If you served a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, you definitely have some interesting stories to tell. Every mission is absolutely unique, but there are some common experiences that have happened to almost all of the missionaries I know. Check out this list of weird things every missionary has done!
Related: Serving a Mission During COVID-19. What’s it Like?
The Closet
You know “the closet” in every missionary apartment? Every living space had some sort of location with treasures left behind from previous elders or sisters. My husband tells me that he found a sword in one of his, which is terrifying. I remember discovering puzzles, old handbooks, and even journals left behind. It was always an adventure to look through and I’m sure each missionary has kept a thing or two.
Tiny Meals
Once upon a time, we couldn’t think of anything to eat. Sound familiar? There were things in the cupboards, but none of it sounded good or went together. One evening, I was very much out of ideas. What did I do? I grabbed a can of green beans, put it in a bowl along with some butter, heated it up, and voila. Dinner was served (I promise I wasn’t starving for 18 months, mom). If you served a mission, what was your tiniest meal?
Raw Meat
I really wish this wasn’t something that almost every missionary has experienced. However, with so many people feeding you dinner, it’s inevitable that you will be given some interesting food. I served a mission in the United States and didn’t think weird meals were in store for me. Boy, was I wrong. I wonder what that buffalo meat would have tasted like if it was cooked thoroughly?
Praying
When I reached out to some friends for input on this article, almost all of them mentioned something about praying with strangers. I heard stories about praying at the drive-through window, in dark alleyways, and in the middle of busy intersections. Where is the most random place you’ve ever offered a prayer for someone?
Power Naps
If you needed a nap and wanted to be obedient, you had to be pretty strategic about your scheduling. Missionaries don’t have much time for lunch and dinner (in fact, we would set a timer to make sure we didn’t go over our time limit). I think we all have set some records for extremely fast lunches so that we could take a 20-minute power nap!
Tiwi
Not every single missionary is going to know what I’m talking about here. However, if you drove a car during your time in the mission field, there’s a good chance you shuddered at the sight of the word “Tiwi.” This tiny box in your car gave all of us a big headache, but kept us safe (and for that we are grateful)! Every missionary that drove with one of these got all too used to the phrase, “Check your speed!”
Obedience Walks
Next up, we have the classic obedience walks. They may have been called something different in your mission, but we all did them! It sure was difficult to set appointments from 8-9 p.m., right? Whenever this time block was open, I found myself going for walks on the streets near my apartment in hopes that we could find a new friend to teach. Did you see any miracles from doing an obedience walk?
Backing the Car
Again, if you had a car, you know this one! We all felt pretty awkward when we had to stand behind the car and back up our companion. Didn’t it feel like everyone in the whole world was staring at us? You either stood there emotionless or tried to make it fun by making faces at your companion. How did you help back the car?
Hugs
How could we forget the never-ending cringe when someone of the opposite gender went in for a hug? Good times. For the elders, it was usually a sweet, old lady who just wanted to show some love. However, we never really knew quite how to handle the situation. Do you have any good stories from when you had to dodge a hug?
Related: 12 Types of Missionaries You Definitely Had as a Companion
I’m sure I could go on and on with these. Which ones were you lucky enough to never experience? What weird stories do you have from your mission? We would love to hear from you in the comments below!
