Of course, that waitress turned out to be my daughter, Brennah. I mentioned that Brennah was working for DVO answering Cook'n tech support e-mails while studying Computer Science at BYU.
Well, I have good and bad news. The bad news is that Brennah will be quitting her job at DVO soon. The good news is that she has decided to serve a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (aka The Mormons)!
Serving a mission is optional, but those who choose to serve do not get to pick where they go. Instead, they are called to serve by a living prophet.
During this 18 month mission, they must totally focus on serving the Lord. They cannot date or do anything other than mission work. In fact, after she leaves, we will not see her again for a year and a half and we only get to talk to her on the phone three times! So...yeah...it's a pretty big deal!
The opening of a mission call is an exciting time because you never know where you might be called to serve! Kathy was called to serve in England.
This is Kathy (left) and her companion Kristy (right).
And, my son, Danny, just returned last year from serving a two-year mission in Boston.
This is Danny (middle) with some friends at the very end of his mission.
When the mission call arrives, family and friends typically gather around as the letter is opened and read. We got together and everyone guessed where we thought Brennah might be called to serve. We each wrote one stateside guess and one foreign guess on the white board. Then, Brennah opened and read her mission call and Kathy filmed it. Nobody guessed Japan. I thought you and the rest of the Cook'n Family would enjoy celebrating with us!
By the way, if you're new to Cook'n, you may be wondering what in the world this has to do with Cook'n, recipes, and making dinner. 1) Brennah works here answering support e-mails...you may have communicated with her. 2) She's my daughter. And, 3) DVO is not your ordinary software company. You are part of the Cook'n Family. In fact, years ago, Kathy and I couldn't decide what to name our last child. So, we narrowed the list down to four names and sent a poll question asking for your help! Welcome to the family! :)
This will be good for Brennah. Learning to put God and her fellow man first is a good thing. There is nothing better that she could do with her life right now.
This will be good for the people that Brennah serves. Helping other people who are struggling is good. Sharing the gospel message and encouraging others to follow Jesus, to forgive themselves and others, and to repent and be better is good.
And, hopefully, this message is good for you too. I know that many of you have worked with Brennah. I hope you smiled when you watched the video. :)
Brennah will go into the Missionary Training Center in June and (miraculously) learn to speak Japanese in two months. Then, she will fly to Tokyo, Japan where she and a sister companion her same age will serve the people of Japan 24/7 for 16 months!
This is quite a sacrifice for a young person. It takes a lot of faith and dedication to serve a mission. It can be a scary time too. Leaving home, learning to speak Japanese in two months, and living in a foreign country for a year and a half can be daunting...to say the least. We love you Brennah! You will do great!
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