How We Decided to Serve

Ancient Times. Shortly after our marriage in 1977, I would wake Laraine up early each morning to teach her Cantonese. These sessions were intended to prepare her for a time when we could serve a mission together in Hong Kong where I had just served. Unfortunately, this early morning ritual was discontinued after a few weeks when Laraine realized how much sleep she had been losing and how little she could concentrate at that early hour.

Needless to say, it has always been our intent to serve a mission together and if possible - to serve in Hong Kong. The Hong Kong temple was completed with some urgency in 1996, one year before the British turned Hong Kong back over to the Chinese government (see the story about how this unusual temple was built). Some time after that, we purchased a picture of the Hong Kong temple to display prominently in our home. This framed picture has served as a type of "vision board" for many years.

Modern Times. Fast forward to 2004. I lost my very high-paying business development job as a result of a massive, $11 billion fraud case involving WorldCom. Along with my job went the loss of substantial already-earned income and an ability to have any kind of retirement. From 2004 - 2009, a couple of employment opportunities ended and we started a business of our own while burning through our savings. We knew we had to move from our home to an area less expensive than New Jersey. In 2006, we moved to Georgia from New Jersey and had some wonderful experiences, but our attempts to create several businesses and a secure revenue stream resulted only in the creation of a massive amount of business debt. On Christmas Day, 2009, we drove from Georgia to Utah with a small car full of our most important possessions to start a new life back in Utah where we were also needed to help with family issues. From 2009 - 2013, during fairly gloomy economic times, there were more attempts to start productive businesses, but none of them really took off. Our dream of serving a mission together seemed as far from reality as one could get.

An Amazing Phone Call. One evening in August, 2013, at a time when I was between writing projects, signed up to work a $7.55/hour temp job at BYU Bookstore, and literally wondering how we would pay the next month's rent, some dear friends called with startling news. They announced that they had been inspired to help the Chamberlains serve a mission. We were deeply touched, but it seemed like a complete impossibility and a very ill-timed offer. Even if there was financial help available, there didn't seem to be any possible way to deal with the massive debt we were under and we knew their financial assistance wouldn't eliminate our debts. In addition, we realized that if we took time away from business pursuits to go on a mission, we would have to start "from scratch" again once we returned home from that mission. This was a disturbing thought because we had started over so many times. Also, there were family issues in the way that would prevent us from leaving. Nevertheless, we felt we should put our trust in the Lord and make a commitment to move forward despite seeing no possible way it could happen.

Miracles. From the day we made the commitment to serve a mission, things changed. God truly works miracles to bring to pass His purposes. Through divine intervention, we are now completely out of debt without declaring bankruptcy. I was also prompted to tweak one of my business ideas to bring recurring monthly revenue without requiring my presence (and only a couple of hours of oversight each month). We were profitable from the first month we started this new approach in October, 2013. We could actually leave to serve a mission, paying the majority of the monthly costs of one of the most expensive missions in the world, and when we return home we'll have a ready-made and growing business venture in place. Family issues resolved themselves (or at least simmered down to a dull roar) and every obstacle seemed to melt away as God stretched forth His hand and cleared a very distinct path.

Laraine and I perused the church's monthly bulletin for senior missionaries and found some information about public affairs. The bulletin mentioned the need to have a discussion with the Public Affairs Department before submitting paperwork to the church. We did this and found that Hong Kong happened to be on the list of potential openings. However, the timing was off. The Public Affairs opening would happen much later than our intended time-frame. Consequently, we decided that although Hong Kong would have been nice, it would be out of the question. We would turn in our papers and serve elsewhere. Our plan was to complete our paperwork immediately after a lengthy visit to Georgia to see our son, his wife, and new baby.

More Miracles. While visiting our son in Georgia - we were mostly unable to receive phone calls due to poor cellular coverage with our TMobile carrier. Nevertheless, one phone call came through. It was the Public Affairs Department who informed us that the couple who had been serving in Hong Kong had accepted a call as mission presidents in the Ukraine. They needed to know how quickly we could get our mission papers completed. As it turned out, we were able to complete our paperwork within just a couple of weeks. Mission papers were submitted to the church on December 14th, 2014. The call to serve as Public Affairs Specialists in the Asia Area offices in Hong Kong arrived on January 15th.

We are humbled to realize that God has a plan to use us in building His kingdom. We are honored and blessed to have people around us who are inspired and courageous enough to do what the Lord calls them to do. Our lives are forever changed by dear friends who listened to the Spirit and followed the prompting.

An Abundance of Faith. We know that the majority of couples who serve missions do so out of an abundance of faith as well as an abundance of "riches" (resources, assets, bank accounts, etc.). Exercising their faith allows them to  leave their homes and families, serve the Lord, then return to their homes to pick up their lives. We know we are different in that we are serving only out of an abundance of faith. We have no home to return to, no "nest egg" to draw upon, and our few belongings will be stored in one of our children's basements. When we return, we will need to find a place to live. We sometimes ask ourselves, "Are we deluded or crazy to think we could serve this mission?" But then we look back and see how the Lord has cleared the path of some very heavy obstacles and opened every door to move us in this direction. We are excited beyond measure to do His will and to serve Him well.

Hong Kong LDS Temple

Getting the Call

Thursday, January 15th, 2015 - It seemed like forever but the day finally came. Everyone told us mission calls arrive in your mail (in Utah) on Wednesdays. We thought it might arrive this week, but when the mailman came and went on Wednesday, we put on brave faces and readjusted our expectations for at least another week. I had become a nervous, hand-wringing mess over the last few days and realized how "anticipation" and "anxiety" are so closely related. I couldn't see myself surviving another week without confirming where we would serve (by then we had a good idea it would be in Hong Kong - which will be a story for another day), and when we would begin our service.

Today, we were not as anxious because we didn't really think it would arrive. This time, I walked the 40 yards to the mailbox and happened to meet one of our dear neighbors getting his mail at the same time. He knew we were anxious to get a large envelope. He watched as I looked into my box and pulled out a large white envelope from the church and a small package from Best Buy (we had ordered a small thumb drive for our computer). After a few fist pumps, he asked - "Where's your wife?" I assumed his excitement was about the envelope from the church, not the package from Best Buy. By then I was already walking briskly back to our condo.

Laraine was in the bedroom at the desk, so I decided to leave the important envelope behind. Bringing the Best Buy package with me I announced, "Some exciting news!" She looked up warily. "We finally got that thumb drive we've been waiting for," I continued. She smiled, knowing I had gone to the mailbox in anticipation of something else. Then, a little offhandedly and with great constraint I said evenly, "Oh, and there is this other envelope . . . let me go get it."

By now, Laraine was amused and a little perturbed that I would tease her about the mission call. She said, "Yeah, right. You didn't get a mission call!" I then walked into the other room and returned with a large, thick envelope. Her eyes got big when I said, "Then what do you think THIS is?"

For at least a few minutes, the envelope burned a hole on the desk as we tried to wrap our minds around what to do next. We knew my father wanted to be there when we opened it, as well as my sister. We texted several others to say it had arrived, then made arrangements to open the envelope at my father's home, which he now shares with his wife, Janet. My sister, Lori, decided to meet us there and off we went. The rest of the experience was captured on video.

We seem surprised that we were called to serve in Hong Kong because we were. We were so prepared to be called someplace other than Hong Kong, we would have been thrilled no matter where we were called. We are truly anxious to be engaged in missionary work.