What it is Like Being a Missionary During the Holiday Season.

Every mission and missionary are different but I wanted to share about what the holidays were like for me while serving a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. I arrived in Minnesota in the middle of November, so right before Thanksgiving. I was in the mission field for two Thanksgivings, Christmas' and New Year's holidays. It was super hard being away from home but also very neat to be a missionary for the holiday season. The holiday's were some of my most memorable times from my mission.   

For My first Thanksgiving in Minnesota, we celebrated with a family from our church. They ended up becoming one of my closest families in that area while I served there. We helped them decorate for Christmas and made Thanksgiving food. That was the first Thanksgiving I had ever made roasted vegetables for and now I make them all the time. We played games and they even sent pictures to my parents. It was a neat first holiday in the mission field. 

The holiday season was so neat as a missionary. I learned a lot of new family traditions, learned the true meaning of Christmas, learned the importance of family and service and was able to see a lot of miracles. The winter was really tough since it was so cold so it helped having the holidays to look forward to. 

During the month of December was my favorite time to knock on doors. A lot of people are celebrating the birth of the Savior and are happy to talk about Him during this time of the year. We had a lot of really neat discussions. I would ask what gift are you going to give to the Savior this year. We were able to do a lot of service during this time as well, we did some shoveling, wrapping gifts, and we even helped bake holiday treats.

On Christmas Eve day we made quite a few stops which was mostly service opportunities. There was a single mom that we had been teaching that we stopped by and ended up helping her make fruit cake and folded some laundry. We learned how to make tamales with a family we were teaching as well. It was nice to stay busy throughout the day.  

Christmas Eve we were able to have dinner with a couple of families all together. They were so sweet and it was really fun. After we went and read scriptures with an older lady that lived alone from our church. It ended up snowing pretty bad throughout the evening so we did have to go home early. My companion and I sat in our little apartment singing Christmas hymns together. It was a really special night.   

 

We woke up Christmas day and studied which was really neat to focus on the Savior first thing Christmas morning instead of gifts. We opened our stockings from our parents and then headed to a families home for breakfast. We had breakfast which was amazing and something I want to continue as a tradition in my own family. We opened gifts, played games and called home to our families. I remember just being so grateful to talk to them and feeling so much peace. 

We stayed at the same home all day up until after dinner. Looking back on that now, I can't help but think about how much of a sacrifice that was for that family. They didn't get to do Christmas naps, spend just their own family time or even relax. I am so grateful for their love and kindness towards us! They made a yummy dinner of ribs and salad and jello. We don't usually do Christmas dinner at my house so that was a really neat thing to be apart of. We did some other visits that evening and that was our Christmas day! 

New Year's Eve was spent celebrating at 10:00 PM right before we went to bed. My companion’s sister sent us some sparkling cider, confetti and glasses. It was super cute and we had a fun time taking pictures.                  

My second Thanksgiving in Minnesota I had just gotten a new companion who just entered the mission field, she experienced her first Thanksgiving just like I had the year before. We had dinner with a couple of families together at a home from our church. We left their house and had forgotten to get a picture so we ended up going back which was a funny memory.  

Christmas the second year was way different than my first year. This was still my most favorite time of the year to teach people about the Savior. We went caroling with a group of missionaries a couple of times, we also sang in the Christmas program for the ward party, we had gingerbread house competitions, and some very cold days. 

There was a night where we celebrated a night in Bethlehem. It was such a neat experience. The family had all foods that would be found back in that time which were naan breads, olives, crackers and veggies. We ate on a blanket on the floor and had a really neat lesson. It was one of my favorite nights.

For Christmas Eve we spent it with a family from our church and the elders. They celebrate with crackers which have paper crowns inside to wear for the festivities. It was really neat. The dinner was beautiful and yummy. We had taken a picture with them by their Christmas tree and an ornament got stuck on my skirt and the mom had to say “uh you have an ornament on your bum” it was so embarrassing but kinda funny too. 

Christmas morning, we had breakfast at our home with the couple we lived with and the elders. We opened gifts from our families and then were able to facetime them. The second year was a lot easier to talk to them. I only had a few months left in the mission field so I knew I would see them soon. We ate dinner with a family we were teaching that night. This year we had a lot of plans fall through the day of Christmas but looking back it ended up being totally fine and a really neat day. 

For New Year’s the second year we celebrated Christmas again with a family that had a tradition of feeding the missionaries on Christmas, but they were out of town that year. So, we had a Christmas dinner and cheersed the New Year the same night. We opened gifts which were Minnesota Vikings beanies from them. It was kind of fun to celebrate again.  

Holiday's on a mission creates really neat opportunities. You get to learn about so many different traditions, you feel loved by so many, the lessons and discussions during this time of the year are amazing and there are lots of service opportunities. I know it was hard for my family at home and I did miss them tons during the holidays but we were definitely blessed with peace and many of situations that reminded us of why we're doing what we were doing. 

What are your favorite Holiday traditions?