I am a missionary in the New York Rochester Mission. I am from Idaho and love being here in this mission. There's something that is interesting about this mission in Western New York that makes it so different from all the missions in the rest of the world. It isn't just in the name or because of the missionaries or even the people in this mission. What makes it so special is that the Gospel of Jesus Christ was restored here. In just a small town of Palmyra just outside of Rochester lived the first prophet in this dispensation (or time when a prophet is on the earth). I had always been taught about what happened here but i never really had a full appreciation for all of it. Actually seeing the place where the prophet lived and being in the grove that Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ appeared in was a humbling experience. Being able to understand the history of Joseph Smith and to see where he lived made me appreciate the miracle of the Restoration even better.There are currently over 53,000 missionaries world wide who get to testify and share the message of the Gospel to everyone. I am one of those missionaries. I would not want to be anywhere else than here right now. Sure I miss my friends and family but I know I will see them soon enough. This is my one opportunity to really help people and to forget about myself and serve others. I have had times when going home sounds good. But that has already happened to me.
I was so excited to get my mission call! It had been a long wait for me and I was so ready to see a large white envelope in the mail addressed to "Elder Hulse." It finally came and I opened my call letter to see "Philippines Naga Mission" in the letter. I was so shocked! I was going learn a new language I had never heard of before and I would be in a foreign country for 2 years! I was so happy to leave and to become the Lord's representative.
I went to the Missionary Training Center on 14 October 2009 and i left the United States on 16 December 2009.
I didn't know what to expect when I arrived in the Philippines. I would say that the first thing to greet me was the humidity and heat! It didn't phase me though-I was in my mission field! I was there to teach people. It took a long time to learn the language but it eventually came and i began to love the people and the culture. I spent 6 months in the Philippines.On 28 April 2010 and 29 April 2010, I had two severe heat strokes. Those were the most painfully long days of my life. I lay in a bed helplessly unable to help myself while my body was being damaged from the high body temperatures associated with heat stroke.
I saw many different doctors that couldn't tell me why i wasn't getting better and they all told me to "...stay inside and drink lots of water..." I did that for a month. I was eventually sent home because i couldn't get better.
That hurt me to leave the place that i had grown to love so much. I returned home and stayed there for 5 months getting better and trying to figure out how to move on with my life. Things never worked out and i wasn't happy any more. Then, i started to think about returning to finish my mission.
Since then, my life has turned around completely. I feel happy again, I am over the effects of heat stroke, and I am serving the Lord! The joy that I felt while I was in the Philippines is back in my life. This is where I am supposed to be right now. I know it.
I know that this is the true Gospel of Jesus Christ. I know that God listens to the prayers of His children and He wants to help us to be happy. I know that He answers prayers. I know this because He has answered mine more than once. We just have to trust Him. He is always there.
