Christmas in the Mission Field
Christmas as a missionary will be different from Christmas at home, but it can still be a great experience.
If you’re considering serving a mission, being away from your family for Christmas—sometimes in a different country—can be an intimidating idea.
But according to these returned missionaries, you have wonderful things to look forward to. Check out what they shared about their Christmases in the mission field.
Illustrations by Jarom Vogel
The best part of Christmas as a missionary is that you’re representing Jesus Christ—the reason why we celebrate.
In the Philippines, we celebrate Christmas from September until February. Everyone is so festive and lively! But in Hong Kong, the atmosphere is totally different. That was hard for me, but it really motivated me to work hard. Not many people in Hong Kong believe in Jesus Christ, and we needed to share His message so more people can feel His love at Christmas and always.
Even though you’re away from home, you’re going to experience a different kind of joy, and it will help you understand why we celebrate Christmas. If you focus on the Savior, you can feel Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ with you.
Charles S., from Manila, Philippines; served in the China Hong Kong Mission
I come from a big family, so it was lonely to be with just my companion at Christmas. But the homesickness passes. So many members opened their doors and “adopted” us as family members for the day, and that helped a lot.
Enjoy Christmas on the mission because it’s a unique time to strengthen your testimony of Jesus Christ. During my mission, I realized that Christmas isn’t about gifts or taking a break from school—it’s about the greatest gift of all, Jesus Christ. Now, the symbol of Christmas for me is a manger, not a tree.
Gabrielly R., from Sergipe, Brazil; served in the Brazil São Paulo North Mission
Because of physical health problems, when I was about a year into my mission, I had to go home for a little bit. But before I left, one of the other sisters told me, “Be home for Christmas. This is your home.”
I made that a goal. I knew the mission field was where God wanted me to be, and I really wanted to do what He asked, feel the joy I’d felt before, and spend my Christmas experiencing miracles as a missionary.
I returned to my original assignment in the first week of December. God helped me jump back into the work, and it was such a good Christmas season. It was service-oriented and Christ-centered, just how it’s supposed to be. Sometimes we get caught up in the material aspects of Christmas, but that’s not the point. The point is that Jesus Christ was born for us, lived for us, and died for us because He loves us.
I loved having Him be the center of my life during my mission because it helped me feel closer to Him, and I got to share that gift with other people too. We were teaching a woman who really wanted her family to come over for Christmas because she hadn’t seen them in a while. We cleaned up her house, set up her Christmas tree, and watched the Church video “The Christ Child” with her.
Later she told us, “I got to have Christmas because of you sisters. I wouldn’t have had my family over if you hadn’t helped me.” It really touched my heart. I was so grateful that God let me experience that.
In the future, I want to make my Christmases more about Christ and be more involved in Light the World. That’s how we can be more like Him: by serving more and being outward-focused.
Mary M., from Colorado, USA; served in the Arizona Mesa Mission