Latest Early homecoming Podcast Episodes
061: Josie shares her raw feelings about returning home early due to a difficult adjustment and stress hives
Early Homecoming: Insights from Missionaries who Returned Early - July 23, 2023 06:00 - 49 minutes ★★★★★ - 10 ratingsAt the time of this recording, Josie had been home from her mission for only eight months. Her feelings are raw and poignant as she shares the ups and downs of her mission. She struggled adjusting to mission life and would frequently call her mom to connect and feel better (which wasn't allowed)...
060: Amanda shares her story of hope and healing after having her leg amputated below the knee after getting hit by a car on her mission
Early Homecoming: Insights from Missionaries who Returned Early - July 09, 2023 06:00 - 39 minutes ★★★★★ - 10 ratingsAmanda Evergreen--also known as the One-Footed Phoenix--joined me to share her story of hope and healing after having her leg amputated below the knee after getting hit by a car on her mission. Amanda walks me through her struggles with mental illness on her mission before getting hit by the car...
059: Cody shares his story of healing from narcissistic abuse while on his mission
Early Homecoming: Insights from Missionaries who Returned Early - June 25, 2023 06:00 - 1 hour ★★★★★ - 10 ratingsCody endured bullying in childhood and in his teenage years at school and at church. Despite this, he has a deep love for the gospel and still desired to serve a mission. He served in the south and it was a very difficult mission--not only because he was serving in the Bible belt of America, but...
058: Edina shares her story of returning home early to help her mom with depression
Early Homecoming: Insights from Missionaries who Returned Early - June 11, 2023 06:00 - 37 minutes ★★★★★ - 10 ratingsEdina lives in Hungary and was 27 years old when she joined the church. Eight years later, at the age of 35, she decided to serve a mission. It was not an easy decision for her, but she chose to do it because of her love and trust in Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ. After a short time, she retu...
057: Brady shares his story of returning home early due to anxiety and depression
Early Homecoming: Insights from Missionaries who Returned Early - May 28, 2023 06:00 - 44 minutes ★★★★★ - 10 ratingsHaving been born and raised in the church, Brady was excited to serve a mission. He had a bit of anxiety in the beginning as he adjusted to Brazilian culture and the language. After he became a district leader, his anxiety increased quite a bit and depression came along for the ride. It was so c...
056: Wallis shares her story of returning home early to her dad declining from ALS after suffering from depression and self-harming on her mission
Early Homecoming: Insights from Missionaries who Returned Early - April 30, 2023 06:00 - 48 minutes ★★★★★ - 10 ratingsWallis served for four months in Calgary before coming home due to depression and self-harming. She had an amazing support group--including her companions, mission president, and parents (so if you fit any of these categories and want to know how to help your missionary, this is a GREAT episode ...
055: Haley shares her story of choosing to return home after four weeks due to physical illness
Early Homecoming: Insights from Missionaries who Returned Early - March 26, 2023 06:00 - 36 minutes ★★★★★ - 10 ratingsHaley served for a total of four weeks--three in the MTC and one in the field--before choosing to return home early due to physical illness. While she had support at home, Haley still struggled with feelings of shame and loss, as well as anger towards God. In this episode she tells me her story ...
054: Psychologist and Life Coach, Cortland Watson, discusses the psychological and emotional aspects involved in returning home early from a mission
Early Homecoming: Insights from Missionaries who Returned Early - March 05, 2023 07:00 - 57 minutes ★★★★★ - 10 ratingsPsychologist and Life Coach, Cortland Watson, joined me on the podcast to discuss many of the psychological and emotional aspects involved in returning home early from a mission. Using personal stories and insights from his life, his career, and his education, Cortland guides the listener throug...
053: Meg shares her story of deep depression due to hiding her sexuality and experiencing chronic pain
Early Homecoming: Insights from Missionaries who Returned Early - February 26, 2023 07:00 - 38 minutes ★★★★★ - 10 ratingsMeg returned home early after three months of service in Fresno, California. She spiraled into a deep depression due to hiding her sexuality and experiencing chronic pain. Her mission president and his wife did the best with the information that they had but left her with trauma because they did...
052: Nicholas shares his story of returning home early due to trauma caused by abuse from a member
Early Homecoming: Insights from Missionaries who Returned Early - May 01, 2022 06:00 - 42 minutes ★★★★★ - 10 ratingsGrowing up in the church, Nicholas never knew if the gospel was for him and he struggled to go to church because of his anxiety and lack of desire. After receiving his patriarchal blessing, and being amazed by the things stated in his blessing, he developed a testimony of the church and decided ...
