It's all about Craig

Craig opened his mission call on May 9th at 6 p.m. He invited about 30 friends to his apartment, then had several use their cell phones to call various family members around the country, so they could hear when he read his call. Michelle and I were visiting friends in Prague, so Craig arranged for us to log onto Skype at 2 a.m. local time so we could participate as well. We were all thrilled when he read that he had been called to the Taiwan Taichung Mission! He will be entering the MTC on August 6th.

Shortly after receiving his call, Craig purchased a Taiwanese flag pin, which he wears proudly on his suit lapel, and a Taiwanese flag. He got out the books he had purchased several years ago on Chinese characters, and the copy of the Book of Mormon in Mandarin (part of his collection of copies in over 50 languages), and has already spent many hours using the Internet and library CD collections to begin learning Mandarin. We're not really in a position to judge :), but it sure sounds to us like he's getting those tones down!

Craig return to Tucson on June 20th. Here you can see him transitioning from the American flag bedspread he used through high school and his freshman year--now in shreds--which he recently parted with and his new affection for the Taiwanese flag.

He finds his growing knowledge of Chinese comes in handy when he works on his "To Do" list:

Craig has been entertaining us with many clogging and dancing demonstrations from his days with SPAC (Spring Performing Arts Group of the BYU Folkdancers):

On June 26th Bruce and I had the wonderful privilege of accompanying Craig when he received his endowments in the Mesa Arizona temple.



Craig is thrilled with the opportunity to attend the temple and wants to go as often as possible before he enters the MTC. The day after he received his endowments, we flew to Salt Lake for the Rutter/Call family reunion and went on a session at the Salt Lake temple with Grandpa Scott the afternoon that we arrived. This past Friday, Craig spent the better part of the day in the temple while I was helping my brother Ken who lives in Phoenix.

As in previous years, we attended the ward 4th of July breakfast the morning of Craig's birthday, then celebrated with our usual family traditions the next morning.

A week later, Craig's nursery teacher, Jessica Bullock, took us to dinner in Trail Dust Town. She likes to remind us that Craig was her "first graduate" from nursery. Sixteen years later she is still the nursery leader!

Today Craig gave his "pre-mission" talk in sacrament meeting. Nathan and Max, Camille, and Michelle, flew in for the big event. We went bowling yesterday afternoon and last night we enjoyed a few games of "Mormon" bridge.

This morning Nelson Faux, Barbara's brother, and Paula Carlson, a close family friend, drove down from Phoenix and Goodyear respectively for Craig's talk.

Dear family friends, Gayle and Mark Bowman, made a delicious cake in Craig's honor.
In sacrament meeting, the family sang "Father, Do You Love Me," a modification of the Primary song, "Teacher, Do You Love Me." Bruce explained in his introduction that he, Barbara, and I all had ancestors who lived in Nauvoo as neighbors, and the song represents how we believe they and other pioneers must have felt as they stood at the end of Parley Street looking back on their beautiful city before crossing the frozen Mississippi to begin their journey west.

Craig gave a great talk about two young men whom Joseph Smith called as "spies for Israel" and how they alerted the Prophet regarding plans to assassinate him. He also told about how in 1845 his ancestor Cyril Call, who lived outside Nauvoo, was approached by a mob. The leader said to him, "You are a good citizen and we like you. If you will renounce Momonism and Joe Smith, we will not burn your home." Cyril replied, "Joseph Smith is a prophet of God and Mormonism has been divinely instituted." The mob proceeded to burn his house down and his wife and children were forced to make their beds in a cornfield until help came.

Craig closed with his testimony of the Prophet, Joseph Smith, and the Savior and His Atonement. We are very happy and grateful that he and his siblings are following in the righteous traditions of their forefathers!