Kaeleigh's Mission Call

After moving to Colorado from Arizona in July, Kaeleigh quickly began meeting with her new bishop and stake president so that she could turn in her mission application exactly 120 days before her availability date. Bishop Updike and President Larsen were so happy and excited to help Kaeleigh accomplish her goal to have her mission papers submitted as soon as she got to BYU Idaho so that she could focus on school for one semester prior to leaving on her mission. Kaeleigh's first interview with Bishop Garrett Updike was August 15, 2017. She moved into her college apartment on September 8th, started school on  the 11th and submitted her papers on September 14th.

Kaeleigh's BYUI bishop text her the morning of September 26th saying that her mission had been assigned. The whole family was so excited because we had planned to meet Kaeleigh in Salt Lake for General Conference and we were hoping that her call would come in time for her to bring it with her from Idaho and be able to open it with us. 

On Friday, the 30th, the family left Colorado to drive to Utah and on our drive there, we got a phone call from a very out-of-breath daughter exclaiming that her call was in her hands and that it had come only 15 minutes before she had to leave for her class and shuttle. Oh, the relief her parents felt. Mom had threatened...no, promised, Dad that if she didn't get it in time and her roommates contacted her telling them it had arrived while she was gone that the family would be driving her home to Idaho instead of putting her on the shuttle so that we could all open it together. 

We let Kaeleigh decide on her timing of opening her mission call and she decided after the Saturday morning session of conference that we would open it with the Utah aunts, uncles, cousins and very limited friends that were attending BYU or happened to be in town for conference. Our park idea got rained out so we ended up at a church building which was perfect for streaming Instagram live. 

You know everyone took guesses as to where they thought that Kaeleigh would be called to serve...and NO ONE guessed correctly...although Kaydyn did guess that she would go to Spain...

Dear Sister Vehar,

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 Ukraine Kyiv Mission. It is anticipated that you will serve for a period of 18 months.

You should report to the Spain Missionary Training Center on Tuesday, January 30, 2018. You will prepare to preach the gospel in the Russian language.

....So close Kaydyn!  And the first comment made came from Deegan who yelled, "I hope you don't DIE!" Oh brother.  But, oh the excitement and complete astonishment. Totally not on Kaeleigh's nor anyone else's radar but she so gladly accepted this call to serve.

The Madrid Temple is on shared MTC grounds-Reporting to Madrid on Tuesday, January 30, 2018

Ukraine's flag symbolizes their agriculture fields and fields of sunflowers, and the sky. 

Kaeleigh's mission president and wife: President Edwin C. Kumferman and Karen D. Kumferman (they have thier little 10 year old with them in Ukraine, named Maggie. Kaeleigh is excited to have a little "Ashlyn" with her in her mission.