After being rescued as a youth, Brennan Hawkins now serves as a YCSM and helps others in need.
Back in 2005 I took a wrong turn on a Scout camping trip and got lost in the Uinta Mountains. I was only eleven, and it was four nights and five days before I was found. Over three thousand people helped in the effort to rescue me. Honestly, I really don’t remember much about the whole thing, but I do remember saying a prayer, and I remember how I felt after it was all over.
I realized I had two choices: either I could be mad at God for letting me get lost or I could thank Him for helping others find me. I chose to give thanks. That decision and that attitude have helped me with everything else that has come up in my life since then.
When I got older, I had pretty much decided that a mission just wasn’t going to happen for me. But as time went on, I watched every single one of my friends serve—and every single one loved it. So I decided to get on my knees and find out what Heavenly Father wanted me to do. I prayed and felt peace. I knew that serving a mission was the right thing for me to do.
Now, 10 years after my ordeal in the Uintas, I am serving my Father in Heaven as a full-time young Church-service missionary at Welfare Square in Salt Lake City. I fill orders for people, work in the meat freezer and dairy, and talk to tons of interesting people when I give them tours of the place.
There’s no question that this is right where the Lord wants me to be! I feel the Spirit every day. Everybody is super nice around here. I just feel like I belong, you know? And I love helping people.
Choosing to be a young Church-service missionary has been one of the best decisions of my life. I get to be a part of a system that rescues people in need all over the world. It’s such an awesome feeling to be able to look out for others and help them in their time of need—just like others once looked out for me.
