09/05/2026
๐ด๐ ๐ฑ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐ ๐ฉ๐๐ผโ๐ท๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐ด๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐
My name is Shima Michael Terfa, and I am from Nigeria. It was an honor and privilege to serve as a BYUโPathway service missionary.
During my service, I loved connecting with the students in my classes. Looking back on my mission, a few moments stand out:
๐ ๐๐ก๐ ๐๐จ๐ฐ๐๐ซ ๐จ๐ ๐ ๐๐ข๐ฆ๐ฉ๐ฅ๐ ๐๐๐ฅ๐ฅ: Whenever I called students to remind them of their portal tasks that they have not started, they would say, "I am sorry, I will start!" Knowing that a simple phone call could give a student the boost they needed to begin their week brought me so much joy.
๐ค ๐๐ญ๐ซ๐จ๐ง๐ ๐๐ซ ๐๐จ๐ ๐๐ญ๐ก๐๐ซ: The weekly gathering was a special place where we truly connected and worked together to solve problems. Sometime, students would even organize extra study sessions outside of our regular gathering time and invite me to join them.
๐ก ๐๐ฏ๐๐ซ๐๐จ๐ฆ๐ข๐ง๐ ๐๐๐ฌ๐ญ๐๐๐ฅ๐๐ฌ: Many of my students faced real challenges such as: limited or no internet access, lack of time due to busy lives, not having a reliable device to log in, and many others. However, we were able to overcome most of these challenges whenever we met on a day outside of our regular gathering.
๐ ๐๐ฎ๐ข๐ฅ๐๐ข๐ง๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ซ๐ฌ: It was wonderful to see students transform when taking on the role of โ๐๐๐๐
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๐๐๐.โ At first, many would make excuses out of fear or self-doubt. But after working closely with them and building their confidence, they would eagerly volunteer to lead again!
Even though I faced my own strugglesโlike poor phone connections, buying airtime, and finding the right devices to work withโserving brought me immense joy.
I know that when I am in the service of others, I am in the service of God. I know The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is true, and when we follow our Church leaders we will be on the right path.
In the name of Jesus Christ, amen. ๐๐พ
