Oregon triplets receive mission calls to Chile on same day
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On May 20 the Welling triplets from the Beaverton Oregon West Stake opened their mission calls within 15 seconds of each other.
When the dust settled Ryan, Jonathan and Tyson Welling found out they're all headed to Chile. Ryan is called to the Chile Osorno Mission; Jonathan will serve in the Chile Rancagua Mission; the Chile Santiago East Mission is Tyson's destination. They turn 19 on July 24 and enter the MTC together Aug. 5.
The brothers opened their mission calls in order from oldest to youngest: Ryan, Jonathan and, finally, Tyson.
"It was actually pretty cool," said Bart Welling, the young men's father. "We had 25 people in our living room and a bunch of people on cell phones. It was just an amazing feeling.
"The first one opened it and the next two were thinking, 'Oh, where am I going now?' When [Jonathan] opened his and said 'Chile,' the air was thick in the room and everyone just went crazy. And then when [Tyson] found out he was going to Chile, everyone was [ecstatic]."
The brothers have each attended a year of college – Ryan and Jonathan at BYU, and Tyson at BYU-Idaho.
They've spent the summer preparing both temporally and spiritually for their imminent missionary service.
"We're all working right now because we're trying to pay off our missions by ourselves," said Ryan. "It's kind of a lot of money for our parents.
"Our older brother Benjamin got back from his mission in Torreon [Mexico] a couple years ago, so he's been helping us out just learning [Spanish]. And we're going through 'Preach My Gospel.' "
According to Brother Welling, his three sons have distinct personalities despite sharing much in common.
"Tyson is a people person and very athletic," Brother Welling said. "Jonathan is a lot more driven and assertive. He's the organizer. Ryan is very studious and diligent and obedient.
"They share a lot of things. They're a lot alike in many ways – just very, very tight, close brothers."
