Reflection

Mike sent everyone in the family Christmas letters and gave us a glimpse of his overall thoughts on his first six months of his mission.  The following is a collection of his letters:

      So far on my mission, I've had some of the most discouraging and loneliest days of my life; but, at the same time, I've had some of the most rewarding and best days of my life.  My least favorite part of my mission is tracting by our house because all the Chinese just slam the door in our faces.  I also get fed up of being in the rain every day of my life, always being sick, and always having people yell stuff at me. Some days we bike up to 15 miles in the pouring rain.  Then when we get home, we are soaked and because we don’t have dryers we go to bed soaking wet.  The best part of my mission is seeing the change in people.  One man that we baptized had a drinking problem, no job, and three kids to take care of.  His family was basically homeless; but, we taught him the gospel and now he has a job and his family can afford a house!  On Saturday we had our second baptism.  It was such an amazing feeling!  I remember when we beat Bishop Meige in basketball my senior year.  When the fans rushed the court, I felt like I was on the top of the world; but, on Saturday, I felt a hundred times better than that.  When we first contacted this guy, he was always making excuses of why he couldn’t meet with us and he always would cancel his appointments.   One day we just told him straight up that, "We didn’t leave behind our families for two years just so we could come here and baptize people.  We came on a mission because we know that what we teach is true and we know that it will improve the lives of everyone who hears it."  After that, the guy met with us and from then on he kept progressing and progressing.  At the time, he was drinking six shots of super strong coffee a day and in three weeks he stopped drinking it altogether.   It was amazing!  After he was baptized yesterday, he gave one of the best testimonies I've ever heard.  

     The most important part that I have learned on my mission is how truly blessed I am.  I used to think that my life was so hard.  All I worried about was school, girls, and basketball.  I see kids here with no clothes begging on the streets.  They don’t have parents and they have to beg on the street or go to work when they are seven years old.  They have to worry about what they are going to eat, where there are going to sleep; and, for some of them, if they are going to live to see another day.  I have learned that I am blessed to have a great family and a great home.  If you had told me that on my mission I would ride my bike tem miles everyday in the rain, I would have said, “No Thanks!”  But, I find a joy in missionary work that I didn’t find from basketball or friends.  Even if I am sick as a dog and soaking wet all the time, I am still always happy.