"Return with Honor," Memoirs of my mission#1

Was my mission's theme.I served in Antofagasta, Chile from Aug, 1999 to Aug 2002. I learned many great life lessons during that time.You might say that this is a 'trunkie' mission theme to have.It helped me to stay focused on the end goal, as it does so now, to be worthy to return and live with my Heavenly Father with my family, make your first covert yourself.I want to share some of my mission experiences, Lex says I always brighten up when I talk about my mission, so here's to brightening/self-medicating:
.I went to the MTC in Provo,ut a week after my twin brother Mathew, who went to Frankfurt Germany.I was and am so grateful that he was there and got to take on the older brother role of doing things first and reassuring me that things were alright.He had a week under his belt and was also learning a more complicated German language.I was a mess after my first time with pretend investigators(BYU students who volunteered at the MTC) and was convinced that I would never be a good missionary.Matt was there to reasure me that he felt the same way after his first experience and things got better.Throughout our missions we were both surprised at the way we were both learning the same lessons on other sides of the world.
My first companion was Ryan Muirhead from Orem,Ut, he was fluent in Spanish from being in an immersion program in school.He was ready to serve but had unknown medical problems that kept him at endless Dr. visits and a growing list of medications that all had the side effect of making him drowsy and still in pain.I was sad to leave him at the MTC to go to Chile once my two months to learn Spanish were done. I remember sharing my testimony with him and said that "I knew that Jesus paid for our fish." The Spanish word for sins is 'pecados' and the word for fish is pescados. He did not laugh but smiled and said, "Elder Baugh you are a great missionary." He knew that I was trying my best and encouraged me to continue to do so.He was not able to leave the MTC, so my mission became even more important to me knowing of the great privileged I had to be out in the field.I loved my two months there because of him and the other missionaries in my zone. It had four sister missionaries there that kept us in check and 6 other Elders. they taught me to forget myself and go to work.I remember the sisters helping me unhem my pants and sister Young confiding in me that while they did that back at their doorm room, she tried one pair on to see how skinny I was. Sister missionaries rock, with a maturity and poise that most young men, myself included, lack. I also recall sitting on the floor of the laundry room floor with my zone leader Elder Pew and comforting him as he vented about the pressures of being the perfect missionary.He was going to Arizona and was excited for me to meet his cousin in Antofagasta.Our final class together we all shared our testimonies and sang 'God be with You 'till We Meet Again.'