Digital Only: Service Missions
My Service Mission: Becoming the Hands of the Lord
My mission president offered me an opportunity I couldn’t refuse: the option to serve a service mission.
My whole life I was told that able young men should serve a mission. However, as time passed, I knew that talking to others all day every day for two years would be really difficult for me.
Serving with a Smile
When I turned 18, my bishop told me that serving a mission would be one of the hardest things I could ever do, but also one of the best things I could experience. After lots of thought and prayer, I decided to go for it.
I was assigned to serve in California, USA. Once I was there, despite all my efforts, I could hardly say a word in any lesson. My mission president told me to start by smiling to others. This seemed so simple, yet it was something I wasn’t doing yet. As I began to try, it felt good to smile and invite the Spirit by being happy.
An Opportunity I Couldn’t Refuse
After six months, I was still struggling. I had the desire to do the Lord’s work, but talking to others all day seemed impossible for me.
After talking with my leaders, we decided I was not in the best place for me. My mission president then offered me an opportunity I couldn’t refuse: the option to serve a service mission. Without skipping a beat, I immediately said yes.
Despite not knowing everything that lay ahead of me, I knew that I would still be able to serve my God.
Serving as the Savior Would
Now, as a service missionary, I still help others come unto Christ by serving with loving kindness as the Savior would. I serve at a humanitarian center, a bishop’s storehouse, the temple, and I even help teach marching band at a high school.
When you teach the gospel, you’re sharing the words of the Lord, and when you serve others, you are the hands of the Lord. Either way, you’re still inviting others to come unto Christ and ministering through the power of the Holy Ghost.