He got it!

Well, Tony finally got his call and let us know where he'll be going! (We've been anxiously waiting all day.) Shari wins the prize for the best prediction. He's going to the Resistencia, Argentina mission. He enters September 2. Hooray! Congratulations, Tony!!!

Mama Jayne and Pa A

TONY'S MISSION CALL CAME!!!

An official looking envelope from the Office of the First Presidency of the Church addressed to Elder Anthony Ramón Calderón appeared in our mailbox yesterday (obviously, a letter extending him his mission call). Hooray!!! Where is he going, and when? We don't know yet. Tony is in Provo and will be flying today to Atlanta, Georgia, where he will be spending the summer selling home security systems to earn some money for his mission. (He hopes to leave sometime in August, but we'll see what the call says.) Tony gave us strict instructions not to open the envelope and to forward it on to him in Georgia, so we put it in the mail yesterday, and he will be receiving it probably on Monday. Then we'll finally find out where he is going and when.

So that gives everyone about two days to make an entry to this blog and predict where Tony will be going before he opens his mission call envelope. As you can see from comments to his previous post, Julie predicts Chile, her friend Sarah Hudson predicts Spain, and Shari predicts Argentina. I predict Michoacán, México. Send in your predictions, and let's revive this Woodward Family Blog! This will be a suspenseful couple of days for us.

Congratulations, Tony!! You may not be excited about this, but I sure am!

Mom

New York

In April I took a trip to New York City with 3 other women and had a fabulous time! The highlights for me were the art museums (The Met, Frick, Whitney, Guggenheim, and MoMA--so much great art and so many pivotal pieces in art history), Central Park, going to the Manhattan Temple (right across the street from the Metropolitan Opera/Juilliard music school complex), and winning a ticket lottery for front row seats to see the musical WICKED! Also, I got to stay in a friend of a friend's nineteenth-century brownstone apartment right in Manhattan, which was a cultural experience in itself. It was my first trip there and I can't wait to go back. Anyone want to come with me?

love, Sharon

p.s. Linda has expressed an interest in going backpacking in the Tetons with me during the first week of August. Anyone else want to come?

MISSION!!

To All Who Have Been So Concerned:

Hey everyone, this is Tony, and I've got some pretty exciting news, that most of you should have already heard. But if you haven't, here it is: My mission papers are in!! Soon enough, I'll be serving in God knows where (no, seriously, only He knows..), preaching the Word of God. Pretty cool, huh? I've been telling people my call should come within 2-3 weeks, but I'm guessing it might come a bit sooner, maybe even this wednesday.

So, a lot of people tell me how much they are excited for me. But when they ask if I'm excited myself, I can't really say that I am. Even though it's certainly a once-in-a-lifetime experience that will undoubtedly be one of the biggest influential impacts on my life, I'm just not excited to go. I'm just ready. It's a job really. One of the most important jobs I will ever be responsible for, but a job nonetheless. And so, no, I am not excited for this job, but I am certainly ready for it. But in the meantime, I'll just have to make sure I do what I can to prepare for it.

So, I've told you what you need to know, now it's your turn. Sarah and Julie have already given me the pleasure of guessing where I will get sent. Now for the rest of you, start commenting on the blog your predictions for where I will get sent. And make sure you do it quick, before my call comes in the mail!

Tony