Scary missionary stories

Photo by Elinor Cash

A twisted dream, a threatening incident and a risky street. Three BYU-Hawaii students said these scary experiences taught them valuable lessons on their missions.

Courage over fear

Growth depends on how you respond to the things you fear, said Valery Katheryn Olea, a freshman from Naga, Philippines, majoring in graphic design. She said if you let yourself do what the opposition wants, you will not progress. If you choose to overcome it, you will feel more peace and joy and trust yourself, she explained. “Sometimes choosing to conquer your fear is also an act of service to others because you are giving yourself the freedom to do what you think is right even if you are always anxious about your actions,” she added.

Olea said she served in the Philippines Manila Mission. In her last month of service, she stepped down from being a sister training leader and was replaced by a sister missionary from another zone. She said, “My previous companion, Sister F, was very sensitive and my mission president assigned me to be her companion for a special assignment.” Sister F was easily discouraged and her mission president asked Olea to help her gain confidence, she added.

Olea said she and F had good companionship and were sad when she transferred to a different area, although she was still staying in the same apartment. After a few weeks, Olea said F was getting along well with her new companion, Sister K, but K was not as sociable as she was when she first arrived in their apartment. “K was going through a lot, which resulted in her being sent home early,” said Olea. Because of this, the contention between K and F started to arise, she said.

“K began to act aloof towards F,” said Olea. She said F felt terrible because she felt as if K did not trust her. “Long story short, F asked for an emergency transfer because she couldn’t bear it anymore,” said Olea.

“The night before K went home,” said Olea, “we prepared a small farewell party for her and ended the day praying together before going to bed.”

Olea continued, “I woke up a couple of times that night.” The first time she woke up, she said she opened her eyes and saw a dark shadow hiding behind their bathroom wall. She said she was so tired she did not give it any thought and went back to sleep. She said after a few minutes, she woke up again and saw the same dark shadow peeking behind the wall. “The shadow began to grow bigger as if there were streaks of light coming off from it,” she continued. Olea said she ignored it again and went back to bed. She said the third time she woke up, she saw the shadow moving closer to K. “That was when I began to feel nervous and scared, but I still tried to ignore it, and I went back to sleep,” she continued.

The fourth time she woke up the shadow was beside K, she said. “The shadow suddenly disappeared. I closed my eyes and hid my head under my pillow. I fell asleep again, but a sound awakened me,” she said. K was squirming and speaking in a different voice, she explained. “I looked at her face, and all I could see was anger in her eyes. I couldn’t see the sister missionary I knew,” she added.

Olea said she pinned K down on her bed and held her arms on her side. She told her that she was not afraid, she added, and she sang the 2018 Especially For Youth theme song, “Peace in Christ,” until K finally calmed down. After calming down, Olea said K thanked her.

After all that, Olea said she woke up and realized “thankfully, it was all just a dream,” she said.

She got up from her bed and saw that K had finished preparing and her companion had already cooked their food. “I told them about the dream I had, and K said she was uneasy all night,” she recalled. Olea also said she realized the feelings she had in her dream might be what was dragging K down because of the struggles she was facing. “It might have been just a dream, but I learned from that experience was never to feed your fears,” she said.

Mighty missionaries

Forrest Christensen, a senior majoring in graphic design, said he served in the Adriatic North Mission in Eastern Europe. He said because he communicated and was cautious during a dangerous experience, he was able to prevent something worse from happening.

When he and his companion were zone leaders, he said one of the areas they were over was particularly hard for sisters. He said one night, they received a message from one of their sister companionships. “They informed us that they were about to go into a lesson with an investigator, but they were worried about being troubled by the surrounding residents,” he explained.

Christensen said he advised the sister missionaries to be cautious, keep them posted and that they would be around the vicinity if anything happened. He said, “The evening progressed and their lesson went great. As the sister missionaries returned to their car, they noticed a group of men watching them from a distance.” The sister missionaries immediately left the area and drove home, he said.

“While on the road, the group of men they observed just previously pulled alongside their vehicle shouting, whooping, and cat-calling,” said Christensen. He said the sister missionaries took a longer route and tried to lose the men following them. “Once they arrived at their apartment building, they quickly ran inside and locked the door,” he continued.

Christensen said they received a frightened call from the sisters telling them about what had happened. “Over the course of this phone call, the men had found the apartment where the sisters were staying and were pounding on the door, asking them to let them in,” he continued. Christensen said after hearing the cries of the sister missionaries, he instructed them to go to their bathroom, lock the door and stay on the line.

In about three minutes, Christensen said he and his companion arrived at the sister’s apartment, where they found the group of men crowding the front door. He said, “As we walked up, I approached the largest guy out of the bunch and told him in short that he and his friends needed to get lost.” Christensen said the men exited slowly while they exchanged typical remarks. When the coast was finally clear, he said they informed the sisters, who were grateful for their immediate response.

Christensen said, “We told them to pack their things while we stood watch. I called the mission president to inform him of the situation and that we would need to evacuate this companionship out of the area immediately.” He said the sisters were removed from the area that night, and they sold the apartment.

God watches over His servants

Joanne Eyo, a freshman from Nueva Ecija, Philippines, majoring in history, said she served in the Philippines Cavite Mission. She said one night, she and her companion and two other sister missionaries were on their way to a member’s home for a dinner appointment. There is only one path towards the member’s house, and for some reason, the streetlights weren’t turned on on one of the streets they needed to pass through, she added.

Eyo said as they walked towards their dinner appointment, they saw a man wearing sunglasses and a cap underneath a lamp post looking at them. “We suddenly felt uneasy because he seemed like he had bad intentions,” she continued. They carried on and when they passed by the man, he said to them, “‘Wow, you even have three bodyguards behind you,’ but there was no one behind us,” she said. Eyo said they got scared and they thought what the man might have seen was the three Nephites.

Eyo said, “Whether he saw someone with us or not, it is still a great reminder that God consecrates the performance of His servants,” she said. “God’s children are protected. Go by His way and you’ll be safe,” she continued.

Eyo said the experience they had was an assurance to her that church missionaries are protected. “In that experience, I witnessed that God truly protects and guides His servants,” she said. It increased her motivation to go beyond her missionary service by being brave and courageous to open her mouth and invite others to come to Christ. She said although their decision to keep walking that night was not a wise decision, in a general perspective, “Missionaries should not be afraid to talk to people regardless of race, culture or upbringing,” she continued.

Find out more

If you are feeling unsafe, call a friend, family member or police. It is always better to be safe than sorry. For more information and safety tips click here.