In September, Steve received a call from Elder John A. McCune (we later learned he is a member of the Asia North Area Presidency) who said he was calling to “get acquainted.” They talked for about 40 minutes. Without explaining the purpose of the call, Elder McCune thanked him for his time and hung up. That evening at dinner he told me about the call and we both wondered why it had happened. 

About six weeks later Steve was contacted by Elder Gerrit W. Gong’s office in Salt Lake City. Elder Gong requested a zoom call with both of us. We figured we might soon be able to make sense of the prior call. We spoke with him for about 30 minutes in which he asked us many questions about our lives – how we met, how many children, how were our children doing, our parents, our finances, our health, etc. He asked Steve if there was anything in his life, if it came to light, would embarrass Steve or the Church. At the end of the call, he asked us each how we felt about the Savior. Then without explanation, he thanked us and hung up. 

One week later we received a call from Elder Gong’s secretary asking additional questions about our children, their names, their spouses names, if and where they had served a mission and various other questions. We were still in the dark a bit but had become more convinced that change might be happening in our lives. We suspected it might be a mission call. We have always wanted to serve a mission together and have planned for that. We just couldn’t come to an agreement on when we should apply to serve. Steve was enjoying his new calling as a sealer in the temple and there are many exciting things happening at BYU-Hawaii that made his work fulfilling and enjoyable. There were also some financial concerns about retiring too early. I was ready to go! When we could not come to an agreement on timing, we decided the only solution was to we pray for our hearts and minds to be united.

The day before Thanksgiving a zoom call with President Dallin H. Oaks of the First Presidency resolved our timing concerns and confirmed that change was in our future. We were extended a call to serve as mission leaders but with the location undetermined. That uncertainty was an anxious but exciting time. A little over a month later we received our assignment to serve in the Japan Tokyo South Mission. When we read our assignment we both felt and knew this was the place we were supposed to be.

Steve retired early on May 1, 2024 and we closed a very rewarding and wonderful chapter of our lives in Laie, Hawaii. We temporarily moved to Payson, Utah to prepare ourselves, try to resurrect language skills that have been dormant for over 40 years, and to spend as much time with our children and grandchildren as possible before embarking on this wonderful adventure.