Some Facts About Calvin's Mission

  Calvin received his mission call to the Canada Montréal Mission on Friday, February 10th, 2012. Included with his call was a map of his mission, a several-page packing list of clothing and other necessities to have, a brief description of who his mission president is, paperwork for some of the necessary documents he needed and instructions on medical and dental procedures he had to make sure were taken care of. When I looked at the map and compared it to a map of Canada, I realized that Calvin's mission takes in the Québec Province and the Nunavut Territory, plus the city of Ottawa (which is in the Ontario Province). Our Binghamton Senators Ice Hockey team is the farm team for the Ottawa Senators, so that's kind of interesting.
  A few weeks later, we received another envelope from his mission with more paperwork and more information. I'll quote a few things here:
  "About nine million people from many different countries live within our boundaries. Much of  Québec has an almost European feel with a distinct culture and unique traffic laws. French and English are predominant, but over 35 other languages are spoken. The Mission Office stocks The Book of Mormon in dozens of languages. Almost any language background you have will help you with missionary work here.
  "Church units are concentrated in the Southern part of these two provinces. There are approximately 9,000 members in four stakes. They include French, English, Spanish and Mandarin speaking wards and branches. You will teach the gospel in at least two of these languages."
  I have to add here that another young man from our stake here has been called to serve in the same mission. This young man is fluent in English and French, and has been called to serve speaking Mandarin!
  Some more facts about missions in general that I found on lds.org under their "for news media" heading:
  Single men between the ages of 19 and 25 serve 2-year missions. Single women over the age of 21 serve 10-month missions. Retired couples also serve missions - in fact, Calvin's Grandma Pettengill served a 3 1/2 year family history mission, and his Grandma and Grandpa Hargrave served a mission too. Calvin's dad served a mission to Mississippi.
  The Provo MTC, where Calvin is studying, is one of 15 MTCs worldwide. The other countries are: Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Dominican Republic, England, Ghana, Guatemala, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, The Philippines, South Africa, and Spain. In fact, one of Calvin's friends from Idaho went to the South African MTC, and another friend went to the Brazil MTC.
  The Provo MTC averages 2,700 missionaries at any given time, or 24,000 over the course of a year.
  Missionaries spend between 3 weeks and 3 months at the MTC depending on their grasp of the language.
  While in the MTC, missionaries spend their days studying religion, language, and teaching skills. Their schedules are busy with classes, personal study time, and sports (yes, they do have a "gym class" period every day and it's my understanding that they are encouraged to exercise regularly while on their mission to keep themselves healthy).
  There are 55,410 missionaries according to the general report in April. With all the missionaries coming home and more going out, that number stays pretty constant.
  There are 340 missions worldwide.