In April 2013, the age requirement for young men and women serving missions was lowered, changing the lives of thousands of Mormon teenagers. The missionary force surged to nearly 89,000 as the age for young men dropped from 19 to 18, and the age for young women went from 21 to 19.
To those unfamiliar with Mormonism or religion in general, young people putting their lives on hold while their peers are attending college or starting careers may seem strange.
Michael R. Otterson, the Church’s Managing Director of Public Affairs, explains that “Mormons learn from their youngest years to follow Jesus Christ by serving all people everywhere.”
Many of the missionaries who were part of the 2013 surge have now returned home. Young men serve for two years and young women for eighteen months. Read missionary update after surge here.
Two recently returned missionaries who were affected by the age-change announcement are JayJay Kauvesi and Jennifer Fuggle. JayJay and Jennifer met at an LDS youth conference in Australia and became good friends.
Jennifer was 17 when the announcement came that young women could leave for a mission at age 19 instead of 21. During that next year she came to the conclusion that a mission was right for her. JayJay encouraged her to apply.
At age 18, JayJay was the first to receive his mission call to Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea. Because of visa delays, he was still in Australia when Jennifer received her call to the Musashino Tokyo Mission in Japan.
For the next couple of years, as they served their missions, they lost contact with one another.
Jennifer says, “I remember getting completely into the work. Serving a mission was the greatest learning experience I have ever had.”
She continues, “All of the dots in the gospel started connecting. It is such a perfect plan. One of the coolest blessings was being able to see someone else having no concept of God or a higher power recognize this simple truth . . . their whole entire countenance would change. When someone gave their first ever prayer and feeling the love, that was one of the coolest things.”
JayJay and Jennifer have both now returned from their missions. They plan to be married this month in the Latter-day Saints' Sydney Australia Temple.