Welcome to our blog! We hope that this blog will (1) answer some of the questions we've been getting about our mission and the ranch, (2) allow our family and friends to experience this mission with us, and (3) be a journal that we can keep for future reference.
Several years ago, we visited the Deseret Cattle & Citrus Ranch in St. Cloud, Florida, along with Sue's brother Roger. It is one of the many ranches owned by Farmland Reserve, Inc., which is owned by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. At the time, we had no plans to serve a mission; but we had heard about the church's huge ranch near Orlando, so decided to check it out! It was a very interesting tour conducted by a woman who was serving a mission there with her husband. We learned that "senior" or "mature" couples can serve church-service missions there. This link will give you more information on church-service missions: Missionary Service SK (the city girl) knew that CK (the farm boy) would LOVE living on a ranch where he could use his many talents and abilities! SK always hoped that somehow, some way, they could serve a mission together. But when? How?
The "when" and "how" unfolded last summer. After a year in law school in Ft. Lauderdale, our youngest son Patrick decided to transfer to Stetson University law school here in St. Petersburg. So, in August, Patrick and Heather ("Pather") along with Grayson (now 15 mo) and Elle (now 3 1/2) moved in with us! Now, we love Pather and ADORE our grandchildren, but we could see a win-win situation right away. They win because we are helping with their living expenses and we win because we don't have to worry about leaving our house empty. A call to the ranch to get the contact information for ranch missions started the ball rolling!
The Director of Missionary and Volunteer Services for Farmland Reserve is Elder Phillip Estes, who is a former Stake President from the Cocoa FL Stake. His wife, Sister Victoria Estes, serves as Asst Director.
(The ranch is located in the Cocoa Stake.) Elder Estes is very knowledgable about the ranch and serving a mission there. After an interview with our Bishop and Stake President, our application was on its way to Farmland Reserve headquarters in Salt Lake City. We received our mission call in the mail on Friday, October 22, 2010. We didn't open the letter until we could gather our family on a conference call just as we had done when our three sons rec'd their mission calls. Yes, there were some surprises! We didn't specify where we wanted to serve so we could have been sent to any one of the many ranches the church owns. Also, we asked for a one year mission. When we opened our letter, we were assigned to the Florida ranch for 18 months beginning April 1, 2011. We laughed! CK, a native Floridian, had been worried about the possibility of going somewhere with really cold weather. 18 months? The Lord asks us to stretch sometimes, but He also knew we would go anywhere for any length of time. We never expected to have so much time to get our affairs in order, but we are grateful for it. Now we are down to the wire! April 1st is almost here. We are excited!!
We are so thankful for this opportunity to serve the Lord and His children in this way. He knows the desires of our hearts and has answered our prayers. We trust He will make us equal to the task.
Here's an article that helps explain why we are choosing to serve:
