Mitch is our third child. When I was 18 weeks along, the doctor told us that he had spina bifida. He has had to go through 19 surgeries. We would take each obstacle as it came. Mitch had graduated from high school. We were all worried about what his next step was going to be. Because the announcement of no mission was devastating for everybody, because he'd been planning on this his whole life. Around this time, I was feeling like I needed my patriarchal blessing. And in that it says that I would have full-time mission opportunities that would be suited to my needs and abilities, which confused me, because I thought I was being told that I couldn't serve. He applied for a few different jobs. And nobody would hire him. I eventually applied at the DI and they accepted me.

He was hired on as a cashier, and then he started working and got really, really tired. He wasn't used to having those long shifts. Some of my priesthood leaders, they played a key role and helped me to see what goals I needed to become a better employee. OK, Mitch, this is your development meeting. My job coach, she would help me by seeing if I was staying on top of achieving my goals. His own personal confidence just blossomed. I realized that I could do things that I never knew I could do before. I can be independent. Thank you for shopping with us today. We will open tomorrow at 10 o'clock. One day, we were led to the family church history headquarters mission. And as we were meeting with coordinator, he said that well, this isn't a part-time service mission. This is a full-time non-proselyting mission. Do you think you'd be interested in that? After we left, as we were driving home, I looked at him and said, Mitch, this was not an accident. He said, mom, I think you're right. I believe this program jump started that side of Elder Fennemore. When I was with him in the program, it was Mitch. But today, he's Elder Fennemore. It's been a real blessing to see the change that came about from being employed at the DI. It's just really changed Mitch's life.