Where in the World is Benin?

Dear Elder Allred,

You are hereby called to serve as a missionary of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  You are assigned to labor in the Benin Cotonou Mission... You will prepare to preach the gospel in the French language.


As soon as JD read his call, we started searching on our iPhones trying to figure out where Benin was. When he couldn't even pronounce it we all knew that it was going to be a long way from home. We never dreamed he would be going to Africa.

Where Am I Going?

Family and friends gathered at Casa Manana restaurant for the opening of JD's call. We were waiting on Senecca to arrive and the anticipation was almost more than we could take. We had a great time visiting and eating chips and salsa while we were waiting. Finally, after about 45 min., Senecca arrived and JD opened his call.

The Gila Valley Temple

After the call came, the first thing we did was schedule an appointment for JD to get his endowments. The Temple was getting ready to close for 2 weeks and he wanted to go before they closed. Even though it was short notice, we had many friends and family there to support him. It was a record breaking session and they had to use every extra chair they could find.

JD and Mom

It's Here!

JD's call came on Thursday, Sept. 20, 2012. He agreed not to open it until Saturday because his sister, Senecca, wanted to be here when he opened it. It was very, very hard to wait but fun reading all the guesses on Facebook. JD was pretty sure it was going to be a foreign mission based on the amount that it cost to send it. After the call came we set up an appointment for him to get his endowments in The Gila Valley Temple on Saturday, Sept. 22. He wanted to go to the temple before they closed for 2 weeks.