By MAGGIE MCMURRAY
Moapa Valley Progress
Life after high school brings major changes for most young people. Some choose to start working, some choose college or trade school, and some even get married and start families.
But the Moapa Valley is currently hosting eight young men and women who made another choice after high school. They chose to spend 18 months to 2 years in serving others and in helping communities where they are assigned as missionaries for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints..
The LDS church currently has more than 88,000 missionaries spread between 400 missions around the world. Most of the missionaries are young people under the age of 25. Missionary service in the LDS church is completely voluntary. They are funded entirely by the missionaries themselves or their families.
But LDS missionaries do not get to choose where they do their service. Rather, they are assigned to a mission somewhere in the world. In fact, learning where they are to be sent is one of the most exciting letters these young volunteers will ever open.
Moapa Valley is part of the an area named the Las Vegas West Mission. The mission covers the western part of Las Vegas, Moapa Valley and stretches up to encompass Panaca and Pioche.
Missionary service requires that the young missionary leave family, friends, and their former hobbies at home while they dedicate themselves to service, helping those in need, and sharing their Christian message. In fact they refer to themselves as “Elder” or “Sister” instead of using their first names to help them remember their focus on others.
But the young missionaries do not leave their unique personalities, enthusiasm and talents at home. Indeed, they often find ways to use their unique gifts to bless the people they meet.
One young man currently assigned to Moapa Valley is Elder Preciado who came to the United States from Columbia when he was 8 years old.
“I definitely did not always plan to serve a mission,” Preciado said. “I spent most of my free time playing soccer and doing ceramics.”
Preciado is the youngest of three siblings and he loves children. That same family focus is what he likes best about Moapa Valley.
“I love how everyone in Moapa Valley is family,” he said. “Sometimes literally. It is a great family centered community.”
Elder Sutton, who comes from Rigby, Idaho, said he had never heard of Moapa Valley before he came on a mission. Sutton left 7 siblings at home and has been away on his mission for less than a year.
In high school, Sutton was a wrestler. In that sport, he earned a chance to compete for his school in the state championships. He then received an invitation to travel to Australia for a “Down Under Sports” international meet, where he took second in his class.
Elder Tackett is from Layton, Utah, and has been on his mission for 9 months. “I love everything that has to do with a board: surfing, snowboarding, skateboarding, whatever!” he said.
Tackett was willing to give all that up, though, when he came on a mission. “I prayed to know what was true and discovered that God lives and so does Jesus Christ and I just wanted to share that message with others.”
Elder Aldrich is perhaps the missionary that traveled the farthest to serve in Moapa Valley. He hails from Hawaii, where he is the second oldest of 8 kids. He has been serving for 18 months and has only been in Moapa Valley for 4 weeks now.
He says he loves it here because, “…it is just like Hawaii! Well, except for not quite as green, no water, and no pineapples. But the people are the same. They are very friendly and I have loved getting to know them.”
Elder Matheson is perhaps Elder Aldrich’s polar opposite in that instead of hailing from warm, green Hawaii, he hails from cold, white, Anchorage, Alaska. But he also shares a love of the people of Moapa Valley. He says it is beautiful here with all the green and he loves the small town feeling. He is the oldest of 5 kids and loves basketball, hiking, and being with friends.
Elder Clapp has been on his mission for 16 months, has a younger sister who is 12, and is from Knoxville, TN. He also loves basketball, and he ran track in high school. He really loves musicals and has performed in several in high school including Oklahoma and White Christmas.
In addition to the six elders serving the community, there are also two women. Sister Roberts came to the mission from Marysville, UT, and has been on her mission for 16 months.
Before she came to southern Nevada she worked on her family’s farm. So she is at home with the small town farm feeling of Moapa Valley.
“I love Moapa Valley. Here you have nice people to talk to, you can see the stars in the sky, and you can live life!” Roberts said.
The last missionary in the area, Sister Strange, is from North Carolina, although she was originally from much farther away than that.
“I was born in Siberia, in Russia, and was adopted by a wonderful American family,” said Strange.
“I decided to serve a mission because I wanted to help families understand that they can be together forever. Being adopted and sealed to my family has inspired this idea.”
Sister Strange will be ending her mission and heading home in 4 months. When she returns, she intends to go to BYU-Idaho and study business. Before her mission she worked designing prom dresses and wedding gowns.
“Before coming to Logandale, I had never heard of Moapa Valley,” she said. “But now I never want to leave.”
Never wanting to leave is one thing all the missionaries here seem to have in common. Although they all have very different backgrounds and personalities, all have loved their time here. They all feel a warm sense of family in Moapa Valley and have developed the strong ties that being in a small community can foster.
They are universally excited for the new year before them and are eager to share their positive message of hope and change with anyone who wants to make improvements or changes in their life as part of the their New Year resolutions.
