The "Good News"

2013. The year of sisters getting mission calls. This was a crazy time and anyone could be next to get called on a mission. Some girls kept it private until they received the letter that they were going to serve a mission. So some events seemed a little out of the blue or unexpected “mission call opening events.” Facebook posts, blogs, Instagram and all social media were bursting with pictures of girls with large white letters or scripture quotes or videos of the special event. Everywhere I looked there was someone with a large white envelope bursting with good news.

Kellie was always excited for them, clapping and cheering with such enthusiasm that I couldn’t seem to muster. She is one of those sympathetic people that always try to take an interest in another’s life. As a somewhat selfish individual, I wanted to develop that quality that seemed to come so naturally to her.

That night it was Jackie’s turn to open her call and so we walked across the dark cold hallway of our apartment complex to support/satisfy our curiosity. The group gathered on the couches, seated in chairs, and lounging on the floor ranged from close friends and family to people she had met yesterday. As a general rule, it didn’t really matter if you knew the person that well, everyone was invited to come over and watch that lucky one open their envelope and see where they would serve as a missionary for a year and a half.

 After about 12 of us were seated in the living room, Jackie brought out the envelope. She held it with care as if it were something precious and not just a large white paper envelope. I imagined that she had waited by the mailbox everyday just to see if it had come yet.

We started guessing at the places she could go and what language she could possibly learn. I yelled my vote for Belgium and others were guessing somewhere in South America. We turned back our attention to her and we asked her where she wanted to go. She responded with a small smile and the standard “anywhere the Lord sends me”, and then added on in a bit of a rush “BUT if I had to choose I would pick Italy.”

 I had resolved to put on a convincing show this time and be super happy for her. If I was not vocal about my ecstatic joy for her then I was not supporting the missionaries. So I got ready. I was on the edge of my seat. I was prepared to cheer and jump up and down.

Going on a mission is a pretty big deal, in The Book of Mormon there is a legacy of missionaries going out of their home countries to share their beliefs about God to people of foreign lands. Like the Alma in The Book of Mormon who was called of God to teach the gospel, youth today can be called to go and be missionaries. At this moment it was Jackie’s turn to see where the Lord had called her.

Finally she slipped open the envelope and began reading. “Sister Brown you are hereby called to serve as a missionary for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. You are assigned to labor in the Florence Italy Mission.”

My breath caught and I could not believe it, people very rarely got sent where they wanted to go. I mean there was always a chance but I had never been to a mission call opening where that happened. My eyes widened. I started clapping and jumped up to give her a hug. It was so amazing and her prayers were answered for sure, I thought, this day. It was a gift from God to His daughter.

“No way!” and “Oh my gosh!” and other such phrases were being tossed around the room. I joined in with relish but I soon noticed someone missing in the celebrations.

I looked over at Kellie, sitting on the couch, legs crossed and smiling but absolutely not her normal gushing self.

Suddenly, I was suspicious.

And then I knew. The letter was a fake and we had been tricked. Good one Jackie, good one.