Generally, I thought it was a great experience. I went to Spain, Las Palmas, and it was very challenging to say the least. When I arrived, the mission was at the tail end of a "baptize at any cost" cycle, and we felt the effects our whole mission. Our mission went from baptizing hundreds to barely double digits each month. The branches were small, there wasn't a strong core of local leadership, and members didn't trust you as much because of all the crazy things the previous missionaries did before, etc. My time was a clean up mission. We also knocked doors (tocango puertas) almost every day, and had to keep records because it was possible to clear a whole area in some locations. It was an island, laid back culture, where people were deeply, inactively catholic. So in my entire 2 years, I only made it through all the discussions twice. One lady was the sister of a member and she and her small children joined. The other individual that was baptized was a single guy, who became very dedicated and actually later served a mission, but then left the church because he was gay.
But all of that said, I really valued the experience. I believed in what I was doing at the time, so I can't say I regret it now that I've sort of moved away spiritually from the church. But it was hard, very hard though. Like going off into the desert without water to see how long you could last. Those tiny sips of water went a long way when you finally got them. But such is life, and you learn the most in times of hardship like that. I also learned the value of community service, as that was the one thing we could actually do consistently without being rejected. For several months, I was in an area where there was a Catholic church/old folks home residence. At lunch time, we would go help the staff serve meals to the elderly, and boy was that a great experience. No selling the church, no other motives than to spend some time with people and help them out.
And the ultimate best part about it, was that I met my wife there! She was a sister missionary, and we served together several times. All above board by the way, not shenanigans while we were out there. But afterwards, we kept in contact and eventually got together. So if I had to do it all over again, I would! (ssshhh, she is watching me type this...)
“A government big enough to give you everything you want is a government big enough to take away everything that you have.”
to fluent Spanish, and I think my priorities and outlook on life were drastically changed for the better by 2 years of genuine service, regardless of its level of efficiency.