessed while she is there.

 j, i really can't say it enough how proud i am. 

i'm so amazed that you are making this huge decision and sacrifice,

that you are going to go to honduras, that you are going to eat chicken feet and walk everywhere you go. you will learn so much, and it will be such an amazing opportunity.

and that's the story. come june 12, we'll say goodbye to our sweet j for 18 months...

and i couldn't be more excited about it!

aren't you proud of her too?

to see a cute video of jenn talking about this exciting day, click here!

sure love you j.