Called to Serve

On October 29, 2008 Jeff received probably the most important document that an 18 year old boy ever receives in the mail...his mission call. It is the document that determines where they will be living for 2 years of their lives and what language they will be learning (if necessary).

It is tradition to have everyone in the family there to watch as you open it and that was the case with Jeff...almost. Those in attendance were as follows: Mom (Charlene), Dad (Allen), Amy (sister), Zen (brother-in-law), Britlee (niece), Dave (brother-in-law), and Amanda (friend). Ben (my husband and Jeff's brother-in-law) and I were on the phone since we live in Logan. Our other sister, Cindi, was at work in a meeting that she couldn't get away from and Jeff couldn't wait any longer so she got a text shortly after it was read.

Elder Arko was called to the Sweden, Stockholm mission and was to report to the Missionary Training Center in Provo, Utah on Wednesday March 11, 2009. I know you may be asking yourself, "Where exactly is Sweden?" which is exactly what I was asking myself right after I heard the news, so here you go!

Look for the yellow!

Here are also some facts about the country...

Official Name:

Kingdom of Sweden
Konungariket Sverige

Flag:

Coat of Arms:

Motto:

"För Sverige i tiden"

"For Sweden – With the Times"

Capital (and largest city):

Stockholm

59°21′N 18°4′E / 59.35°N 18.067°E / 59.35; 18.067

Moarch:
King Carl XVI Gustaf

Prime Minister:
Fredrik Reinfeldt

Population:
9,234,209

(2008 census)

Density
20/km2 (194th)52/sq mi

Currency:
Swedish krona (SEK)

Time zone:
CET (UTC+1)
Summer (DST)

Date formats
yyyy-mm-dd; also d/m yyyy

Drives on the:
right

So this is what Jeff gets to look forward to! His family wishes him well and our thoughts and prayers will be with him every step of the way.

WE LOVE YOU ELDER ARKO!