This is the beginning of a new adventure for us.  When we returned from our mission to Guatemala two years ago, Paul promised me that if we left our home and family again, we would just go for 6 months to a spanish speaking temple mission, maybe to Quetzaltenango.  Hmm.  So Chapter two begins .  .  .  . Last summer at a family gathering, my cousin Beverly Walker told me that her brother-in-law was the new mission president in Donetsk, Ukraine.   She knew of Paul's desire to serve there. We were all ready to do that 7 years ago, when, instead of his final mission interview with the Stake President, he was called to be young adult bishop instead.  So, after giving it some thought and prayer, Paul was prompted to remember the story of Leah and Rachel and Jacob.  He came to understand that his calling as bishop could be his Leah and as Christ came through Leah, this calling could bring him closer to Christ.  Then we would go on a mission which could be his Rachel.  So after  3 years as young adult bishop, we went to Guatemala to serve a mission.  Hearing again about the Ukraine, he felt this was our opportunity to serve in the Ukraine and it was indeed 7 years from the time we were first going to serve there.    I reminded  him that his was not 6 months and it wasn't Spanish speaking, but I suspect he wasn't hearing me.

So, we began again to prepare to go to the Ukraine.  First we were going in January, then we received our call for March and then it turned out that they changed it to begin in May so we could replace an office couple leaving in June.  So we have been in a state of readiness and limbo for quite a while.  We began studying Russian, well, I began.  Paul had started many years ago when he first started going on humanitarian dental trips to Russia, Siberia, and Ukraine.  So he began where he left off.  Then the trouble in the Ukraine started and we found out in April that they would not be sending anyone into the eastern part of the Ukraine.  Our call then went back to the brethren who soon changed our call to Vladivostok, Russia which seemed like the ends of the earth to me.  It is right next to North Korea, China, Japan, and Siberia.  We were leaving in the middle of July and then suddenly we are leaving, instead June 16th after two weeks at the MTC the first two weeks of June.

So, this is our story;  Chapter Two.