Why Are We Called To Foreign Missions?

In May Jeffrey and I met with Elder Lance Wickman of the First Quorum of Seventy. He spoke with us for a bit and invited us to pray about going on a mission. Jeffrey would work in the legal department and I would serve under the direction of the Area President.

In July we received the call. We were asked to serve in the Asia North Area in Manila, Philippines. Why are we called on foreign missions in this church?  I know that men and women from the Philippines are called to serve in foreign lands including America also.

Taking a good look at my home last May, I realized my “stuff” or belongings were crowded, unused, and taking up space. There were many projects waiting for ‘someday’. Knowing I would be gone for 18 months I made a concentrated effort to finish my someday projects. By September I had finished a 12-year quilt, a nine-year quilt, a seven-year quilt, and a quilt started last year. (Beware if I start a thank-you quilt for you, it may be years till you receive it.)

Since May there has been has been a gradually accelerating process of dedication and focus to this new assignment. I started to sort out and decide what my priorities for the next few years would be. After July my direction sharpened.

Sorting through the accumulation of “stuff” has been overwhelming at times. My desire to hang on to “stuff” that may be useful someday is hard to overcome. Nate thoughtfully built some shelves floor to ceiling U-shaped in the garage so Jeffrey and I could box up our ‘stuff’, things we can’t throw away yet. With this design we can pull out boxes from the front or back and Nate has made it very accessible.

Shelves that Nate built! Now very full.

 I do know of some things in there that I could now throw away but the time is gone. The closer I got to leaving for the MTC the more ‘stuff’ I was able to throw away. In fact the last day Jeffrey and I put our suitcases into the living room and brought in clothes and necessities to bring while sorting out the rest of our living space and it became easy to throw away ‘stuff’. There were more things to do than I had time for.

A last minute trip back to the store to take off a security tag was the last straw. When I got home after the sun had gone down, I scooped up the waiting piles to be packed and threw them into the suitcases and said, “I’m done.” After sleeping a few hours we left at 3:30 am and drove across the Nevada desert to Provo. I felt bad about leaving the floors un-vacuumed, dust in all the corners and piles of shoes and debris to throw away. Kelsi and Nate kept assuring us they would take care of it – I still felt bad leaving that way.

It is not only my physical stuff that I’ve been throwing out. I’ve been trying to rededicate my life on the spiritual side also.

Michael dropping us off at the MTC

My point is that setting aside some time to be dedicated and throwing out the less needed can be very helpful in changing and turning my life closer to God. I can go to another land where I am not known and decide to be a different person. They have no idea what I have been like and done before and with this new slate I can become a different person because they don’t know me as what I was. I can throw out “stuff” that is hindering my progress to be like the Savior.

Being called on a mission is to rededicate my life and focus my attention to spiritual wellbeing and the spiritual wellbeing of others.   

Taking a walk at night across the street