Worth Every Effort

Missionaries in Elder Griffiths' district.

If there is one thing that every missionary can identify with, it's being tired. I'll try to explain a little bit of why. From the moment missionaries wake up to the moment we go to bed, we are doing something. There's no down time. Especially in the Florida Tampa Mission. 

We wake up at 5:45 so that we can be working out by no later than 6:00 a.m. and if we are even one second late, we aren't following our mission rules. We work out from 6:00 to 7:00. Then we come home, eat breakfast and get ready for the day. From 8:00-10:00 we are studying and planning our lessons. In our particular mission, we then have planning from 10:00-10:30 (most missions have planning at night but ours changed it because missionaries struggle to focus during planning at the end of the day). At 10:30 we go out and proselyte. We take small breaks for meals, and we stay out until 9:00 or 9:30 depending on if we have teaching appointments later in the night. In our mission, we go to bed at 10 o'clock. So from 9:00-10:00 is when we need to write in our journal, pray, take a shower (this is Florida after all), and do any daily cleaning chores. 

It's not just a physical tired but a spiritual tired as well. We spend all day listening to the Spirit and trying to discern people's needs and running around talking to as many people as we can. Now, I'm not trying to brag or say that no one works harder than a missionary. I'm just saying that despite the tiredness and despite all the requirements, rules, and exactness that's required of us, it's worth every effort.