Testimonies on Facebook

I had been home from my mission a few months, and post-mission life had proved more difficult than I had thought.

Coming home, I thought I would conquer the world. I thought I was hot stuff and every girl at BYU would jump at a chance to go on a date with me. I thought I was so smart, school would be a breeze. I thought I was so competent I would easily find a high-paying job.

Months later, I found myself still single, working at a gas station, failing my organic chemistry class and not exactly conquering anything.

I noticed that many of my friends and acquaintances who had chosen not to serve missions seemed to have much better lives then I did. Many of them were dating exclusively or married and seemed to be having loads of fun with their significant others; at least that's what their Facebook posts made it look like. Many of them had rewarding jobs with good pay. One of them had started a business and was making six figures. The more I looked, the more it appeared that my mission had been a huge waste of time.

This feeling seemed to grow day by day. Until one day, as I was scrolling through Facebook, and saw a post by Kyo Bien, a Chinese woman I had baptized.  It said"福音は愛です!" (The gospel is love!)  Out of curiosity, I went to Sister Kyo's Facebook page. As I scrolled down, to my surprise as utter joy, I beheld that almost every post since the day she had been baptized was gospel-related.  Tears filled my eyes as I scrolled through the seemingly endless posts.  Each of these posts was an honest and humble testimony.  Testimonies of temple work, the importance of families, the power of missionary work, and the divinity of Jesus Christ.  With many of these posts, she had taken the time to write them in English, Japanese, Chinese, and Korean.

I knew I was guided to this faithful Sister's page.  This was my Father in Heaven telling me, "Your mission was not a waste. You changed this woman's life."  I was also reminded that hers was not the only life changed by my missionary service.

The scriptures say, "And if it so be that you should labor all your days in crying repentance unto this people, and bring, save it be one soul unto me, how great shall be your joy with him in the kingdom of my Father!" (D&C 18:15).

I felt a portion of that joy that night.

My mission was not about me.  Surely I should have known this, and but felt that it was in my return home.  My mission was about Jesus Christ.

Christ is the Reason