Where I Come From- I Hope They Call Me On a Mission

I totally dropped the ball on finishing up my blog posts last month. But, I'm thinking that since that was only yesterday, I can still count this "Where I Come From" post for March. Yep, I'm in charge. I'm counting it for last month. ;) 
Since my brother's homecoming my thought's have gravitated toward missionary work. Did I ever tell you that I wanted to serve a mission? Not only wanted to- I was dying to. It was on my list. It was happening! I even wore a little missionary tag around the house when I was little. But as you all know, it wasn't in the cards for me. At least not at twenty-one. But hopefully Tyler and I will serve one together one day.


For those you who are unfamiliar with LDS missionaries, let me tell you a little bit about them. You know those weird dudes wearing white shirts and ties, look young, have a name tag, and are always in pairs? Well, those are Mormon missionaries. At age 19, young men are called to serve a full two years proclaiming and teaching the gospel of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It is completely voluntary. They are called to serve all over the globe, and have absolutely no choice in deciding where they will serve. 
I know what you're thinking- "Are you really telling me that 19 year-old boys go on missions?" What about college? What about their future? They are in their prime. Are they really going to give up 2 years of their life for work missionary work? Why?

I'll tell you why- The message of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ saves lives, blesses families, and has the power to make anyone happy. It is the happiest message anyone could ever share. I'm talking mountain-moving, peter pan flying, hamburger eating, sunny day HAPPY.

It is that Jesus Christ lives, that the Book of Mormon is the word of God, and it promises the knowledge that families can be together forever. 

They give up 2 years of their life because it is just that important. 
I cannot imagine my life without it. If you want to know more click here. Go ahead click here. Trust me you won't regret it. 

I asked Tyler to write/share an a little experience from his mission for this blog post. After I did this, I immediately thought- "Isn't the man busy enough Jess? Are you really going to add more to his plate?" But before I could change my mind, he had already sent something. I love that man. Thank you babe. 

 For the life of me I can't figure out why my scanner won't scan a nice, crisp copy of this- so annoying! Here he is- the official missionary picture! 19 year-old Tyler Payne...

Tyler served in the Fortaleza, Brazil mission. Cool huh? Here's the story of his first day on the mission-

"My first day in the mission field was a big wake-up call for me. I remember getting my trainer, Elder M. Dos Santos. He was a smart Brazilian that spoke very little english. He was very patient with me, but the first night was rough. My first area was one of the poorest and most dangerous areas in the mission. My first day was a P-day, so it was mainly spent unpaking and moving into my new apartment. That night we had a meeting with the Ward mission leader. He was an excited and helpful guy, but I could not understand a word he said. He spoke so much slang and had a thick accent that I could not understand. I went home that night and thought to myself that this was going to be a lot more difficult then I had originally thought. I could understand my companion just fine, but the locals were almost impossible to disifer. Life is very stressful when you cant understand anyone that is talking to you.
That night I said one of the most fervent prayers of my life. I was truely blessed and learned to fluently speak portguese extremely fast. Within a couple of weeks I could say and understand pretty much everything. Within a couple of months, it became second nature.

Life is full of challenges, but with some hard work and some help from above we are capable of accomplishing miracles." 


   And here is my favorite mission picture... I'm telling you--- GOSH DANG HAPPINESS PEOPLE!!!