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June 2, 2026

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Julie BrownJune 9, 2013

This article is beautifully written and shares some great insights into the life of a young missionary. However, my favorite part was seeing my daughter's photo as a missionary who served her mission in Estonia, Ode Brown.

James June 5, 2013

Bravo! Hits the nail on its' proverbial head, and certainly explains my own missionary endeavors of long ago, to a nation of ex-Nazis, most of whom weren't all that 'ex.'

Elmer PingJune 5, 2013

I served a mission in Germany 66-68 and had some marvelous experiences seeing investigators make their own connection(s) to God. Those experiences included not a few miracles I will never forget. It was really thrilling to read your article especially the one son's experiences with Lutheran people. I had some very similar ones but space does not permit me to expound further. Thanks again! Elmer PS I served in what is now the Frankfurt am Main Mission.

Tara ChangJune 5, 2013

Thank you for that wonderful perspective and encapsulation of the mission experience. My mission was one of the most difficult, and yes, most rewarding experiences of my life - and for all of the reasons you state.

Kevin DeloreyJune 5, 2013

Best article I've read in a long time - best ever I think on this subject. Wonderful insights, born of actually living the experience, and so thoughtfully and articulately phrased. Thank you for producing something I can't wait to share!

Jim WilsonJune 5, 2013

Spot on! I shudder at my sense of superiority at the beginning of my mission, but still remember the astonished wonder later on that I would have the chance to baptize people that twenty years later still provide an example that remains beyond my grasp like the will o'wisp. I learned far more than anybody I taught.

AaronJune 5, 2013

Very good! Thank you!

LeahJune 5, 2013

Beautiful! Thank you!

Steve TheobaldJune 5, 2013

Thanks for so eloquently capturing the internal growth of the missionary. I also served in Brazil. "Becoming a Citizen of the World" is the idea that best describes my own transformation as I realized that people in other countries were just as kind, smart, funny, and loved by God as my fellow Americans. All sense of pride I may have had truly vanished as educated and uneducated Brazilians sometimes tearfully shared their thoughts on life and God, and of course, gave me regular hugs in the great Brazilian way. In fact, based on my own experience, I think that all the colleges on earth could significantly impact violence and intolerance in the world by requiring at least one semester abroad to receive an undergraduate diploma. Imagine.

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