Pre-Mission, Laredo

February 2, 2013

The envelope containing her mission call arrives in the mail.  Less than 2 weeks since her mission papers were submitted advising all that she wanted to serve an 18 month full time mission.  But the big question is...Where has Mariah been called to?  Many guesses are out there. Some say Cleveland...or Michigan...or South America or someplace where Spanish is spoken.  Mariah is playing it coy...trying to control her emotions...but deep down inside she wants to serve someplace where she can further learn the Russian language.  And the answer is?  Ukraine Dnepropetrovsk Mission, Russian speaking.   "Dne.... what?" is the refrain..."how do you pronounce that name?"  But ol Mariah to the rescue..."it is pronounced 'Dnepropetrovsk'" is her reply.  But where is it located?  A quick search finds this town at the confluence of two rivers, the Dnieper and Samara, close to the Black Sea, on the southern coast of Ukraine.  And then all is silent and all gasp....wow!