Mason's Farewell Talk

For those of you who couldn't make it to Mason's farewell last Sunday here is a copy of his talk.

Sunday, June 26, 2011

Good afternoon Brothers and Sisters, my name is Mason Garcia. I have been called to labor in the West Indies Dutch speaking mission. I will be serving in the country of Suriname found on the north east coast of South America. When I tell people where I will be serving my mission three questions generally come up. First, where are the West Indies? Second, where is Suriname? And finally, why do they speak Dutch?

So here are some facts about my mission and the country I will be serving in. The West Indies are a large group of islands that separate the Caribbean Sea from the Atlantic Ocean. They comprise three main island groups; the Bahamas, the greater Antilles, and the lesser Antilles. The Dutch influenced both Suriname and the islands throughout the West Indies as a result of numerous Dutch trading posts settled in the early 1600s.

The West Indies is one of only 2 Dutch speaking missions in the entire world, the other being the Netherlands. That is just a small rundown of where I will be living for the next 2 years. Hopefully I will be able to tell you more when I get home.

The topic I was given to speak on today was the process of overcoming adversity. The Webster’s Dictionary definition of adversity is 1. An adverse fortune or fate; a condition marked by misfortune, calamity, distress, or an adverse or unfortunate event or circumstance.

It is inevitable that during this life we are all going to face adversity but it is our attitude and personal perception of these challenges that will determine the impact they will have on our life.

I recently finished my first year of college, attending two different universities. I spent my first semester at Lawrence University in Appleton, Wisconsin. I played wide receiver for the football team and things seemed to be going great. I was starting as a freshman. I had a great group of guys to hang out with. I was living my dream of being a college athlete. And yet, I wasn’t happy. I missed home. Academically I was struggling. I just wasn’t living my life the way that I wanted to. Going to Wisconsin and being a member of the LDS Church I didn’t have the luxury of being surrounded by my family, friends, and peers that generally shared my same standards and values that we have here in Utah. As far as I know, I was the only member in a school of roughly 2,000 students. The nearest ward was a 25 minute drive away. Not going to church became easy. Having class and football practice everyday, and often returning home from away games early on Sunday mornings was exhausting. And Sundays were often the only day of the week that I had the chance to sleep in. And I soon found that I couldn’t keep track of how many weeks it had been since I last attended. It wasn’t that I was doing the wrong things; I just wasn’t doing the right things either. This had a huge impact on my life. The thought of going on a mission became easier to push out of my mind.

All I wanted to do was come home, but I didn’t know why. The Lord knew both why I wanted and needed to go home but also why I had spent the last 4 and a half months in Appleton, Wisconsin. Going away to college gave me a glimpse of what it is going to be like to live away from home; away from the care of my mom, the support of my sisters, friends,and family. It helped me learn how to deal with adversity in different ways.


I would like to share a story with you that my coach at Lawrence shared with me about an old mule.

The Old Mule:

Once upon a time a farmer owned an old mule who tripped and fell into the farmer’s well. The farmer heard the mule braying but was unable to figure out how to bring up the old animal. It grieved him that he could not pull the animal out. He’d been a good worker around the farm and although the farmer sympathized with the mule he called his neighbors together and told them what had happened.
He had them help haul dirt to bury the old mule in the well and quietly put him out of his misery.

At first, the old mule was puzzled but as the farmer and his neighbors continued shoveling the dirt hit his back he had a thought, he ought to shake off the dirt and step up. And he did just that. “Shake it off and step up…shake it off and step up…shake it off and step up.” Even though he took painful blows of dirt and fought panic he just kept right on shaking it off and stepping up!

It wasn’t long before the old mule stepped up and over the lip of that well. What could have buried him actually blessed him…all because of the manner in which he handled his adversity.

This story helped me when choosing how to deal with my situation. I could have either let the adversity hit me and remain in my situation unhappy and unchanged. Or I could proactively step up and face my challenges. Like the mule, I chose to step up, face adversity, and change my situation. So I made the decision to transfer to the University of Utah for spring semester. The decision to come home was the best decision I could have made. It is because of that decision that I am standing here before you today. However, the things that I learned at Lawrence I couldn’t have learned anywhere else. I made friends that I will have for the rest of my life. And it also made me realize the importance of having the gospel in my life.

Even after being back home, back in my comfort zone, I was still unsure about whether or not I was going to serve a mission. But the Lord gave me guidance and examples to help me through these challenges. I would like to share a scripture with you. It’s found in 1 Nephi Chapter 3 Verse 7. It reads, “And it came to pass that I Nephi said unto my father I will go and do the thing the Lord has commanded for I know that the Lord giveth up no commandment unto his children save he shall prepare a way for them that they may accomplish the thing which he hath commanded them.”

God knew what I needed. He wouldn’t put challenges in my path that I could not overcome. I have had the blessing of having nearly 10 of my friends give their farewells and enter the MTC in the past 2 months and it is because of these guys that I am going. I could see the changes the gospel was having in their life, and I wanted to have it in mine. So as I’m sure you all know, I have decided to go on a mission. ;)

I know it won’t be easy and I know adversity will be one of my closest companions. It is facing this adversity and overcoming the challenges that I am most excited for.

I would like to share another story with you about handling adversity. It’s titled, “Potatoes, Eggs, and Coffee.”

Once upon a time, a daughter complained to her father that her life was miserable and that she didn’t know how she was going to make it. She was tired of fighting and struggling all the time. It seemed just as one problem was solved, another one soon followed.

Her father, a chef, took her to the kitchen. He filled three pots with water and placed each on a high fire. Once the three pots began to boil he placed potatoes in one pot, eggs in the second, and ground coffee beans in the third. He then let them sit and boil without saying a word to his daughter.

The daughter moaned and impatiently waited, wondering what he was doing. After twenty minutes he turned off the burners. He took the potatoes out of the pot and placed them in a bowl. He pulled the eggs out and placed them in a second bowl. He then ladled the coffee and placed it in a cup. Turning to her he asked, “Daughter, what do you see?”

“Potatoes, eggs, and coffee,” she hastily replied.

“Look closer,” he said, “touch the potatoes.”

She did and noted that they were soft. He then asked her to take an egg and break it. After pulling off the shell, she observed the hard boiled egg. Finally, he asked her to sip the coffee. It’s rich aroma brought a smile to her face.

”Father, what does this mean?” she asked.

He then explained that the potatoes, the eggs, and the coffee beans had each faced the same adversity, the boiling water. However, each one reacted differently. The potato went in strong, hard, and unrelenting but in the water it became soft and weak. The egg was fragile with the thin outer shell
protecting its liquid interior until it was put in the boiling water. Then the inside of the egg became hard. However, the coffee beans were unique. After they were exposed to the boiling water they changed the water and created something new.

“Which are you?” he asked his daughter, “When adversity knocks on your door, how do you respond? Are you a potato, an egg, or a coffee bean?”

In life things happen around us and things happen to us, but the only thing that matters is what happens within us.

I am excited to serve the people of the West Indies, and the people of Suriname.