I can't tell you exactly how long Mark has had this philosophy on where Christian was going to be called on his mission but it seems like it's been a very long time.
This is how it goes:
Mark was living in Minnesota when he got his mission call.
Straight down the US as south as you get from Minnesota - Louisiana, Baton Rouge.
Aaron went the the next country down, Mexico
as far South as you can go, Tuxtla Gutierrez.
Robbie when to Southern Brazil,
to Santa Maria...
So Christian would of course be heading to Southern Argentina,
or possibly southern Chile.
He totally hit the nail on the head!
The mission map is on the right.
We're not sure what to make of it all
except that maybe Heavenly Father is logical too...
or just has a great sense of humor
actually we are sure that both are right.
His mission is quite large and diverse. A transfer by bus can take up to 24 hours.
Some transfers are done by plane. It includes very nice areas as well as very poor areas.
Wind and mud are fairly constant throughout the mission, although the desert of Patagonia only gets 5" of rain annualy. He needs to bring a sleeping bag with a liner for his bedding and will likely stay in apartments as nice as our home to a 6x8 foot hut. Patagonia has animals not found anywhere else on the earth. Charles Darwin spent some time in Patagonia and said it was one of his favorite places. Temperatures in his mission range from 110f to 10 below. The Southern areas have a lot of snow, little sun in winter (our summer) and almost constant sun in the summer (our winter). There are beaches, mountains and desert, big cities and tiny villages. He will be speaking Spanish. He leaves July 6th.
Last night was fun, loud, joyful and completely amazing.
I feel incredibly happy and blessed
and a little hungover today.
I think I am going to take a nap.
Life is oh so good!
