Before I entered the mission field was I extremely happy to be going on a mission. I was happy because it was the first time I really felt like I was needed by my Father in Heaven and I really felt like I could use my mission as a way to pay him back for all the blessings he had given me. I came to realize that I could never be even with God and all that he has given me, especially since my mission came to be one of the biggest blessings of my life and here is why...
1). Companions
There are some good and some who are just hard to love, but in the end, there are only two people who really understand what you have been through, you and your companion. Since being home I love the feeling of hanging out with my companions and we can look at each other and realize that we are the only two people who really know how that baptisms felt, or how hot it was that one day. There is an undeniable bond that companions, especially sister missionary companionships share. My companions are not considered my friends, but my sisters. I love each of them to this day like I love my own two sisters.
2). Confidence
It takes a lot of guts to talk to 100's of people a day, knock on random strangers doors and ask to let you in, and be 100% vulnerable with people about what is most important to you and not knowing if they will accept your message or shut you out... literally! During my mission, I learned that I am truly a daughter of God and he has every confidence in my abilities and I need to have that same confidence in myself.
3). Family
I have always had a strong love for my family and one of the reasons I wanted to serve was to help others understand that they can be with their families forever. During my mission I began to understand my place in my family and that I couldn't take them or the opportunity to be together forever for granted. I realized if my family is most important I had to do better and be better every day so that I could be with them forever and that it was not automatic. I missed my family on my mission but more than that, I truly learned what makes an eternal family and what my role in one needs to be.
4). Motherhood
Before my mission, I had this idea that being a stay at home Mom was degrading of my intelligence and my abilities but every lesson on my mission taught me otherwise. I saw that the happy families were ones where the Mother was present and active. I saw that being a mother is not just stay at home, but it is teaching, loving and providing opportunities for one's family. I meet so many amazing mothers on my mission that taught me that a relationship with God is more important than any other relationship there is, and when the Mother is active and present in their families lives and in the gospel, everything seems to work out.
5). Marriage
Being around someone for 24 hours straight was an adjustment for me and something I was always afraid of. I saw that a relationship is not always fun and games. I realized I what makes a healthy relationship; communication, love, selflessness, common purpose, and Heavenly Father. I saw that God intended us to be together and happy and that it's not always easy but like everything in God's plan, if we follow him and obey him, it will always be worth it. I learned that things that I need to change to love more and what is really the most important things to look for in someone who is the father of my children and not just loves interest but an eternal companion.
6).Obedience
In the MTC I was taught the obedience brings forth blessings but EXACT obedience brings forth miracles. I loved this because it helped me to see that the Lord doesn't want us to be obedient to 99% of the commandments but 100% and how our blessings differ based on our exact obedience.
7). Temple
My mission president told me at the beginning of my mission that "having a temple recommend is obedience but using my temple recommend and attending the temple regularly is diligence." I did not have a temple in my mission and as a result, I did not attend it for 16 months. The first thing I did when I got off the plane was going to the LA temple with family. My mission taught me to not only honor but rejoice in the temple covenants that I made. During my exit interview, I was told to pick one day on the calendar and to not let a month go by in my life that I didn't attend the temple.
9). Gratitude
A mission is hard and there are a lot of ways to get down on yourself. I'm so thankful that my mission leaders instilled a spirit of gratitude with everything we did as missionaries. Looking back I know I had some hard times as a missionary but I cannot remember any details other than how grateful I was to have experienced them. We were encouraged to keep a gratitude journal and I filled up three of them during my 18 months and they are one of my most favorite mission souvenirs.
10). Life Experience
During my time in college, I never did a study aboard. I had spent time after high school in Mozambique but nothing is quite like a mission. Whether you are 500 miles from home or 5,000, there things that you can only experience as a missionary. A mission is not meant to be a travel experience, but it so fun and unique to be immersed in a different place and learn from other people and see different perspectives. Missionaries have a very unique experience as they not only walk the streets of cities all over the world but they are let into the house after house around the world and interact with people in an unprecedented way.
