An Everyday Mormon

For some reason, these last couple of Christmases have been bit rough.  In 2014 I spent Christmas away from my family in Japan, in 2015 I didn’t get any presents Christmas morning, and this year I battled a week long flu-like illness that kept me bed ridden until Christmas Eve.  Christmas has always been a time to spend with my family and to live out our traditions of Christmas Eve pajamas, Christmas movies and nativity plays. In 2014, I was serving in a small rural town of Takayama, Japan as a Latter-day Saint missionary.  It was cold and dark during that time of year with plenty of snow lining up the streets.  My companion Elder Vaughn and I rode eight hours a day on our bikes in the frigid winter weather occasionally stopping in to 7/11 to warm up.  The last month had been a bit rough as many of the people we were teaching decided to stop hearing our lessons about Christ or completely ignore us.  On top of that it was my first Christmas without my f...

People in the Latter-day Saint Church often talk about the hardships of adjusting to life when one goes out on their two or one and a half year proselyting mission.   New rules, a new place, and sometimes even a new language provide new missionaries with never before experienced challenges.    On top of that young missionaries are hundreds of miles away from their friends and family as they put on hold such important things as sports, hobbies, school or for some even a burgeoning career in order to serve the Lord.  I experienced some of these growing pains myself as a young missionary after having first arrived in Japan.  It was just as hard as it seemed but I eventually adjusted to mission life with the support and prayers of loved ones back home and the missionaries I served with. Members in the church rarely talk about the journey of coming home however only occasionally alluding to socially awkward returned missionaries and jokingly guessing when ...