That they might have joy.

It was not until the last months of my mission that I really understood missionary work. As President Benson said, quoted in Preach My Gospel, the secret to missionary work really is work. I worked harder, better, and with more love in those last three months than ever before in my life. As a result, I was far happier than I had ever been in my life. I felt almost constant joy as I served people that I loved.

And then, in a day, it all ended.

I don't complain about coming home. I knew, from before day one of my mission, that it would end in July of 2011. In the time since then, I have been able to be around family and friends and come back to BYU. And yet, compared to then, life is so... boring.

That's more or less how I've felt since I arrived at home. Make no mistake, I'm happy, but it's been a genuine struggle to find the same joy that I felt when I was in Chile. I get up every morning, go to work, go to class, do homework, and get to bed in time for seven or eight hours of sleep. It keeps me running, and it moves me towards my goals, but it isn't as fulfilling as I'd like it to be.

But there is one thing that has been an exception to this rule. Sometime during my freshman year, I gave my e-mail address to the BYU group Students for International Development. Then, while I was in Chile, my brother Robert got involved in the group and mentioned it to me on several occasions. Students for International Development (SID) is an organization dedicated to increasing awareness of poverty, here and abroad, and how poverty can be alleviated. There's something about development that just inspires me. I haven't been able to reach that same level of joy that I felt on my mission, but I'm beginning to taste it again, and I like it so far.

I'm just going to mention one SID event here. Yesterday, I attended the Peery Film Festival. Rather than attempting to explain it in depth myself, I shall simply link to it right here. Basically, film students create short videos (under ten minutes) about a development organization. The films from this year have not yet been posted, but those from last year are there. It's an amazing chance to get to see the innovative ways that people are helping people escape from the cycle of poverty. More and more, I think this is what I want to do with my life.

I hope you enjoy the films. If anyone is interested in getting involved with Students for International Development, the group meets every Thursday at 7:30 PM in room 238 of the Kennedy Center.

As the semester continues, I expect to have more items of awesomeness and more details to post about development. Next semester, I plan to publish a series of posts on the annual Hunger Banquet, the biggest and arguably most exciting development-related event on campus.

Thus I return to the blogosphere. Awesome.

Edit: I just saw this article on a closely related topic. Nothing spectacular, but it's a case of development making it into the news.