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| Machu Picchu |
Although today I just stumbled across blogs from missionaries that also served in the same mission that I did, and it made my heart so happy to see them teaching, visiting, and baptizing the people I used to visit!
I came home from the LDS (Latter-day Saint - www.lds.org) mission I served in Cusco, Peru about three months ago, on November 4, 2015. Missions are broken up into time blocks called transfers - each one is 6 weeks, so roughly a month and a half. I spent my first transfer in the mission in the Missionary Training Center in Lima learning how to be a missionary.
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| The MTC (Missionary Training Center) in Lima |
The next 7.5 months (5transfers) I was sent to Puno, which borders Lake Titicaca
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| Los Uros, or the floating islands on Lake Titicaca |
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| Morning study time; I was tired every single day of my mission. Means we worked ;) |
And the next 9 months (6 transfers) I spent working in the actual city of Cusco
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| The Qurikancha |
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| Working with the members |
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| You fall in love with the people in your mission |
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| Overlooking Cusco |
And then the very last transfer of my mission (6 weeks) I was in Quillabamba.
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| Teaching a lesson |
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| The church building in the jungley mountains |
Quillabamba is a little tropical town located up in the Andes mountains on the backside of Machu Picchu, and can only be compared to places like Hawaii. It was the perfect place to end my mission, and I was in love with the weather, the kindness of the people, and the innumerable amount of wild mango trees.
Ending my mission was an emotional process, but the most distinct feeling was looking back on how quickly 18 months had passed by. I had learned Spanish enough to express myself and converse easily, lived and breathed the mission standards and daily schedule, and collaborated in a team with a female companion teaching Church principles every single day of the mission. I was exhausted, but couldn't help but feel satisfied with the effort I had put in.
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| My mission president and his wife, President and Sister Harbertson |
Coming home to Southern California was a completely different world to the one I was used to, and for most missionaries, the adjustment process can be very stressful and sometimes depressing. I found myself in complete awe of the grocery stores, cars I would see on the street, and obsessed with American food. Which to me, means authentic food from every single country that I could find just down the street.
It's still a bit overwhelming sometimes, going from only focusing on spiritual progression for a year and a half to your own personal education, career future, relationships, and current financial status. But it's also wonderful and beautiful. Some people say that our generation is a very selfish one, and I would agree, but it's also helping us to become better contributors to society in the future.
So, here's why I'm so happy to be home after my mission:
1. The food. I can't even. Peruvian food is a mix of sometimes spicy, sometimes garlicy blends of rice with meats, vegetables, and fruits that can be really yummy. And like every country, there are good cooks and not so good cooks. But there is nothing like being able to get great tacos, sushi, orange chicken, and In-N-Out all in the same day.
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| Sushi in Tokyo |
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| A bacon cheese donut burger in Orlando |
2. When I got to the end of my mission, even though it had sped by, it really did feel like it was time to go home. Just like any stage of life, I couldn't stay in the mission forever, and it was time for me to move on and I was okay with it.
3. I missed my family. A lot. Three years away (I had a month in the U.S. in between coming home from Japan and leaving for Peru) didn't give me a lot of time to spend with my family. Face-to-face contact when you can actually stand in front of a person and hold them is completely different from Skype, Facetime, or phone calls.
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| Going to the LA temple with my brother |
4. I love my cellphone. I love how efficient my real life is. I love social media, staying connected, and being able to communicate with people whenever I feel like it. Doing a media fast for 18 months was really great because I was completely concentrated on the people in front of me always. But efficiency is just... irreplaceable.
5. Most returned missionaries will agree that at a certain point in your mission you start to feel like you're ready to apply the principles you are teaching to your own personal life. Now post-mission, I'd like to say that it's all about finding a great balance. I loved being a missionary, but now my time and energy is divided between many different wonderful things, and I love all the happy things I can be involved in!
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| Being able to see my missionary plaque up in the Tokyo First Ward building with awesome |
6. Sleeping in. I missed it. And staying up late doing whatever I want. Oh my.
7. Not having a companion anymore. Each and every one of my companions was perfect for me for the time I was with them, and I hope I'm friends with them forever. They taught me Spanish :) But I will never have to be with a girl 24/7 again, and am so happy about it.
8. Being with boys. Being able to hug them! And kiss them ;) And date them. The first time a boy hugged me after I got home I was sooo stiff and awkward. But I got over it :)
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| The Bellagio fountains in Las Vegas |
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| Seeing my brother for the first time in forever |
9. Just being able to move on with life. Progression is a weird thing in the mission-- you progress spiritually the quickest you ever have, but everything else in your personal life falls by the wayside as you concentrate on helping others progress personally. It becomes a very unique self-improvement process for everyone, and I'm thankfully for the entire amount of time I got to spend in my mission.
10. I missed people :) And places. I missed Japan and Orlando and Disney. So I came home and went back. Worth every penny.
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| First time I seeing my roommates in 3 years |
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| The Tokyo YSA's |
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| The subway in New York |
