Back in May of 2013, I got a letter in the mail that forever changed my life. It was a letter telling me that I would be serving a mission in Boise Idaho. My whole life I have wanted to serve a mission and the time was finally here!
So I packed my bags, and was ready to go! I would spend 2 weeks in Provo at the Missionary Training Center, then 18 months in Boise!
Three days before I was supposed to leave for Provo, July 2013, I blew out my knee and had to have major reconstructive knee surgery. Back in high school, I had already had both my knees redone. So tearing apart what has already been fixed in surgery was kind of a big deal. I blame the very intense game of Wii Boxing we were playing when the blowout happened. I stayed optimistic through it all! My mission was delayed for about 6 months, but I was still going.
After the surgery and some intense physical therapy the Doctor gave me the OK to head to Provo. In February 2014, I entered the Provo Missionary Training Center (MTC). I loved my time in the MTC! My district was amazing. We went through a lot together in the MTC which brought us really close in just two weeks. Not to mention the endless BYU chocolate milk you find only in the MTC.
While I was in the MTC I had a gallbladder attack. I spent most of my time at the MTC in the hospital and on a lot of pain medicine. I am going to say that one more time for emphasis. I was on A LOT of pain medicine! My companions still tell the story of me slaying a basilisk in the bathroom late one night. I don't remember slaying a basilisk, but it does sound like something I would do!
At this point in or story, it shouldn't come as a surprise when I tell you that instead of going to Boise I had to go back home to Kentucky to have my gallbladder removed. Back onto the surgery table I go! I went home for 6 weeks to have the surgery and to recover.
Third time's the charm! Once I got the OK from the Doctor (again) I was finally on my way to Boise!!!!!!! It was April 2014 when I made it to Boise Idaho. It took almost a year for me to even start my 18-month mission. But I was finally there.
I got home in October of 2015. I fell in love with the people there in Boise. Leaving was a million times harder than getting there. I will forever be grateful for the chance I had to go serve the Lord for 18 months. The Idaho Boise mission is somewhat of the joke mission in the LDS world. I was made fun of a lot when I got called there. But now that I'm back I wouldn't change a single thing. The long journey to Boise made me appreciate my mission call. There is just something about being told you can't do something that makes you work that much harder to prove everyone wrong. Working hard to get to Boise made me work hard while I was in Boise. Going on a mission was the hardest thing I've done in my life. It is also the greatest thing I have done with my life. I think about my mission every day and how blessed I am to be here on the earth. Thank you to everyone who supported me on this crazy journey. I am forever changed.
-The Broke College Kid-
