Mission Accomplished

 

     The rest of my mission was a battle to say the least. To make things worse, I had trouble memorizing the “Palestras”—short lessons designed to teach the Mormon gospel in small increments. Maybe my mother was right for holding me back in the first grade! During my whole mission, I was not able to memorize most of the Palestras; although, I could easily teach them once I mastered the language after just six months in Brazil. I never moved up in rank until the last few months of my mission. Embarrassingly, I remained Junior Missionary Companion throughout most of my missionary experience. I became quite depressed again after twelve months on my mission, when all of the other missionaries I arrived with were already Senior Companions, District Leaders, and Zone Leaders. I learned to cope by not caring about rank. I just wanted to be a good person and serve the people. I found myself helping with humanitarian needs rather than missionary responsibilities whenever possible. I taught English to the poor. I helped with construction. I painted their houses and dug their foundations. I helped the elderly. I gave food to the starving. And I learned to be happy. I loved the Brazilian people as my own family and no rank or promotion could make me happier than the people I served.