Letter Chad wrote to a friend giving him mission advice! He copied this to us...

June 23, 2011

So I leave in 5 days for Guatemala NBD, as for advice, you asked at a great time in fact I don’t think you could have asked at a better time. I have been doing a lot of thinking lately.

1. Missions are hard, you usually only hear about the great stuff but they are hard also, best / hardest 2 years.
2. You need  to truly know why you are out serving ya can’t be out serving for anyone else but yourself and the Lord. Know why you are serving.
3. No matter where you get called there is a reason why you get called there. Every mission is still a mission for the Lord, whether it is in Boise, Idaho or Madagascar. A mission is a mission and you will be serving the Lord and have so many spiritual experiences and there will be people there only you can convert.
4. The Lord will / wants to mold you so be moldable.
5. Don’t do things and not learn from them, learn from everything.
6. Be positive. It is so easy to get down and be negative but don’t. You are a representative of Jesus Christ.
7. Honestly, the first couple of days you may feel inadequate, especially if you are trying to learn a new language, but you are adequate. The Lord knows what you are capable of, so trust in him.

I don’t mean to scare you or sound too serious, missions are great and so much fun. These are just a couple of my thoughts over the last couple of days. I came out with the wrong attitude, I had a mediocre testimony expecting that I could do this all on my own and it wouldn’t be that hard. But wrong attitude! Come in with an attitude of humble, willing to work, and just stoked to serve! I really wish I had learned the scriptures a lot more! Which is kind of hard to do, and study “Preach My Gospel” chapter 3 obv because that is what you are teaching all day every day. And just come out with a testimony that ya know! Everything else besides that doesn’t matter, that is the most important thing. One more thing that is kind of hard for me is forgetting my self. I’m working on it though. I’m super stoked for ya to get out here! Don’t let this letter scare you, it’s not meant to scare. Missions are dope! Just remember:

1. Preach My Gospel
2. Scriptures
3. LOVE. If you have love ya can do anything that will make up for lacking in # 1 & 2. Love for the people and this gospel.

I love you and am so stoked for ya and to be out serving!

Elder Call