There are missionaries serving in over 350 missions all over the world! They are out all around the world, riding bicycles, walking or driving, searching for people to share the gospel with. Most of these missionaries are under the age of 25. But, there are also retired church members who volunteer as missionaries too! Young men and women, starting at the ages of 18 and 19 (respectively) have the opportunity to go spend 2 years (or 18 months if you are a girl) someplace around the world teaching the gospel to others. All prospective missionaries submit and application to Church headquarters, and after waiting a week or so, they receive a call to specific mission somewhere around the world. After a few weeks at the MTC ( Missionary Training Center), where they study and practice teaching the gospel and sometimes learn a language too, they are sent off to their mission. These missionaries pay their own way and not only sacrifice time, but also put off school, jobs and dating too. Their lives are completely dedicated to sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ and and are entirely focused on doing the Lord's work.
What does a day in a missionaries shoes look like? They usually wake up at 6:30 and after getting ready for the day and studying their scriptures then head out to meet new people to share the gospel with. In the afternoon they may have lessons where they discuss the gospel with people they meet or do volunteer service for the community. They might end the day teaching the gospel to interested individuals or attend a baptismal service or someone who has decided to join the Church! Around 9:30 they return home and go to bed.
Here is a cool article that goes into a little more detail about a day in the life of a missionary: http://www.mormonnewsroom.org/article/mormon-missionary-life
Why Mormons Send Missionaries around the World
Why do these people, most of them under the age of 25, volunteer to leave their homes at their own expense and dedicate a period of their lives to preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ?
The Lord said, "proclaim my gospel from land to land, and from city to city… bear testimony in every place, unto every people" (Doctrine and Covenants 66:5,7). We take that commandment to heart and look for opportunities to share the blessings we've received from living the gospel with everyone we can. Jesus taught, "Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God" (John 3:5). Knowing that certain ordinances like baptism are necessary for us to return to live with our Heavenly Father, we feel an urgent need to share this blessing with everyone we can. Our first interest as a Church—is that as many of the children of men as can, will be saved and exalted. While we work out our own salvation, we want to help those around us do the same. Because we are all sons and daughters of our Heavenly Father, the more of us that are able to learn and keep His commandments and enjoy eternal life, the happier we'll all be.
(this exert was taken from mormon.org)
You can meet the missionaries too! Who better to teach about Missionaries than current missionaries!? Help them find you here: http://mormon.org/missionaries
You can also learn more about missionaries here: http://mormon.org/values/missionary-work
