April 8th 2016 marked the one year anniversary of returning from my mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, otherwise known as the LDS church, or "Mormon" church.
I thought it would be fun to compile a list of frequently asked questions that I have been asked since returning home, and that many of my return missionary friends have been asked as well.
I served for one year in the Utah Salt Lake City South mission and covered mainly the cities of Riverton and Sandy, as well as a bit of Draper. It was no doubt the hardest but most wonderful time of my life and I learned many things about myself and the kind of person I want to be. As a missionary you have many experiences, good and bad, and end up with many stories to tell. Often it's hard to think of an answer to the many questions thrown at you, but I will do my very best here.
Q: What was the best part of your mission?
A: I wish that I could pick one particular moment but it would truly be impossible. I met and taught so many wonderful people and grew so much as a person all while strengthening my testimony of God and Jesus Christ. I suppose I could say the best thing I've taken from my mission is the relationships I formed and the knowledge that I gained.
Q: Did anyone who fed you dinner make you eat anything gross?
A: I actually got very lucky, a plus side to serving in the United States is that you have almost no risk of eating spiders or duck fetus' or whatever they eat in other countries. I did however develop an undying hatred of lasagna and pulled pork because I had to eat it way too much. It's been a year and the smell and sight of either of them makes me want to vomit.
Q: Did you have any scary experiences?
A: I never felt like my life was in danger but I was definitely scared more than a few times. I had rocks thrown at me/my car several times.I had people who loved to scream awful things at us while we were just simply walking down the street.A little girl in our neighborhood was almost kidnapped just a few blocks away from where we were living.
There was once a woman who locked my companion and I in her house so she could scream at us and let us know in detail why we are going to burn in hell.
A more scarring story than scary would be when a man answered his door completely naked. That was interesting.
Q: What was the hardest part of serving?
A: The hardest part was definitely being away from my family. I missed my family so much every day, but I knew they were proud of me and that kept me going. I loved hearing from them each week and writing them letters about what I had accomplished that week.
These are just a few of the questions returned missionaries frequently get asked.
We also get asked a few that we prefer to not be asked and that you may want to rethink bringing up.
Q: How many baptisms did you have?
A: The amount of baptisms doesn't matter. What matters is your growth as a follower of Christ and helping others grow and learn and become closer to Him.
Q: Are you glad to be home?
A: The answer is probably yes, but saying that out loud definitely makes us feel guilty. We've been exhausted our entire mission, it's nice to be able to rest. We've been away from our family, of course we're glad to be back with them. Those things don't mean we didn't love our mission and miss it more than anything.
Q: What was the worst part of your mission?
A: There's no way I could ever identify a "worst" part of my mission. There were definitely plenty of awful days where I wanted to give up, but I wouldn't take any of them back. Each awful day was a lesson learned and a trial of faith. In the end, the good completely outweighed the bad.
This is a question that I have particularly O gotten a lot of....as well as anyone else who served in Utah.
Q: Is there even anything to do in the state of Utah? Isn't that state already full of Mormons?
A: First of all, yes there are a lot of Mormons in Utah, but there are a large amount of people who are not. You'd actually be surprised how many Utahns are not at all fond of the LDS church.
Second of all, members of our church are far from perfect, and they can always use strengthening from having the missionaries in their home doing service or teaching a lesson.
All in all, I could spend forever talking about my mission. It is the greatest thing I ever did, and no matter how tired I was emotionally and physically, I do not regret that year I spent serving the Lord in the least. I am who I am today because of that choice I made.