I have thought a long time whether to post this or not. I have been home a little over a year and feel it is time to do so. To all sisters about to receive their call, or begin their missions, there is something you need to understand about a mission and the joy that can come from it. A mission is hard, you've heard it before right? You may think it’s hard because all the walking, you may have to learn a new language (trust me, that is quite a challenge in and of itself), the rejection you face, and the disagreements that may arise between you and your companion, but that is not what makes a mission hard. What makes a mission hard is the personal struggle within yourself to be obedient.
A lot of missionaries are disobedient, more than you would think. You’ll see when you get to the field, being obedient requires a lot of integrity. Studying when you should, waking up when you should, studying and praying with your companion even when you’re mad at her, etc. But in all reality the most challenging act that requires obedience is in your attitude and your thoughts. Thinking about those you are serving and not about how hungry or thirsty you are, what food you miss from your country or having that worldly song in your head. I can tell you there is not a SINGLE missionary out there who has ever been obedient 100% all because of the thoughts they have had. Boyd K. Packer once said: “Probably the greatest challenge to people of any age, particularly young people, and the most difficult thing you will face in mortal life is to learn to control your thoughts. As a man ‘thinketh in his heart, so is he’ (Proverbs 23:7). One who can control his thoughts has conquered himself.”
So? You will probably get to a low point in your mission, and will start counting the days for when it will end. I think every missionary has to go through a point such as that so that you can prove to the Lord (and more importantly to yourself) that you can be trusted and you can do what is required. Looking back on my mission, I was the happiest and felt most peace with myself when I was being obedient – EXACTLY obedient. And what’s interesting is that it was the hardest I worked my entire mission, my companion and I promised to help each other be better. We fasted, prayed, we taught amazingly well together but we found NO ONE who cared enough to truly listen or come to church. But I was so happy! Because I was giving it my all. Right before my companion was transferred out of that area we found one woman who started to progress. She was baptized after I left that area.
True success on a mission is not measured by the amount of lessons you teach, or how many investigators you find, or how many people you baptize (because let’s be honest here, the baptismal font isn’t the goal -- it’s the temple. If your investigators get baptized you better help them towards the temple because that’s the POINT of baptism) no, true success is measured by a missionary’s loyalty to the Lord by being obedient. And only true happiness and satisfaction comes from a mission by being obedient. I look back on a certain point of my mission when I let my obedience slip and remember, bitterly, the horrible feeling I had of failure. Interestingly enough, I had more success in seeing investigators baptized during that time, and I was happy for them but not for my work as a missionary. I don’t want any sister to look back on her mission at ANY point and think the same.
Regardless of what anyone is doing around you, including your companion (or I may need to say especially your companion) be obedient to the Lord and you will enjoy your mission and be happy. The time flies, and you will find yourself coming home sooner than you think. Love it and live it to its fullest – you’ll never have a time like this in all your existence again.
Best of luck in serving the Lord,
Former Hermana Hixson
Misión Perú Iquitos
Misión Perú Iquitos
