Elders, Koy Wadsworth and Ethan Altop, are two 20-year-old members of the Mormon Church that have taken the pledge to go on their two-year mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter- day Saints. Both young men are currently serving their missions doing work in both the Wagner and Winner communities. Elder Wadsworth is from Cove, Oregon; has been serving in Wagner since May; and has served 20 months of his mission. Elder Altop is from Show Low, Arizona; is nine months into his mission; and has been in the Wagner area for the past month.

In order to go on a mission for the Mormon church, there are several requirements. He or she has to be a baptized member of the church and be willing to commit themselves to the two-year minimum for men or the 18 months to 24 months for women with the opportunity to extend his or her mission if he or she so choses to. Men are referred to as Elders and women are called Sisters. It is a big commitment as the missionaries are not allowed to go home, are potentially transferred to different areas every six weeks, and must follow a strict set of guidelines given to them by the church. After committing to go on a mission, the missionaries fill out different types of paperwork so that the missionary leaders can understand where each person is mentally, physically and spiritually. Then comes the training part. If the missionary will be serving their mission in English speaking countries, then they only have three weeks of training at the Provo Missionary Training Center in Provo, Utah. If servicing any other language countries, then the training is six weeks. While at the training center, the missionaries learn teaching skills, the church’s doctrine and how to talk to people. Missionaries can be sent world-wide to do their mission work.

When asked what a typical day looked like for the missionaries, they said that each day was well planned out. They are up by 6:30 a.m. (as guide lined by the church). From the time they wake up until 8 a.m., this is their time to prepare for the day. This time is set aside for them to eat breakfast, work out, shower, etc. From 8 a.m. until 9 a.m. they each engage in personal study time whether it be reading the book of Mormon, the Bible, the Gospel Library app, etc. From 9 a.m. until 9:30 a.m. the pair of missionaries plan their day, where they are going to go, who they are going to talk to, community service that they are going to participate in, etc. Then from 9:30 a.m. until 10:30 a.m. the pair does companion study where they decide what they are going to teach for the day. From 10:30 a.m. until 9 p.m. the missionaries spend their time teaching, talking with community members, spreading the word of the church, and doing service work. They then return home to Armour and are in bed by 10:30 p.m. as again guide lined by the church.

The church does have a lot of guidelines for missionaries. These guidelines include no swimming, no horseback riding, no television, etc. As they are given one day a week, they can engage in activities such as hiking, fishing, disc golf, play low impact, no-contact sports, visit museums and zoos, etc. The church’s policy on phones has even evolved. Unlike in the past, the missionaries of today can have cell phones, though they are limited in what can be done with them. They each receive a special phone from the church with no internet service on it. It is filled with apps allowing them access to church materials, calendars, maps, etc. They can also use the phone for communication purposes when it comes to planning who they will go speak with or planning service activities. The missionaries are allowed to call their families on their one day off, Monday, and on special occasion days such as birthdays and holidays. Otherwise, phones are used more as a tool to use to continue their spiritual learning and teaching.

With both missionaries being so young, when asked what role their faith has played in their lives, it was interesting to see the differing viewpoints and experiences of the two. For Koy who was raised in the church, his faith has always felt like an anchor in his life. His faith kept him grounded and has allowed him to find peace and comfort as the world has become an ever-changing place. Koy always knew that he would go on a mission, once he really learned what a mission entailed, he knew that he was ready and wanted to serve others. Ethan’s experiences were different. Ethan had not always had faith and was not leading a good life. When he finally did embrace his faith, it gave him hope; he can now see and recognize how God helps people and the small things that is God in everyone’s lives. That is partially what prompted Ethan to go on a mission. Once he turned his life over to Christ, he wanted to be able to see what he could do to help others and to bring goodness into their lives.

The missionaries work in pairs and can possibly switch partners and locations every six weeks. Every six weeks on a Wednesday they have what is called a transfer day, where they will learn if they are staying in the same town or area or if he or she will be moving to a different location and partnering with a different elder or sister (partners are always of the same gender). Both Koy and Ethan are serving the Midwest area with their headquarters for the Midwest based in Omaha, NE. Their area is quite expansive extending from as north as Watertown to portions of Minnesota, Kansas, Nebraska, Iowa and South Dakota.

Koy had visited the Black Hills when he was eight years old, but Ethan had never been to South Dakota before his mission. There was definitely a difference in their feelings when they first heard they would be completing their missions in the Midwest. For Koy, he was excited when he learned that he would be doing his missionary work in the Midwest. He had a neighbor in Oregon that had served in the Midwest as well and was friends with the leaders in Omaha. Ethan had very mixed feelings about being sent to the Midwest to complete his mission. He actually had an uncle in Lincoln, NE and would visit him. Ethan had some bad experiences while visiting his uncle and it made him a bit leerier about the area. Previous to coming to Wagner, he had been doing work in downtown Omaha as well as Sioux Falls and also had some rough experiences.

When asked what each has enjoyed about their time in the Wagner area, they both said that the community is very unique, and the people are nice. Even if people are not interested in what they have to say, they are still polite and kind. They were each asked what their goals were or what they were hoping for in the completion of their mission. Ethan said it is his hope that he will have helped people to stay away from bad choices in hopes that the people he speaks to will aspire for a brighter future. His overall goal is just to bring goodness into the world. As Ethan had received his associated degree in auto mechanics and was working for a Toyota Dealership before going on his mission, he thinks that he will probably return to working in the auto mechanic field because of his love of cars. Koy, who is getting closer to completing his mission, is hopeful that he will continue to and has made a difference in the lives of others. He also hopes that his time as a missionary will help him grow closer to God. Koy is still unsure of exactly what he will do once his mission is over. He said he will probably attend college and major in something related to art.

The Wagner community does have a Church of Latter-Day Saints congregation made up of 20-25 members. While serving the community, the missionaries have attended and helped out at several community events including the Wagner Cancer Rummage, the Wagner City-Wide Cleanup, Feeding South Dakota, a Wagner Community School student project and various other service activities. These gentlemen have been a wonderful asset to the Wagner community through spreading their gospel and goodwill through their actions and willingness to help others.