Arp High School senior Tyler Bardsley answers call with Kiribati mission

Published 5:45 am Tuesday, May 21, 2024

Editor’s Note: This is one in a series of stories highlighting graduating high school seniors in Smith County.

Arp High School senior Tyler Bardsley will embark on a mission trip to Kiribati, an island country in the Micronesia subregion of Oceania.

“All my life, I’ve always wanted to go on one,” Bardsley said. “I’m not the most in-tune person with the gospel. I don’t know everything, I don’t know a lot, but it will help me grow spiritually and physically.”

During the two-year mission, he anticipates personal growth in various aspects of his life, including experiencing a vastly different culture, collaborating with local communities and learning a new language.

Throughout the mission, he expects to visit approximately 13 neighboring islands.

“I want to dream in a new language,” Bardsley said. “I’m most interested in learning a new culture because it will help me appreciate what I’ve been given.”

Bardsley, who is set to graduate from Arp High School this Thursday night, said the mission call came through the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Despite the challenges of living independently for the first time on a remote island, he remains resolute, expressing, “Through God, I can do anything, as long as I keep my faith and persevere through whatever gets sent my way.”

His faith has been a guiding force, aiding him in making sound decisions and focusing on God, especially when spiritual guidance is lacking.

Bardsley attributes his ability to avoid trouble to God’s presence in his life, regardless of his surroundings. He firmly believes confronting uncertainty during the mission will nurture discipline and fortitude.

“It’s not necessarily about … going to an island, and that’s super cool, [but] it’s the fact that I get to help those people,” Bardsley said. “I get to … teach them about Jesus Christ, hopefully baptize them and do all these cool things to help them on their journey to God.”

Tyler, the youngest of his brothers who are Mason and Cole, is the son of Kenneth and Denise Bardsley.

From a young age, Tyler has shown a keen interest in outdoor activities such as riding mini bikes, climbing trees, and constructing outdoor forts and primitive structures. Additionally, he is an avid athlete actively involved in various sports teams, including fishing, clay shooting, and golf. He boasts a commendable record as a three-time regional qualifier in cross country and one-time qualifier in track and has contributed to the basketball and football teams.

“It’s not very often that we have someone, one of our graduates, go on a mission trip, but it shows the commitment that this young man has shown to his faith and for the betterment of others and himself to want to pursue something like this,” said Mike Alzamora, Arp ISD Communications Coordinator. “That is something very admirable of this young man.”

Bardsley will graduate alongside his classmates during a ceremony at 7 p.m. Thursday, May 23 at Arp High School’s Clark Wayne Roberts Auditorium.