Buenos Aires and a Leap of Faith

With the announcement that sister missionaries could now serve at 18, so many of Aubrey’s friends and acquaintances were putting in their papers. During that time, Aubrey was wrestling deeply with the idea of serving a mission herself.

All through high school, she had been pretty vocal about not serving. Brian and I always told her it was completely her choice, and we truly meant that.

Our family mission flags. (Thanks Grandpa Gwilliam)

In December, she told us she had 100% decided not to serve, and honestly, she felt relieved. I was happy for her because I could feel her anxiety lift. While she was home for Christmas break, she even met over Zoom with her college counselor to map out her classes and graduation plan.

Then Aubrey headed back to BYU for winter semester on January 4th.

On January 15th, she called home in happy tears to tell us she had decided to serve a mission.

I was floored.

When I asked what changed her mind, she talked about repeatedly feeling the Spirit as people shared their mission calls in church. She also said she couldn’t get the thought out of her mind and felt she needed to reconsider.

I think she finally took the wrestle she had been having internally for years to the Lord, and that made all the difference.. 

From that point on, she moved forward confidently and quickly. She went into full hyper-focus mode and completed everything she needed for her papers — dentist appointments, eye doctor visits, interviews, and more — all within just a few weeks.

On February 17th, she received her call to serve in the Argentina Buenos Aires South Mission and will begin on May 27th.

Her cute, supportive friends: Charlotte Erickson & Hannah Turner

Another fun part of this whole experience was that Aubrey kept her mission call a complete secret from her siblings and extended family. Everyone’s reactions were some combination of shocked, emotional, thrilled, and incredibly supportive.

She joined the Birds during their family scripture study. Adam, being the bishop of the home ward, already knew what was coming, but no one else had any idea. They assumed she was joining because she needed help with a religion assignment.

Then she simply started reading:

“Dear Sister Gwilliam, you are hereby called to serve as a missionary for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints…”

You can actually see Britney shooting daggers at me through the phone screen. Braddock had started filling out his mission papers just a couple of weeks after Aubrey, but I had to play completely dumb the entire time. Brit would share stress or confusion about the process, and I’d casually offer random tips I supposedly remembered from when Brinley or Parker filled out papers. It was killing me not to talk about it.

Aubrey also called Chris and Ang to share the news, but because of the five-hour time difference, Ang was already asleep. Once Chris realized what Aubrey was about to share, he knew Angelique wouldn’t want to miss it. (Both Britney and Angelique were Aubrey’s seminary teachers for most of her youth, so their love for her goes beyond being her aunts.)

I loved getting to quietly join in on each of her calls and feeling the Spirit wash over me every time she read her mission call. More than anything, I loved seeing how deeply loved Aubrey is by so many people.

With Brinley and Derek, Aubrey really did need to interview them for a religion assignment, so they went over to her dorm. At one point she casually said, “Oh, I have one more thing I need to share,” and then started reading her mission call. Derek caught on first, while Brinley assumed it was still part of the assignment. The surprise/shock on her face when she realized this was actually happening was priceless.

She later FaceTimed Parker, Tanner, and Erin. They were so excited for her… and maybe just a little miffed that they were dead last to know. (She had to have a set time to share with the Birds, and she knew it was getting really late for the Vores...so that is just the way it worked out.)

She called grandparents, and afterward Brian and I were able to share the exciting news in our Gwilliam and Vore family group chats. Her cousin Kyle, who served in Argentina, also connected with her and shared advice and excitement about the mission.

A mission creates such a strong foundation for life, and I’m so grateful Aubrey will have this opportunity. I know her testimony will deepen as she studies the gospel and serves and loves the people of Argentina.

It will be hard at times, but it will bless her — and her future family — in countless ways.