Serving as a young missionary is hard. It’s a lot of study and work, you don’t ever get a day off, and there are a lot of rules. One of those rules is “thou shalt not go to the beach”. Here in the San Diego Mission, there are a lot of beaches, and there are plenty of missionaries who drive, bike, and walk in those areas. But they don’t go out on the sand or into the water. (To be clear, senior missionaries don’t have any such rules, and we’ve been to several beaches on several occasions.)
Our mission leaders definitely recognize the sacrifice these young men and women make, and when they announced that Christmas Day and New Year’s Day would officially be “beach days”, there was widespread rejoicing. The sheer number of missionaries– almost two hundred– makes it impractical to have everyone together at once, so half went on each day. Our Christmas was spent in the Valley, and our young friends were excited to head out to San Diego a week later to celebrate the new year in the sand today.
There were a few of us with awesome Hawaiian shirts:
We set up sand volleyball nets and spikeball sets. Many of the missionaries just sat around talking and taking selfies with the ocean behind them. I gathered some friends and we played ultimate. Our mission president even joined us (he’s in the center, wearing a grey sweatshirt).
The weather was a bit chilly– maybe in the mid-60s– so it was hardly suitable for jumping in the water. The handful of surfers braving the waves were in full wetsuits. But still, it was New Year’s Day on the beach!
Being the social guy I am, coupled with my love of eating out, I invited a group of the senior missionaries to join us for dinner at a restaurant walking distance from the beach. It’s worth noting Hodad’s was also walking distance, but they aren’t really set up for a large group. We ended up on the rooftop, where we had a fun dinner together. Notice everyone in their sweatshirts and parkas (!) while I’m lounging around in my shorts and Hawaiian shirt…
Just like Christmas a week ago, this was unlike any other New Year I’ve experienced. And it was just as fun.