051: Brandon's story of serving at the Utah Salt Lake Headquarters mission after a short call to a proselyting mission ended
Early Homecoming: Insights from Missionaries who Returned Early - March 04, 2022 00:00 - 1 hour ★★★★★ - 10 ratingsBrandon was about to attempt suicide when the thought came to his mind to "Give God one more chance." Brandon decided to act on that thought and prayed mightily. This decision to pause and act on a prompting began his long journey of repenting of past transgressions and resolving his concerns wi...
050: A chat with author Destiny Yarbro who returned home early twice for physical and mental health reasons, and now helps early-returned missionaries all over the world
Early Homecoming: Insights from Missionaries who Returned Early - January 02, 2022 07:00 - 44 minutes ★★★★★ - 10 ratingsDestiny Yarbro returned home early twice. The first time she returned home early from the MTC for physical health reasons. The second time, she went to the mission field and then returned early for mental health reasons. She not only felt like she had failed the Lord upon this second return, but...
049: Addie shares the many emotional, mental, and physical health trials she experienced on her mission before ultimately being sent home due to COVID-19
Early Homecoming: Insights from Missionaries who Returned Early - December 19, 2021 07:00 - 44 minutes ★★★★★ - 10 ratingsAddie had always desired to serve a mission and when her call came, she was excited to go! However, a few months into her mission, she was emotionally abused by her companion and housemates. It was a very isolating experience for her. She also began having some physical health problems due to al...
048: Jackson shares his story of returning from his mission early twice for physical health reasons
Early Homecoming: Insights from Missionaries who Returned Early - December 05, 2021 07:00 - 39 minutes ★★★★★ - 10 ratingsIn this episode, Jackson shares his story of returning home early twice. The first time, he served for eight months before physical health problems required that he come home. The second time, he served for seven months (in the same mission) before a different set of physical health struggles st...
047: Jacob shares his story of returning home early for physical health reasons, dealing with judgement, and ceasing his habit of seeking validation from others.
Early Homecoming: Insights from Missionaries who Returned Early - November 21, 2021 07:00 - 36 minutes ★★★★★ - 10 ratingsJacob started his mission journey long before he even got his mission call. Overweight and insecure, Jacob decided to make some changes. He got into body-building and realized it was a way from him to grow and push himself. He decided to apply this new mentality to all areas of his life, includi...
046: Violet tells her story of returning home early due to depression and anxiety and then serving a service mission in the San Jose area
Early Homecoming: Insights from Missionaries who Returned Early - November 07, 2021 06:00 - 45 minutes ★★★★★ - 10 ratingsViolet was born deaf and wears two cochlear implants. She served a mission to Washington D.C. speaking ASL. She came home early due to depression and anxiety after much consideration, prayer, and counseling with her mission president. She later served a service mission in her hometown area of Sa...
045: Summer shares her story of returning home early from the MTC due to depression and anxiety
Early Homecoming: Insights from Missionaries who Returned Early - October 24, 2021 06:00 - 38 minutes ★★★★★ - 10 ratingsAfter a period of inactivity, Summer returned to church and began receiving promptings and dreams about serving a mission. She followed these promptings, but upon entering the MTC she developed terrible anxiety, including panic attacks, and depression. Her mental health became so bad that her ph...
044: Jake shares his story of growing up with cerebral palsy, becoming inactive, discovering himself as an LGBTQ+ individual, returning to church, serving a mission, and returning home early due to belated confession
Early Homecoming: Insights from Missionaries who Returned Early - August 01, 2021 06:00 - 56 minutes ★★★★★ - 10 ratingsJake was born with cerebral palsy and as a result was often excluded from activities as a youth in the church. As a result of this exclusion, and a falling out with a friend, Jake became inactive during his later teen and young adult years. He is part of the LGBTQ+ community and identifies most ...
044: Jake shares his story of growing up with cerebral palsy, becoming inactive, discovering himself as an LGBTQ+ individual, returning to church, serving a mission, and returning home early due to belated confession
Early Homecoming: Insights from Missionaries who Returned Early - August 01, 2021 06:00 - 56 minutes ★★★★★ - 10 ratingsJake was born with cerebral palsy and as a result was often excluded from activities as a youth in the church. As a result of this exclusion, and a falling out with a friend, Jake became inactive during his later teen and young adult years. He is part of the LGBTQ+ community and identifies most ...
043: Kate returns home early due to emotional and physical abuse from companions
Early Homecoming: Insights from Missionaries who Returned Early - July 18, 2021 06:00 - 53 minutes ★★★★★ - 10 ratingsThroughout her childhood, Kate was emotionally and physically abused by her father, and then later by her stepmother. While on her mission, Kate experienced anxiety and undiagnosed ADHD. These mental health struggles were not understood by her companions and they became exasperated with her and ...
