Sunday APRIL 26, 2009
BY JENNIFER KANNON
Walking or riding bikes throughout Huntington in black suits, two Mormon missionaries spend two years of their lives talking about the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.
“The message we share is for everyone, the whole world. Everywhere we’re allowed,” said Elder Camaron Stevenson, 20, from Gilbert, Ariz.
Stevenson and Elder Allan Staheli, 20, from Sandy, Utah, were both selected by the church to go throughout Indiana to spread their ministry as well as spend time volunteering in the communities, including working on exotic animal farms and doing flood relief in southern Indiana. In Huntington, the missionaries spend four hours a week helping at the animal shelter and the Red Cross.
“It lightens the load on the limited staff we have,” said Capt. Mike Sell of the Red Cross. “They’ve just made such a tremendous impact on the services we provide, they don’t turn down anything. They step forward and they do it.”
Mormon men are encouraged to go on a mission upon graduation from high school. The church prophets decide where in the world each person will go. The missionaries save and raise money with a goal of $10,000 per person and obey strict rules for two years devoted to the church.
“Once the time came, I knew I had to do it for the right reasons,” said Staheli. “I’ve met a lot of great people; it’s just a great experience to see the joy that comes and to help out in their lives.”
They must adhere to a daily schedule, waking up at 6:30 a.m. and in bed by 10:30 p.m. with only two hours to rest. One day a week they are given a few hours to shop and do laundry. They cannot watch television, surf the Internet, listen to the radio or date. Christmas and Mother’s Day are the only days they can call home for a 40-minute conversation.
“It actually helps us grow closer to our family because it shows how much we miss them,” said Stevenson.
Both Staheli and Stevenson feel they have learned a lot about life on their mission so far, and are looking forward to the last summer of their mission and being able to eventually go home. One thing they will take with them, however, is the challenges and discouragement they faced at times in the past two years and the faith to overcome them.
“There’s a scripture about a kid who was asked to do something crazy. ‘I will go and do the thing that the Lord has commanded . . . prepare a way and I will accomplish what he has commanded,’” said Stevenson, quoting First Nephi 3:7 in the Book of Mormon. “There’s nothing that comes up against me that I won’t be able to accomplish it.”
With only a few months left to go before returning home, both missionaries hope to go to school, have a good job and get married someday.
Stevenson wants to go to school for film studies while Staheli has been thinking more about mechanical engineering. Even though they have been out of school for nearly two years, having to learn the scriptures has helped establish good study habits they feel will help them in college.
Staheli said he has also learned a lot about patience and commitment. He felt he was given a fresh perspective and time to focus on goals.
“We see people from all walks of life. There’s a general reason people end up (where they are) in life,” said Staheli. “It’s helped figure out how I want to live my life.”
From http://www.h-ponline.com/articles/2009/04/24/news/680mormons.txt
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