Update: Due to COVID-19, Elder Connor is currently home. This mission update was provided prior to the decision to send missionaries in the Accra Ghana mission back to their home country.
From Elder Connor – My mission is going well and I have learned so much and it truly has been a blessing in my life.
Tell us about your mission and the people. Tell us an interesting fact about the area of the world where you serve.
My mission is the Accra Ghana mission. My mission is very interesting,
There are parts that are in the city and parts in the forest (called the bush). My mission consists of 5 regions of Ghana and each region has its own language so missionaries here have to learn how to greet and have small conversations in each language just by learning from the people and other missionaries. Ghana is also very hot! Another interesting thing about the Ghana is that the people here are very welcoming and happy. It truly is amazing because the conditions the people live in here are rough but the people are still happy and they always want to feed the missionaries and they love to joke around and laugh. They understand the importance of the lord and that even though this life can be hard they still have faith that through Christ they can accomplish all things.
Why did you decide to serve a mission?
So, I had pretty much always avoided the idea of a mission and it just didn’t make logical sense for me to go on a mission. Ever since I was in 9th grade I knew what I wanted to do with my life, I knew my career path so going on mission was two years out of my path that I had in mind. Well fast forward to when I was 21, I wasn’t very converted to the church and I just wasn’t really growing in the gospel. Being a student at BYU, the church is everywhere and all around you so it can truly affect your life. My freshman year a lot of my friends went on a mission. So, about a year after they had been on a mission I realized that they will be coming back much more mature and on a spiritual high and I was not even close to any of that progression in life or in the gospel. That really scared me so I made a change in my life, I wanted my friends to notice that I had also matured and grown spiritually. I started being more active at church, reading the scriptures, going to the BYU Devotionals, and just doing the right things. This really was the start and, without me noticing, the Lord was preparing me to serve a mission. Well my friends came back and I was still trying to learn and grow but life came at me hard. I was in my 6th semester and the things I had planned in my life were seeming hazy. There was also many things that just seemed to be going wrong and one night I was at my lowest. That night changed my life, I truly cried in prayer. I wanted to know where my life was going what I should be doing and I just completely humbled myself and all I wanted was to know what to do. Well the next day a friend of mine came up to me, she noticed I just was struggling and she told me that my time to go on a mission hadn’t passed. She pointed out all the struggles I had on going on a mission and explained why they weren’t a good reason not to go. When she said all these things it was the first time that going on a mission was what I needed to do and that is what I needed to be doing. I had such an amazing answer to my prayer and I know now that Heavenly Father put all of these things in my path and when we are at our lowest is when he wants us to turn to him and when we do he will help us.
What advice do you have for the youth and YSAs members of the stake that are contemplating serving a mission?
GO ON A MISSION! Going on a mission is one of the best things you can do. It helps you grow so much in this life. You will learn so much about yourself and will be able to improve yourself. It also helps you grow so much spiritually, you really learn about the gospel because you are thinking of and teaching about the gospel everyday all day. It is the best time to make new habits and, most importantly, it will bless your life, the people around you, and those you teach. That is what the gospel does, it blesses everyone and going on a mission shows Heavenly Father how much you love him, trust him, and your gratitude for all the blessings He has and will give to you. Trust me I was against going on a mission because I couldn’t see what I would get in return but now I see that what we receive in return is exponentially greater than what you give.
As the Youth Program of the church is changing, do you have any activities that you feel would be really helpful for future missionaries? Any activities that you’ve done with your Mission President or in your zones that were really meaningful?
One of the activities, or experiences, I have experienced that I wish I would have done when I was younger was to go out with missionaries. Because of a language barrier we often have to have members come with us to lessons to translate and we often bring youth. It will really help the youth understand what missionaries do and how we teach. Another thing is just to do activities as often as possible. With the new CYD program its the youth who plan activities. Play games, get out and invite! Invite your friends to church activities because as people become acquainted with the church and the members it will encourage them to strengthen that bond and may help them have a desire to come to church and do what is right. The Church and gospel should be exciting, fun and interesting. Let me share an experience, we had at a youth soccer match here, we really encouraged our youth to invite friends to come play and the turn out was so big that we had a two games going on. The next Sunday, half of the youths friends also came to church because they knew the people there and they connected the church to a happy and fun place which is what it should be. Now it is a weekly event and we always have new kids coming and it also helps strengthen the youth with each other!
Were there any fears that you had when you were considering serving a mission that you found were simply not warranted or melted away after you began serving?
One of the fears I had coming on a mission was that my time to go on a mission had passed because I was going to be almost 4 years older than most of the missionaries. This is not true, honestly, once you are on the mission no one cares how old you are where you are from and what you like and don’t like. You will make a bond and a friendship with so many missionaries because you are all in the same place doing the right things, living the gospel to its fullest, and most importantly growing together. I have been 3 years older than both of my companions but it hasn’t affected me or them at all.
What lessons have you learned through your daily effort of serving the Lord and his sons and daughters?
I have learned the most important thing about the gospel and it is something everyone can do always. It is to do the little things. Pray every morning, every night, and always pray in your heart. Read your scriptures everyday! Go to church and be active. It’s these simple things that we as members have the hardest time doing but if we sincerely do all these things everyday it will truly bless our lives and put us on the right path.
