Willis sets out on California mission

Tami Willis. Photo by Sue Anderson

Tami Willis, Sisters High School Class of 2000, will enter the Missionary Training Center (MTC) in Provo, Utah, on March 26 to begin her 18-month mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

She will be in Provo for three weeks, then she will move on to the Carlsbad, California area where she will remain for the rest of her mission.

"I was about 10 when I decided to go on a mission," Willis said.

Later on her goals were more specific.

"I wanted to graduate from high school, go to college for a year, go on a mission, and then when I came back, I would finish college. Everything has worked out exactly as I've planned."

But it hasn't been easy.

Willis has a cognitive learning disability which made it hard for her to keep up with her class. In her freshman year of high school, Jim Golden, her Educational Resource Center (ERC) teacher, helped her make goals just to graduate. She took tests down in the ERC room and teachers would help her if she needed it.

By her junior year, Tami had decided she was tired of being labeled "special" and decided it was time to learn how to succeed on her own. Halfway through her junior year her goals were no longer just to graduate; now they included going to college.

Willis attended early morning seminary before her high school classes for four years, studying the scriptures. She also attended weekly meetings of Young Women, an organization that teaches girls from 12-18 life skills, spiritual knowledge and service experiences.

"Young Women has helped me with setting goals and organizing what I need to do in my life," Willis said.

"In our church, we don't have just one person speaking, everybody has a chance to say their piece. I have given a lot of talks in church. It has made me able to talk better in front of people."

Willis still faces many challenges. She needs to wear ankle braces to walk for any extended periods of time.

From a military family, Tami has lived in Colorado Springs, Colorado; West Point, New York; and Fort Monroe, Virginia. She was in Germany during the Gulf War, but has never lived away from her family. This month she will leave her family for the first time to be on her own.

Willis' great grandparents, Sisters residents Ruth and Ray Rowe, are very excited about her mission call.

Tami attended COCC and has been helping her mother with her daycare business in Sisters.

Other missionaries that have been sent from the Sisters Oregon Branch of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints are Carrie Beck, Nathan Zandonatti, Danny Kemp, Tysha Kemp, Cory Lounsbury, Derek Lounsbury, David Kemp (currently in Brazil), Rachel Kemp (currently in Brazil), and Caleb Anderson (currently in Puerto Rico).