My Church Mission

Growing up in the LDS Chruch (Mormon), you are taught early in life that going on a mission is something you should do. In Primary (A Sunday School for children from 3 to 12 years of age), you sing a song, "I Hope They Call Me on a Mission."  Now at the age of 18 ( 19 for girls), a young man may choice if this is the path that they want to follow.  For me in 1988, the age was 19, and my time had come.  I don't remember anyone asking me at the time if I want to serve a mission, but when was I going to turn in your papers.

Disclaimer:  I am writing this at my point of view of my mission serve.  This not to argue for or against serving.  But this my experience in going through the process and then serving a mission.  And I hope that it does not offend those who may  be named in this.

My birthday in the first few days of August.  So through the month of August I went and saw my Bishop for and interview, and got the paper work to fill out and send to Salt Lake, got a psychical, and than the Stake President, the final OK, to send in the paper work.  By the first of September of 1988, the paper work was of to Salt Lake for them to decide where they wanted me to serve.

One of the questions they ask on the paper work is, where would you like to serve.  I think there were three spaces for this.  For me, this was not a hard question.  I want to serve in Germany.  I was born there, but I only lived there up to 3 months after my birth.  Did I know German, No.  But I would learn it in the MTC (Mission Training Center, in Provo, Utah.)  While my paper work was in Salt Lake, I got the feeling that I would no be going to Germany like I wanted.  About a week later, I got the letter in the mail.  "Elder Close, You will be serving a two year mission to the Dublin, Ireland Mission."  I was happy,  I was afraid I was going to serve in the states.  It was not Germany, but it was in Europe.  And I did not have to learn another language.

The last week of November of 1988 I was off to the MTC.  This was a new experience.  For the first time in my I was sharing a room with not someone else but 3 others.   Elders Ford, Butterfield, and Sneadon were my roommate.  We added Elders Neal and Graham, Sister Benson, and Elder and Sister Erikson.  9 of us in all, going to Ireland, and at that time that was a big group for the mission.

But it was hard to be homesick there.  Every time I turned around I found someone that I knew from Mesa.  I also found an Elder that was from my Ward in Chattanooga, Tennessee, that was there.

For three weeks we  learned how to be missionaries.  For me it was like two.  About half way through the training I got sick.  So sick that I had to stay behind when everyone went off to classes.  But I did get better and by the 19th of December, we were off to Ireland.

Most of the Cork Zone Jan 1989.  From left to right:  Elder Lind, Sister Toothman, Sister ?,  Me, Elder Arnold, Elder & Sister Speakman   Elder ?, Elder McCellan, and Elder Durrant

From here I could go on and give a full detail of my mission from every area and every companion that I had.  But I can already  see that I have written a lot.  In the two years there was a wide range of emotion.  There were the happy days were everything went right.  The sad days when nothing does go right.  There was a day were I wake up and find out that a fellow mission on the other side of Dublin is killed and you do not know how to react, but people come up to and tell you, they are sorry for the lose of your friend, even though you have not said a word about it.  There were many trails along the way, some caused by my own hands.

When serving in Ireland it is a very unique place to serve.  First you are serving on two different countries.  You have the South, which is the Republic of Ireland, that is mostly Catholic.  Then you have the North, Northern Ireland, which is part of the United Kingdom.  Northern Ireland is about 60 percent Protestant and 40 percent Catholic.  From the 1960's to the 1990's this is some of the most violent times in the history of  North.  If you were to travel there at that time you would see a strong police and army present on the streets.  In some areas you would not see the effects of the troubles, but from time to time missionaries would get caught up in some of it.  Most of the time it was moving through make shift check points.  But most of use at one time in our two years would have our travel effected in one way.

Belfast South Zone at Giants Causeway, N.I. 1990.

Being in Ireland, I did get to see a lot of great and interesting things.  As missionaries we have one day of week that we are off.  That day is know as P-day or Preparation Day.  They day you did all you shopping and write your letters home.  And by 6 that night we were back to work.  But we did take time to see the sights.  From Blarney Castle, to the Cliffs of Mohr, and Giants Causeway.

My favorite area would have to Limerick, Ireland.  I got there in late Feb of 1989.  Come to find out that I was , in what the call in missionary terms, White Washing into an area.  That is were both missionaries move into the area at the same time. This turned out that not only were we white washed into Limerick, but so where the Zone Leaders.  So for new guys in a town, not knowing anything about it.  There was me, Elder Clarke, Elder Carrigan, and Elder Hunsaker.  Area was most of Limerick east of the river and the Zone leaders had the west side.  The branch was great there.  They had at least one missionary out when I was there.  The branch members were great and embraced us.  They embraced the new members that we brought in to the church.  We were included in many of the branch activities and even all four us Elders sang with Choir, which was ask to perform in a community performance. We even sang in church as a group from time to time.
While there we had to move and we moved out into the country.  We lived next to this old Manor house and the owner, who was lawyer, converted the Stables to two flats.  So we rented one of the flats.  He was a great guy and we even tried to teach him how to play American Football.  But that did not last long after he was tackled and broke his shoulder.
The work was hard.  But it was not unlike most place in South.  Most of the people were entrenched in there Catholic faith.  But both companionships  did find success here.  We both had 2 baptisms there.  This worked great for use, because the Mission President, President Gull was getting ready to go home.  As missionaries we worked off of stats.  So Mission President put forth a computation, in which if you could be your Zone Leaders stats for the month, you would get there car for a week.

The saddest day in Limerick was in June.  We were losing a great Mission President in President Gull, but our little group, that had been together for 4 months, was losing two of its members.  Elders Carrigan and Clarke were going home.  Elder Carrigan's parents had flown in to take him home.  The Assaciated to the President were at our flat,with the Zone leaders from Cork for a meeting.  I made breakfast of French Toast and Sausages, and then everyone left, leaving me and Elder Hunsaker alone.  We were lost.  We did not know what to do.  We had been together as a group for 4 months.  It was really like losing your best friend.  I served one more month in Limerick, even though it just was not the same with out Elder Clarke.  I would move the next month to new area, Carrickfergus, to a new Companion, Elder Gibson.  I am luck to go from Limerick to Carrick.  I always look back and serving in these two Areas, back to back, was the best part of my mission.  I was able at this time to serve with four great elders, meet great members, help bring 4 people in to the church, and meet John and Fiona White, who will always be in my heart.

In the two years that I was in Ireland, I started my mission off in Cork and finished it in Waterford.  11 areas in all, 5 in Dublin, and 2 in the North.  I had 17 different companions.  All very different.  Guys from California, Arizona, Utah, and Idaho.  One from Sweden and another from Canada.  I was able to help bring into the church 7 people.  Some of left the church, but that does not matter to me.  They still hold a place in my heart.

Their is not a day that does not go by that, I do not think about Ireland.  I think of the lush green hills, covered with stonewalls.  I think of the people that live there and how friendly they are.  The some what layed back lifestyle that was there in the 80's.

Are mission for everyone one in the church?  No.  I have seen many who thought this was the right thing to do and then get out in to the field, and find the work to hard, or not prepared mentally or spiritually for it.  It is sad to see these young men come home, because there are the questions of why they have returned.  I had one friend that came home early and was kicked out his house.  And some lose friendships over it.

If you are to serve a mission, you most do it for yourself.  Not for your parents or that girlfriend who says she will only marry an RM (Returned Missionary).  You need to fast a pray to know that this is the right thing to do.  I wrote this so that some could see what my mission experience was like.  That every mission is not the same either.  You have to be totally committed.  You have make it yours.