February 15, 1982 Little Rock, Ark.

Dearest Ron, Ann, Susanna & Jessie, Rick, Jean, Ricky & Barbara Jean and Roy,

Well - we really have some news to write about this week - this is a special time in our lives!!!! I came home from school on Tuesday and it was a cold and rainy day by Daddy was frying fish and the house was so homey - he always has something ready for me to eat because I don't eat breakfast and just take an apple for lunch and I am always starving. I had my mouth full of fish when the phone rang about 3:30 p.m. and they asked if this were home of Jesse Lynn Mellor and when I said it was, they said they had a call from Salt Lake for him - this is quite routing around here so I handed him the phone. Right after he said "hello" he snapped his fingers and said "Oh no" under his breath - I about fainted because my first thought was an accident in Utah - and then I heard him say, "Yes, President Tanner" and I kne0w what it was. Pres. Tanner asked about our health and about the children still at home and then he asked if he would be willing to preside over a mission - when he said he would, he had him ask me. Then he asked about his business and when Daddy told him he was retired he said, "What an enviable position to be in, in these times." He then asked if he could be ready to be in the mission field by the first of July, and said we would be receiving our call undoubtedly within a few days. He closed by thanking Daddy for his willingness to serve the Lord. Johnny came home about twenty minutes later so Daddy and I went to his bedroom to tell him and he said, "I guess not many people turn these down, do they?" We all cried but with great happiness - we have been so close to mission presidents and their families for the seventeen years we have lived here and we know it is going to be a tough job but we're ready and we know it will be a wonderful three years for our entire family. We have waited on the porch for the mailman every day since Tuesday but we haven't received any word yet and since tomorrow is observance of Washington's birthday we for sure won't hear anything at least until Tuesday. We have all placed bets - I think we will be going out of the States or to Mississippi or Alabama - Daddy thinks Washington State or the Midwest and Johnny says Montana or California. Bob says Ohio and when we received your letter yesterday Roy and you said Ohio it made us think that maybe that will be where we are sent. I would love to go to Phoenix. We'll let you know as soon as we know. Since we opened Bob's mission call he thinks we should let him open ours!!!!

Another special thing that happened this week - John had his court of honor and received his Eagle Scout Award on Wednesday night. It was really nice - they had also of dignitaries from the Scout Office and some Ward people - Claire and Michael came but Bob had to work at the hospital. We took a decorated cake and made some frappe' and took a lot of pictures - John won't admit it but he is really proud.

Another special thing - Daddy has had an appointment for Dr. Griffin to do another ear operation on March 2nd for several weeks. When the mission call came he decided it would be better to get it over with as soon as possible so he called Jim and made arrangements for it to be done tomorrow morning. Claire and Michael are in Houston this week visiting her parents and Bob had the week off so we all drove Daddy to Hot Springs this afternoon - Jim is going to let Bob watch the operation so he will go over early in the morning and then go back on Tuesday to bring him home. We are all hoping it will be successful this time but if it isn't he will be prepared to get a hearing aid and we understand they have some new ones out that are wonderful. He won't be able to lift anything very heavy for at least a month or bend his head down so he tried to get as much of the "pre-packing" done as he could - he has packed all our books from the bookshelves in the den and yesterday he got up in the attic and Bob came over and we have everything that was in the attic in the upstairs bedrooms. I want to save everything and Daddy wants to throw everything away - I have saved all our Christmas cards from the last seventeen years and he won't let me take them all as I am having to go through them and pick out the ones we really want. I have three larges boxes of my memoirs to go through and I know I won't part with any of them.

We also have a trunk for each one of you with your "memoirs" in them - I thought we had taken all of Ann's and Jeans things to them but you still have one more trunk and they have interesting things in them like your "Treasures of Truth" and Ann, yours has a beautiful Oriental plaster figure that I'm sure you will be able to use if you want to. Roy your trunk is filled with school papers and other things that Daddy insists I go through and throw some of it away - if you want all of it please call us - otherwise we'll save the things we feel are the most important. Bob found his old paper bag in his and it had sentimental value when he put it in there but it doesn't mean much now. John's trunk had a package of potato chips in it that I think Ann brought him from Europe - we threw them away. This is the very hardest part of moving for me - I am so much more sentimental than Daddy and it kills me to throw things away. I promise we won't throw anything away that we feel you will want. We're going to try to move ourselves with U-Haul. They came over and estimated how many boxes we would need and already we have packed more than they said we would need. We haven't told anyone except our family and Jim Griffin and the Beyers so the neighbors think we are crazy with all the activity over here. We also had a prospective buyer come to look at the house. We have at least a million things to do - our house on Lehigh street, three boats besides our real home and everything that is in it - I hope we survive. If we go out of the State we will come to see you Roy - we won't be able to stay very long so I'm sure it won't interfere with your study schedule but we couldn't leave for three years without seeing you in your school situation.

I am still teaching school and I was sad when they told me she would only be out for six weeks but now I wish she would come back tomorrow - my heart isn't in my work anymore and there are so many things I have to do that Daddy can't. John keeps reminding us that we have four months but that will go so fast!!!!

Daddy and Bob and Claire and I went to the Stake Gold and Green Ball on Friday night - it was really fun. They had a big crowd and we got to see a lot of people we hadn't seen for a long time - we went to Swensen's for an earthquake afterwards.

Last night was the young people's Gold and Green Ball and John was the disc jockey. He talked his Daddy into letting him buy a "mixer" to use which faded one record in before the other one finished and he was a "real success" - the kids loved the music and danced every dance. The Jowers have moved to Batesville and Jenny was there last night - she is a little doll. She has a darling personality and wanted so much for John to dance with her and he wouldn't - her folks brought her to the dance but she said her mother was too embarrassed about the weight she had gained and wouldn't come in so I guess she is still having problems. we also visited with Nell and Pete Wiggins - Nell said, "Pete Jr. has moved back home" and I said, "Oh, are they living with you now" and she said, "Oh, Pete and his wife haven't been together for over a year and a half" - I couldn't believe it. He has come home and quit a good job in Texarkana. Nell said the only good thing that came from that marriage was their beautiful son, Jason and she said Pete's wife called and asked if he could come stay with them for a little while and when Nell said he could she brought him and his suitcase and she didn't see her again for six months. Nell enrolled him in a daycare center and everything. That is such a sad situation!!!!

We had dinner with Charles and Cissy Beyers last night and told them our news. They are special friends and we will miss them. They are quite frustrated with their church callings and the new Stake Presidency and all and I don't blame them.

We surely do love each one of you and we appreciate your concern and support. It's going to be vitally important now for you to all stay in good health and be really careful in everything you do - we'll keep you informed about everything.

P.S. Daddy called Pres. Jones yesterday to tell him about his new calling and also to ask him if he had an idea about when we would know where we would be. The Jones were skiing so we didn't get to talk to them. They just now called and I told them about it. <> said that Pres. Tanner called them the same way it was a month before they received their format and a month later before they knew where they w be sent. So we might not know where we are going until April or May - that is really going to be but I'm sure we'll manage.
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