Ten years ago today, almost at this moment, I stepped off of an airplane at McCarran International Airport and, for the first time in two years, I saw my family. I also ended my service as a set-apart missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Two years seems like a long time in the abstract, but this experience flew by. My time as a missionary was, up to that point, the longest I had ever been away from home, the hardest I had ever worked, and the most fun I had ever had. My mission was exhausting and uplifting. I saw the worst in people and I saw the best in people. I saw how people could transform their lives with a steadfast faith in Christ and His gospel. I saw the miracle of His transformative grace work in the lives of my family, my friends, the wonderful people of Kentucky, Indiana, and Illinois; but most significantly, I saw it work within myself. Of all the conversions I witnessed in my time as a missionary, none was more impactful than my own. I grew spiritually as I read the words of prophets both ancient and modern and shared my testimony of their teachings with those around me. Missionary service set the tone for the rest of my life. In my wife I knew I wanted a young woman who undertook a similar sacrifice and I got all of that and more in Seana, who gave of her time, talents, and energies to the people of Micronesia. I am eternally grateful for her example, both to me and to our children. I cant say my mission was the best two years of my life (after all, Ive been married for 9 and a have been a daddy for 8) but it was certainly the longest I had ever focused solely on loving my neighbor and my God, and that experience was worth every sacrifice.
Posted on: Tue, 23 Sep 2014 22:38:03 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015