Homecoming celebrations for recently returned missionary Braxten Jones were brought to an abrupt halt when the young man was met with an unexpected blow. While walking by the refreshments table, Jones saw his reflection in the punch bowl. To his surprise, he was still Caucasian.

“I was shocked,” he said. “After two years in Mexico I thought I was practically a native. I have a sombrero and everything.”

The rocky first day back wasn’t what really shook Jones, however. With classes starting up last week, he felt confident that he would stand out from his classmates. He was upset to realize that wasn’t the case: “No one seemed to appreciate my new personality, like how different I am from everyone else. It’s definitely been a trial for me.”

But the hardships of this week inspired Jones to act. On Friday, he held a support group for fellow RMs who felt misunderstood, where meeting attendees of all mission backgrounds could share their experiences. “It was a lowkey first meeting over dinner,” said attendee Kimball Johnson, who returned from Italy three months ago, “eating spaghetti with chopsticks was hard at first, but in the end, I think it made me more culturally appreciative, you know?”

The first meeting was reported to have been an overwhelming success, with attendance projected to greatly increase for this week’s meeting. Still, Jones is troubled with the apparent inability of his fellow cougars to understand how nuanced an individual he truly is; he was spotted at Fuego Friday shortly after the meeting, somberly dancing bachata by himself.

Jones’s family and friends have requested he be given time to continue processing this information away from public view.