I came home early - thinking about going back on the mission.

[TaylorH]

I was called to serve a mission in the Philippines and I came home early for mental / physical reasons. I was in the field for about 3 weeks and spent 7 weeks in the MTC(s) 6 in Provo and 1 in Manila.

My question is if I want to go back: 1 can I go back to my original mission? and 2: is there any way I could redo my time in the MTC? Is that completely unheard of? Would I be able to request to go throught the MTC again to work on the language and teaching skills more?

Thank you

- Taylor 

[anatess2]

From what happened with someone in my ward - we had somebody who got called to Brazil.  Spent 6 weeks in Provo MTC but instead of going to Brazil, got sent home due to a herniated disc on her spine.  She spent a year getting her back pain alleviated then went back to the mission.  But instead of going to Brazil, she got sent to North Carolina and was put under regular visit schedule with a neurologist there.

Another one on my ward was sent to a Philippine Mission.  He got sent home after he sliced his forearm open with a machete.  There are good neurologists in the big cities in his mission area but there are none outside of the big cities.  He intends to go back to the mission field after his arm is fully back to normal but he doesn't believe he'll be sent back to the Philippines because his arm would need to be checked-up on on a regular basis for the next few years.

So, I think you don't get sent back to your original mission field if it is far from the care you will need.  Coming from the Philippines, I can tell you that mental health is not a thriving professional medical field there especially outside of the big cities.  I highly doubt they'll send you there with a history of mental health issues.

As far as the MTC goes - I think they make that call if you need to be in the MTC more or if you need to be sent to the field immediately.  Having spent a lot of time with American missionaries in the Philippines - they have varying degrees of fluency in the language, some can barely speak the language and they're in the mission field already.  They usually get paired with a local speaker.  Also, some mission areas - like the Tacloban Mission - spend their time in the MTC learning Cebuano and end up in the mission field speaking Waraywaray on their first assignment... the Tacloban Mission have at least 4 major languages plus the variations of each dialect.  They only learn one of them in the MTC and you are expected to just pick up the rest on the field.

Hope this helps.

Edited November 7, 2019 by anatess2

[mridaho]

I returned early from my mission for health reasons. I remained home for 2 months and when I had some answers about my condition and knew that I could complete my mission I was ready to return to my original mission. I found out that it is church policy that you aren’t sent back to the original mission. I finished my mission stateside and it was fine. If you want to return just serve wherever you are sent. The important thing is to share the gospel with others. 

[Fether]

There was a missionary that came out with me that tore his ACL playing basketball. He was gone for a year recovering and then came back to the mission. 

I don’t think it is up to you to decide the nature of your return or where you will end up serving. I wouldn’t worry too much about it either. Missions are inspired by God, whether that means serving a full mission in one place, or serving partly somewhere and then somewhere else. I have a buddy that was called to Germany, but never actually made it there. Ended up serving his full mission in the states.

If you want to go back out, talk to your bishop and he will make it happen if it is possible.

Edited November 7, 2019 by Fether

[TaylorH]

Thank you for all the responses. I am thankful for what you have all said. I remember before I left the mission they current mission president told me that I could come back to that same mission. Im not sure if that is against church policy or not. I asked my stake president about it and I am awaiting a response. 

I would love to go back to the Philippines bc I love the language and the people.

[anatess2]

57 minutes ago, TaylorH said:

Thank you for all the responses. I am thankful for what you have all said. I remember before I left the mission they current mission president told me that I could come back to that same mission. Im not sure if that is against church policy or not. I asked my stake president about it and I am awaiting a response. 

I would love to go back to the Philippines bc I love the language and the people.

Which mission were you in?  My son is headed to the Tacloban Mission in January.  It's easier for him because he's been in the Philippines several times even if he never did learn the language (something about kids from multi-lingual households refusing to learn the foreign language to fit in with their friends or some such...).  But I'm sure he'll pick it up quicker than somebody who is not Filipino-American.  Maybe your paths will cross!

[Vort]

Talk with your stake president. He's your point of contact for all such questions.

[TaylorH]

2 hours ago, anatess2 said:

Which mission were you in?  My son is headed to the Tacloban Mission in January.  It's easier for him because he's been in the Philippines several times even if he never did learn the language (something about kids from multi-lingual households refusing to learn the foreign language to fit in with their friends or some such...).  But I'm sure he'll pick it up quicker than somebody who is not Filipino-American.  Maybe your paths will cross!

Baguio! That would be awesome!

[anatess2]

1 hour ago, TaylorH said:

Baguio! That would be awesome!

Eeek... Baguio is way north than Tacloban.  But hey, maybe you'll be in the Manila MTC together.

[pam]

My nephew is in the Laoag Philippines mission.  He was out there for 3 months and the natives there said he was speaking the language better than some that have lived there their entire life.  He comes home in July of next year.