When William Burningham read the email informing him he would be serving in Ivory Coast during his two year religious mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter Day Saints, he had to look it up on a map.
“I was like, ‘I think this is Africa,’” Burningham said. “And so then my whole family, we searched it up and I’m like, ‘Wow, I’m going to Africa.’ Like, it was honestly crazy.”
He had seen the email in his inbox a day prior, but hadn’t been able to open it. He was supposed to open it with his family, and his father was out of town.
“Yeah, I had a [Calculus] test in two days and that whole day, I couldn’t study for it because I was like, ‘Where am I going to go? Where am I going to go?’ And then the night before the [Calculus test], I opened it and I was like, ‘Well, I’m going to Africa. Why does my calc test matter?’ And so actually, that was probably like the worst test I’ve ever done,” Burningham said.
The two-year mission is a common practice for members of the church, with current estimates that there are around 80,000 active missionaries, and 506 mission locations. The mission experience typically includes community service as well as evangelization to the church. The faith itself has also continued to grow, and reports say that there are over 17 million adherents.
Much of Burningham’s inspiration for his mission came from watching his brother Trent serve in Manchester, England.
“Just seeing the change in him,” Burningham said. “He’s so much more thoughtful of others. He came back and he was like, ‘I love you.’ … That’s something I would never have expected for him to say to me before. Like, we were close, but it was never anything like that.”
Burningham hopes that he will be able to follow his brother’s example in helping others.
“He taught a lot of immigrants, and so he would help them out with things they need, and so all the people, they were so thankful for him and all the service he did,” Burningham said. “Because every day you go out and you meet somebody new, so it’s like changing somebody’s life every day. It’s super cool to hear stories about that.”
Seeing his brother experience the mission cemented the desire to go on his own. Burningham hopes that he’ll be able to motivate his younger brothers in the same way.
“I hope I inspire them, I think both of my younger brothers also want to do it,” Burningham said.
Burningham has already started preparing for the journey. Last year to help pay for the mission costs, he worked at Chick-fil-A and this year as a tutor. He has also begun learning French, the national language of Ivory Coast, through the use of Duolingo (where he has over a 65-day streak) and an app called Embark that focuses on teaching vocabulary specifically for evangelization.
“So the church has been around for a while and like sending missionaries everywhere, so they have a really good structure,” Burningham said. “And they’ve already given me like a bunch of stuff to prepare.”
After initial training and preparation, Burningham will travel to the east side of Abidjan. Because of the nature of the evangelization, he’ll likely spend time in both apartments and members’ homes.
Seeing William prepare has made his brother freshman Brigham Burningham think about his plans for his own mission he’ll take in three years. While he’s pretty sure he wants to try and stay in the United States, he also isn’t overly worried about how William will do in Africa.
“He’s a hard worker, he does what’s right,” Brigham said. “He’s always helping others and doing the right thing.”
William still plans to go to college, but it’ll be pushed back two years. Brigham Young University is currently his top contender, but he’s open to other options. For now, he’s looking forward to the adventure, the food, and the spiritual aspect he hopes to receive.
“I definitely want to spread the life and light and saving grace of Jesus to everyone, and I think it’s really just about showing up, doing service and hopefully impacting other people’s lives,” Burningham said.
