One of the most dynamic Church experiences affordable to members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the opportunity to serve a mission.  When one has decided to serve a mission, the sacrifice consists of a departure from family, friends, and the conveniences of home to live for up to two years in one of hundreds of different missions in the world.  The location is up entirely to Church leaders and is completely unknown to the missionary until the correspondance from Church Headquarters arrives with the President's signature.
 
 
 

Prepared to Serve I never knew about the full-time missionary program until a couple of months after my baptism.  There were no full-time missionaries in my ward, and so I had never personally met any of them.  A friend of mine from the institute was also a convert, and he filled me in on the program, because he was about to go to France to serve his mission.  I went to the airport as he departed and felt the Spirit tell me that I too must serve.  My father was not pleased when I first told him.  He wanted me to finish college first, but I didn’t want to wait.  Within a couple of weeks, his heart had been softened, and he not only allowed me to serve, but was fully supportive and excited about it. Just months prior to my departure to the Argentina, Salta mission, I was called as a stake missionary in my ward, which helped me learn the discussions.  I also attended the missionary preparation classes for a year, which helped me gain a knowledge of the scriptures I’d refer to so frequently.  Having read the Book of Mormon twice, most of the remainder of the Standard Works, and some of the missionary reference library also prepared me.

Called to Serve... Adventurously There were many adventures in my mission to Argentina to make it a very exciting experience.  Bus trips were always an experience.  Sometimes, they would be extremely late or break down in the middle of nowhere.  Since all of our transfers were by bus,  one never knew how well a transfer would go.  In fact, only one of my transfers went smoothly.  The worst of the transfers occurred when I was traveling from the southern part of my mission to the northern part.  If all went well, it would take fourteen hours to arrive.  However, all didn’t go well.  It took me three days  to arrive to my new area, due in large part to having to cross straight through a river in the bus due to a washed-out bridge.  I went without any significant sleep for over 65 hours straight!  I had my backpack stolen with $100, a camera, journal, scriptures, and other stuff in it.  It was an incredible adventure.

One of the oddest adventures of my mission occurred in returning home late one night from a discussion.  My companion and I were riding our bikes slowly on an extremely dark highway.  We could barely distinguish the shoulder of the road from the road itself.  Suddenly my bike came to an instant stop having hit an immovable object.  My back wheel went straight up in the air, and I fell on top of the obstacle.  It took me no time to realize the horror I faced when I my felt my hands wrapped around the bloody neck of a dead horse and my eyes staring right into its own.

Called to Serve... Spiritually One of the greatest things to see in a mission is the way the gospel changes lives.  The Herrera family was one of the first families I had taught in my mission.  At first, they always argued.  Parents yelled at children and fought with each other.  We could usually hear them from 50 yards away as we approached their house.  After they were baptized, my companion had a great idea for a series of family home evenings.  After singing a hymn and praying, we placed the youngest, Fernando, in the “hot seat.”  Each member in the family expressed why they loved Fernando.  It was a touching evening.  It was hoped that they would place a different member of the family in the “hot seat” each week. On a future visit, we couldn’t hear them while approaching their house as we usually did, so we assumed they weren’t home.  However, we were surprised when Sylvia opened the door.  We were amazed at the spirit of love we found inside.  Fani was holding her granddaughter tenderly, and the children were playing together harmoniously rather than fighting over the toys.  It was a marvelous sight to behold.  The power of the gospel to change lives cannot be underestimated... but then again I know this fact by my own personal experience with the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

I will never forget the lesson I learned on the power of the priesthood.  Sisters Bellone and Houriet were teaching a Baptist family who decided to get baptized in the true church.  However, frightening things were happening to them during the last week.  We had found some bad literature and other items in the house (such as a Ouija board) and assumed that perhaps Satan had more control over them through these objects.  The family decided to burn all of these items.  Afterwards, my companion and I blessed the mother and her two sons with the peace and comfort they needed in their lives at that moment.  As I began to bless that sweet mother, I began to tremble and cry.  I could feel the Spirit working in me as never before.  When I opened my eyes, I was simply amazed to discover how calm her countenance was.  In just a moment, all of her fears and anxiety were dissolved through the power of the priesthood.  She knew it too, because there was no other way to explain such an immediate change within her.  I will never forget how I learned on that occasion how powerful the priesthood really is.

Called to Serve... and Serve and Serve and Serve! On my mission, I had an opportunity to grow through the many callings I held.  As branch president, I learned how to lead, how to interview, how to set apart, and how to handle tithing and offerings.  As district leader, I taught missionaries and encouraged them in their work.  As zone leader, I handled problems, served and trained missionaries and conducted baptismal interviews.  It was my least enjoyable calling, because it took me away from proselyting too much.  It was tedious and frustrating.  My most enjoyable calling was as a trainer.  I trained three missionaries, and each of time I felt of their eagerness, and it brought excitement and enthusiasm back into my life as a missionary. I often performed other duties on my branches as well, such as: janitor; chorister in the Sunday school, priesthood, and sacrament meetings;  teacher in the primary, Sunday school, and priesthood;  and elder’s quorum president.  I also found opportunities to:  conduct meetings;  offer prayers; bless babies, houses, sick and afflicted,  and give talks in sacrament meeting on the average of twice or so a month.  In short, my mission was an experience that I wouldn’t trade for anything.

Picture Pages:   At a Glance First Area: Palpala Second Area: La Banda del Rio Sali Third Area: Joaquin V. Gonzalez Fourth Area: Santiago del Estero Fifth Area: San Ramon de la Nueva Oran Sixth Area: Hipolito Yrigoyen