Episode 5: Jack Esplin

Elder David A. Bednar of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles has taught, “An assignment to labor in a specific place is essential and important but secondary to a call to the work.”

Jack Esplin learned this firsthand. Originally assigned to labor in the Bolivia Cochabamba Mission, if you were to ask Esplin, today, where he served, he would say Bolivia and Colombia.

But, even before then, before he left on his mission, he wasn’t even sure if he wanted to go.

“For me, it was mostly just the fact that, you know, we’re commanded to, as young men in the church.” Esplin said.

That changed the moment he entered the MTC. The learning and growth that he experienced because of his mission made it worth it for him.

“I loved that six weeks,” Esplin said. “It was incredible. Just the atmosphere, the spirit that’s there is crazy. And just the new habits that I formed there and the people that I met in my district, my companion and stuff.”

The new habits that he formed at the MTC translated to his determination in learning his mission language.

“I had this notebook,” Esplin said. “I would carry it around in my pocket in Bolivia. [...] I literally would not speak a word of English because I just wanted to learn Spanish so bad. So, I would walk around, and I would write down words and that whole little notebook is just totally filled with words.”

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Esplin didn’t know it then, but that stubbornness to never give up and finish would serve him well eleven months later.

It started like any other day. It was the day of transfers as well as P-day, and the missionaries were gathered at a church building to say goodbye and play some sports. While there, the missionaries began talking about the political unrest that the country was going through, and their uncertainty amid the situation. It was not long after that that the missionaries were told to remain in their apartments.

According to Esplin, Americans were especially at risk. The missionaries ended up spending about four weeks in their apartments. During that time, they could not wear church clothes or even wear their tags outside. They were surrounded by blockades and burning buildings.

Yet, amidst constant questions and the precarious situation, Esplin felt peace.

“I think, just trusting in the Lord’s plan,” Esplin said. “None of it is how I envisioned it to go. [...] Obviously, it was kind of nerve wracking, and it was kind of scary because I was like, ‘Well, what the heck? Where are we going to go? I don’t want to leave these people already.’ [...] I think I was just trusting in Him because I was like, ‘Yeah, I know that the Lord will make everything work out. Even if it’s not how I expected it to go. It ended up being better than I could have ever imagined.”

That move was only the first of many. He, along with other missionaries, was flown to Brazil and stayed at the Brazil MTC. From the Brazil MTC, Esplin was reassigned to the Colombia Cali Mission. Before going to Cali, Esplin was sent to a third MTC – the Colombia MTC. He stayed there for two weeks and then finally made it to Cali. 

He only stayed in Colombia for four months before COVID-19 struck. As the severity of the virus became clear, church leadership decided that all missionaries with 18 or more months of service would be released and sent home from their mission. At that point, Esplin was at 17 months and three weeks. He thought that he would be able to stay out, but it was determined that he was so close to 18 months that he was sent home.

Esplin’s mission had been a rollercoaster, but this was different.

“I was like, ‘Well, I do get to go home, see my family, and rest and not walk around all the time anymore,’” Esplin said. “But at the same time, I was like ‘Dang, I really wish I could just finish my mission.’”

Despite his desire to finish serving, Esplin realized that the Lord had a different plan for him. That is exactly the advice he would give to missionaries facing a similar situation.

“For anybody that gets reassigned or that has to go home early or anything like that, it’s all because of the Lord’s plan, and He knows what’s best and He knows what’s going to bring us the most happiness,” Esplin said.

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You can listen to the full episode with Jack Esplin on the media player above. To listen to past and future episodes, search for “Called and Qualified: A Missionary Story Podcast” on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.