Mission Day

Jena and I attended a wedding reception for Brinley Dickson on Thursday night in Ogden and we were able to visit with some of our friends from Syracuse.  The Dicksons are dear friends and neighbors in Walnut Grove.

The most common question I got was what is a typical day like as a missionary.  I don't know how to answer that because it seems like everyday is different and sometimes different than we had planned...and the weeks are flying by.  I know that I have a to-do list and I never get it done in a day or the week that I have planned.

Typically--for us:

6:00 am  Gary is up and working on the computer.  As zone leaders, there is related paperwork and organization and lots and lots of emails to sort through.  Gary has taken the bulk of that responsibilities and these early morning hours are usually focused on that.

Around 7:00-8:00 he heads out to the Church History Library where he has been busy updating computers in preparation for the opening of the Church History Library  -BIG NEWS--August 16 all of Temple Square including the Church History Library will be open for guests and employees and missionaries.  Gary is able to connect with our zone members who are currently coming into the Church History Library to work on their assignments.

 7:15-7:30  I get up and do my morning routine, light housekeeping stuff and prepare to be on the computer by 9:00.  I answer emails, attend meetings virtually, do projects for the zone  (currently preparing for a Zone Social in a few weeks), and do time stamps for interviews we have done.

Gary usually heads home around 1, we have lunch, and then it is back to our computers or our phones as we call zone members to check on them or Church History Library employees to check in or mission leaders or their children as part of our Church history assignments.  Sometimes, I may head over to the Church History Library to meet with a zone member or help with a donation or other tasks, but mostly I am in our apartment with Jena.

We occasionally do oral histories--we would like to do two a week but it just depends on finding and their schedules.  Everyone tells us it slows down during the summer so we are expecting that might happen.  I currently have four more time stamps to write of interviews we have already done so I have work to do even without any oral histories set for this coming week. The bulk of our time is definitely spent on zone leader related activities.

My plan is to stop by 4 or so and head out for a walk, but that doesn't happen as much as it should and it has been hot around here lately.

We have dinner around 6:30 and then Gary is back on the computer, but I usually spend time with a book, household tasks, watching TV--Jazz are in the playoffs--Gary is used to working 16 hours a day--me, not so much!

We attend mission devotions, zone leadership meetings, and Church in person, but most other meetings are still done in Zoom including our zone devotional and leadership meetings. 

That is what our days look like.  Rereading it seems like it is boring but really it is filled with sweet interactions with amazing people and so many moments of spiritual feeling and promptings.

Whatever you are doing in your life right now--doing what you know Heavenly Father wants you to be doing and experiencing right now is the best feeling!  And missionary life--that is a different level of doing than I have experienced in the past.  I think it is due in part to the prayers that people offer for the missionaries and in part to the sense of purpose that being a missionary has.  It already makes me sad to think about not being a missionary when our mission comes to an end.

So that is a "typical day" in a mission where every day is different!

And for the BYU fans in the crowd--did I mention that I got to do an oral history with Steve Cleveland and his wife who served in the Indiana Indianapolis Mission?  He was a former BYU basketball coach. Pretty fun--and spiritual like the oral histories always are. Go, Cougars!!!