11). New Found Skills and Interests
There were so many skills I learned on my mission that I don't think I would have ever learned if I had not served a mission. Before my mission I was terrible as managing my money and my time. As a missionary I learned how to do both. I learned how to cook, took up soccer, draw, and sing as a missionary and they are skills that I cherish and are unique from my mission experience.
It takes a lot of guts to talk to 100's of people a day, knock on random strangers doors and ask to let you in, and be 100% vulnerable with people about what is most important to you and not knowing if they will accept your message or shut you out... literally! During my mission, I learned that I am truly a daughter of God and he has every confidence in my abilities and I need to have that same confidence in myself.
3). Family
I have always had a strong love for my family and one of the reasons I wanted to serve was to help others understand that they can be with their families forever. During my mission I began to understand my place in my family and that I couldn't take them or the opportunity to be together forever for granted. I realized if my family is most important I had to do better and be better every day so that I could be with them forever and that it was not automatic. I missed my family on my mission but more than that, I truly learned what makes an eternal family and what my role in one needs to be.
4). Motherhood
Before my mission, I had this idea that being a stay at home Mom was degrading of my intelligence and my abilities but every lesson on my mission taught me otherwise. I saw that the happy families were ones where the Mother was present and active. I saw that being a mother is not just stay at home, but it is teaching, loving and providing opportunities for one's family. I meet so many amazing mothers on my mission that taught me that a relationship with God is more important than any other relationship there is, and when the Mother is active and present in their families lives and in the gospel, everything seems to work out.
5). Marriage
Being around someone for 24 hours straight was an adjustment for me and something I was always afraid of. I saw that a relationship is not always fun and games. I realized I what makes a healthy relationship; communication, love, selflessness, common purpose, and Heavenly Father. I saw that God intended us to be together and happy and that it's not always easy but like everything in God's plan, if we follow him and obey him, it will always be worth it. I learned that things that I need to change to love more and what is really the most important things to look for in someone who is the father of my children and not just loves interest but an eternal companion.
6).Obedience
In the MTC I was taught the obedience brings forth blessings but EXACT obedience brings forth miracles. I loved this because it helped me to see that the Lord doesn't want us to be obedient to 99% of the commandments but 100% and how our blessings differ based on our exact obedience.
7). Temple
My mission president told me at the beginning of my mission that "having a temple recommend is obedience but using my temple recommend and attending the temple regularly is diligence." I did not have a temple in my mission and as a result, I did not attend it for 16 months. The first thing I did when I got off the plane was going to the LA temple with family. My mission taught me to not only honor but rejoice in the temple covenants that I made. During my exit interview, I was told to pick one day on the calendar and to not let a month go by in my life that I didn't attend the temple.
9). Gratitude
A mission is hard and there are a lot of ways to get down on yourself. I'm so thankful that my mission leaders instilled a spirit of gratitude with everything we did as missionaries. Looking back I know I had some hard times as a missionary but I cannot remember any details other than how grateful I was to have experienced them. We were encouraged to keep a gratitude journal and I filled up three of them during my 18 months and they are one of my most favorite mission souvenirs.
10). Life Experience
During my time in college, I never did a study aboard. I had spent time after high school in Mozambique but nothing is quite like a mission. Whether you are 500 miles from home or 5,000, there things that you can only experience as a missionary. A mission is not meant to be a travel experience, but it so fun and unique to be immersed in a different place and learn from other people and see different perspectives. Missionaries have a very unique experience as they not only walk the streets of cities all over the world but they are let into the house after house around the world and interact with people in an unprecedented way.
11). New Found Skills and Interests
There were so many skills I learned on my mission that I don't think I would have ever learned if I had not served a mission. Before my mission I was terrible as managing my money and my time. As a missionary I learned how to do both. I learned how to cook, took up soccer, draw, and sing as a missionary and they are skills that I cherish and are unique from my mission experience.
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