Today our mission application was submitted! It's a relief to be able to talk about our mission plans, finally! Out of concern for undue speculation about who might replace Craig in the stake presidency, our stake president asked that we keep these plans confidential--and it was tough! 

At the last League City Texas Stake conference, in November 2015, the visiting authority, Elder Lawrence Corbridge, had asked why the Normans had not returned to their mission in Hong Kong, since Sister Norman was enjoying good health. That was the green light we had been waiting for. Craig had not wanted to disrupt the stake presidency, knowing that it doesn't matter where one serves, and he didn't want to tell the Lord what to do, so instead he served faithfully as President Reeves' 1st counselor, having unforgettable experiences along the way. 

We were able to videoconference with the Asia Area presidency, Presidents Funk, Wong, and Pon, 12 January 2016, determining that they did need our willing service, as soon as possible. Accordingly, we completed all of the required medical and dental appointments and all of the applications, and. . . when Craig hit "submit," he got the red screen of denial. At some point since we did this in 2010, a new requirement had been put in place that the applicants could not currently be in a leadership position. 

So here we are, over 3 months later, officially submitting our mission application!