I had to laugh reading my cousin’s most recent blog. He’s serving over in Hungary on a mission. One of the things he wrote was that a mission is a two year awkward moment.
I thought of my mission and how awkward I felt sitting on trains in Germany with the whole car starring at me and my name tag. Sometimes we’d strike up conversation and I knew everyone was listening. I also remember walking up to people on the street and asking them if they’d like to chat about Jesus. I remember one time talking with a Turkish guy on the street for a few minutes and thinking we were having a great conversation only to find out because my mission companion told me, that he was replying to me in Turkish rather the German!
Of course, everyone has a dog story to share. I remember walking up to a door and knocking on it. Suddenly the door burst open and a Pincher shot out straight towards my face and I dodged it just in time. Check out my cousin’s awesome dog picture. I think it’s, as he says, the “sweetest picture ever of tracting”:
Those of you who have served missions can empathize with this for sure!
If you have an awkward mission moment, or an awkward witnessing moment please share.
6 comments
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September 30, 2010 at 7:46 pm
SilverRain
Gee, which would be the better story? When we were chased down five flights of stairs by a half-naked guy with a shotgun, or when we were chewed out for our sense of style by a guy wearing stained Lederhosen and with hair growing out of his nose and ears?
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October 4, 2010 at 3:43 am
ama49
SilverRain,
Sounds like you went to a German mission like me. Where did you go?
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October 4, 2010 at 8:32 pm
Paul
I had been in the mission just a few weeks and I went on an exchange with my DL’s companion (whom I’d know both at BYU in our freshman year, and in the MTC). We were teaching a “C” discussion (we rode a dinosaur to the lesson…) about the restoration — memorized word perfect in German. At the page turn (in my mind) I completely lost the thread. My companion for the discussion wasn’t paying close enough attention to know how to recover (he’d only been in the mission two weeks longer than me). We stumbled around a bit and the woman we were teaching said, “Well, we weren’t really interested in your church anyway. We just wanted to have you over for some cake!” Not my best teaching moment…
(BTW, Germany Frankfurt)
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October 6, 2010 at 3:01 pm
ama49
Hey Paul,
I was in the Germany Frankfurt mission too! When were you there?
That story definitely sounds like a German!
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October 6, 2010 at 7:10 pm
Paul
I was there in 1977-1979 (almost typed 1779…I’m old, but not that old!).
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January 1, 2011 at 4:49 am
ama49
Paul,
I was ther 1996-98. How did you like it?
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