042: Genisse's story of coming home early due to depression and anxiety and then returning to her mission
Early Homecoming: Insights from Missionaries who Returned Early - July 04, 2021 06:00 - 27 minutes ★★★★★ - 10 ratingsGenisse is the first missionary I have spoken with who came home early due to mental health reasons and then returned to her mission. In this episode, she shares with me her journey of choosing to come home and then choosing to return which includes the ups and downs of therapy, moving forward w...
041: Pascal Friedmann shares his story of returning home early due to severe thyroid dysfunction
Early Homecoming: Insights from Missionaries who Returned Early - June 20, 2021 06:00 - 30 minutes ★★★★★ - 10 ratingsIn this episode, Pascal tells me his story about returning home early due to a prolonged illness that started about a month after he arrived in the field. It was misdiagnosed as depression and homesickness, but turned out to be severe thyroid dysfunction. Pascal shares how he was ostracized by m...
040: What is the "rest" of a mission like?
Early Homecoming: Insights from Missionaries who Returned Early - June 06, 2021 06:00 - 1 hour ★★★★★ - 10 ratingsThere are so many questions that run through the mind of an early-returned missionary, not least of which is questions along the line of "What is the rest of a mission like? Specifically, what is the rest of a proselyting mission like?" To answer this question, and several others, I have invited...
039: JT shares his experience of returning home early due to depression
Early Homecoming: Insights from Missionaries who Returned Early - May 23, 2021 06:00 - 41 minutes ★★★★★ - 10 ratingsJT had never experienced depression before his mission. He recalls being bullied in the MTC by his companions for six weeks before finding relief in the field before the depression got worse. He stopped feeling his emotions, had bad insomnia, and eventually suicidal thinking. Upon returning home...
038: Richard Ostler, former YSA Bishop, shares what he has learned about helping those who feel marginalized in the Church
Early Homecoming: Insights from Missionaries who Returned Early - May 09, 2021 06:00 - 42 minutes ★★★★★ - 10 ratingsIn this podcast episode, Richard Ostler (host of the podcast Listen, Learn, and Love) shares what he has learned about helping those who feel marginalized in the Church, including early-returned missionaries. Richard has served in multiple leadership positions, including as a YSA bishop for thre...
037: Synne returns home early due to perfectionism and self-harming and becomes the first service missionary in Norway and Sweden
Early Homecoming: Insights from Missionaries who Returned Early - April 25, 2021 06:00 - 53 minutes ★★★★★ - 10 ratingsIn this episode, Synne shares her story of returning home early from her mission in France due to perfectionism, anxiety, depression, and self-harming. She felt like she had failed Heavenly Father and was devastated. However, because of her desire to continue serving, Synne immediately requested...
036: Sarah shares her story of experiencing covert abuse from a companion and her dad while also returning home early for physical health reasons
Early Homecoming: Insights from Missionaries who Returned Early - April 11, 2021 06:00 - 47 minutes ★★★★★ - 10 ratingsSarah was sent home during the COVID-19 pandemic because of physical health problems. She begged her mission president to stay, but he was concerned she wouldn't get the help she needed if an emergency happened and so after 15 months in the field, she went home. At the time, she was also experie...
035: Josie shares her story of coming home early after 15 months due to stress, anxiety, and panic attacks, and going through a faith crisis
Early Homecoming: Insights from Missionaries who Returned Early - March 21, 2021 06:00 - 40 minutes ★★★★★ - 10 ratingsIn this episode, Josie shares her story of coming home early after 15 months due to stress, anxiety, and panic attacks that increased in severity. Gospel activities triggered large amounts of anxiety for her, leaving her scared and confused, and she began to abandon the truths she had always hel...
034: Tyler talks about his journey of intense anxiety, leaving the church, and returning to full activity
Early Homecoming: Insights from Missionaries who Returned Early - March 07, 2021 07:00 - 43 minutes ★★★★★ - 10 ratingsTyler came home early due to intense anxiety and panic attacks after serving in the Spokane Washington Mission for 3 months. He actually loved being out on his mission, but his mind would not let him be stable. The experience of returning home early challenged his relationship with God and he le...
033: Ruby shares her story of extreme depression, self-harm, and suicidal thinking
Early Homecoming: Insights from Missionaries who Returned Early - February 21, 2021 07:00 - 53 minutes ★★★★★ - 10 ratingsRuby began struggling right from the get-go on her mission during at-at home MTC (due to COVID-19 restrictions). Her struggle soon turned into extreme depression and shortly after arriving in the field, she began to self-harm . She recalls feeling temporary relief upon cutting herself, but then ...
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