As a nineteen year old, Myrissa Bunker began her life as a missionary for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints last January. The daughter of Bobby and Jocelyn Bunker left her family in Bunkerville to serve for 18 months in the Chesapeake Bay, Virginia Mission. She was assigned to Williamsburg, Virginia where she served for 3 months and moved on to Greenville, North Carolina which is still within her mission boundaries. Myrissa reports that she is grateful for the work and finding the variety of experiences interesting. Part of her time has been spent in helping out at a local charity thrift store, assisting in community service to many homeless people, and helping a woman learn to read. She is proud to say she has survived her first hurricane when Arthur hit the east coast recently.
One memorable experience happened as she and her companion were checking out of Wal-Mart and a stranger gave a $100 bill to the cashier for their purchases and thanked the young women for their service to the community. They did not know him nor was he a member of their church but his generosity and gratitude touched them and others very deeply. “It is a privilege to serve these people and work with many different denominations to help strengthen their faith in Jesus Christ,” says Sister Bunker.
She is part of the more than 85,000 missionaries presently serving throughout the world in 405 missions. She was able to leave for her mission at the age of nineteen because of the change in age requirements announced in October of 2012. Previously she would have had to wait until she was twenty-one. Young men are now able to serve their two year missions at the age of eighteen instead of nineteen.
