#018 -- How my mission in Africa changed me

Serving a Mormon mission in Cape Verde, Africa completely changed my life. It made me more serious, more committed, and opened my eyes to a culture totally different from the white Utah bubble I grew up in. It also pushed me to my limits, exposed me to the church’s messy racial history, and left me with questions I couldn’t ignore.

In this episode, I reminisce about my mission:

- What it was like serving in Cabo Verde on those 10 islands off the coast of West Africa

- Learning Portuguese and Creole and navigating totally different dialects

- The high-demand, rule-heavy culture of LDS missions and how “obedience” shaped us

- The tension between the church’s racist past and teaching Black Africans the restored gospel

- Rapid baptisms, low retention, and whether we were really giving people informed choice

- Why my own exit from the church took 18 months of wrestling while many converts joined in a few weeks

- Going back for the 2022 Cabo Verde Temple dedication as a non-believer and feeling genuinely happy for the members there

Two things can be true at once: my mission was one of the hardest, most beautiful, most confusing things I’ve ever done. I can see harm and still see real good. I can be out of the church and still be grateful for people who loved me and the structure it gave others.

Whether you’re an ex-missionary, a believing Latter-day Saint, or somewhere in between, I hope this episode gives you language for your own “both/and” experience.

👉 Tell me your story:

What did your mission do to you? Do you resonate with anything I share here? Drop a comment and let’s talk about it—respectfully, thoughtfully, like actual bridge builders.

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