Tuesday, August 31, 2010

The LDS Missionary and the Digital Camera

A picture is worth a thousand words.

A small, inexpensive digital camera is a great gift for a missionary who is preparing to serve their LDS mission. We bought a camera from Office Depot because I had a great coupon, but there are a lot of options on the market. We also bought two memory cards and some small mailers so when our missionary filled up one disk, he could mail it home to us. Then we loaded the pictures on to our computer and sent back the empty disk so that he could reuse it after he filled the second one. While there are mailing expenses, it cuts down on the time and expense a missionary would have to spend getting their pictures developed while out in the mission field. It also allowed us to attach his pictures to e-mails and notes we have sent to friends and family members.

There is an inexpensive way to get pictures developed while at the MTC so make sure your missionary has or has access to envelopes and stamps so they can send their pictures home to you.

Friday, August 27, 2010

The Mormon Missionary and the Microcassette Recorder

In the movie, The Best Two Years, Elder Johnson, who is serving in the Netherlands, receives audio cassettes from his girlfriend back home in the states.

Well, our missionary, who is a slow typist, but a good storyteller, thought cassettes would be an easy way to communicate without actually having to type an email or post a letter. Consequently, we purchased a microcassette player, cassettes, batteries, mailers and stamps from a office supply store. (He later found the player at the MTC bookstore for about $15 which was half of what we had paid...Wish I'd known.) If you are considering this options, remember that you will also need a second player for playback at home.

We just received our first cassette eight weeks into his mission. And I must say it was so fun to hear his voice! All things considered it was a good option for us. If you think that your missionary will actually use it, microcassettes may be fun alternative for your family and a way to handle the waiting between the phone calls at Christmas and Mother's Day.

Wednesday, August 25, 2010

One of the Most Exciting Things

One of the most exciting things had happened while we were getting our missionary prepared to enter the MTC was that while we were compiling his four generation pedigree chart, we got hooked on family history again.

He had a four generation pedigree chart that he had prepared for the Boy Scout Genealogy merit badge, but we had purchased a new computer since then and there is now new genealogy software and downloads available at http://www.familysearch.org./ So we needed to update our information.

According to Mormon.org, "The site is one of the most popular online genealogical services and is free of charge. It’s operated by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and is linked to the world’s largest collection of genealogical resources and a global network of research centers. It contains a billion names from over 110 counties and territories including those found in the 1880 United States Census, the 1881 Canadian Census, the 1881 British Census, the Ellis Island database and the Freedman’s Bank Records. The Church is currently working on a massive digitization project of microfilmed and other records that will bring even more billions of names into the collection over the next few years."

After entering the information, we already knew into our Personal Ancestral File software, and we just started downloading and linking information we found at familysearch.org. On one line, we were able to link back to the year 0965. It was crazy. We spent about seven hours total before we exhausted all the available information. However, on two of our ancestral lines, we were lucky to know enough information to complete the four generation pedigree chart. So do not get discouraged if that is your circumstance, just do what you can do, and consider all the exciting work you have to look forward to in the furture.

Also, I guess what I'm saying is that family history and genealogical research would be a great way to prepare your child for a mission. Start now!

Tuesday, August 24, 2010

The Most Frustrating Thing

The most frustrating thing about getting our missionary ready for his mission was, not only was he over 18 years of age, but he was also out of town attending college. If your missionary is of legal age (all of them are), the doctor's office will not give you a copy of their immunization record, the Division of Motor Vehicles will not give you a copy of their driving record, and if your missionary is at college/school, you can not arrange for deferment without their authorization.

Now I believe that if your child is preparing to go on a mission, they should shoulder some of the responsibility for getting themselves ready to go. However if you are coordinating over long distances, someone has to do the legwork. If it is you as the parent/guardian, be aware that acting on behalf of another adult is tricky.

Fortunately, I had an updated copy of our son's immunization record from before he left for college, but we needed a notorized consent in order for me to get his driving record. That was a pain. My recommendation is to get all the necessary paperwork collected while your missionary is either at home or visiting during a break if they are attending college or school away from out of town.

Monday, August 23, 2010

The Call

When your missionary gets their call, they get a beautiful letter signed by the prophet and a booklet assembled, just for them, under the direction of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. In the booklet is the biography of the mission president and his wife, a map of the mission, a general instruction checklist, medical information regarding health care and immunizations, the dress and grooming guidelines for his mission including the "what to wear" specifics and the missionary travel instructions for getting to the MTC.

With in a few weeks, our missionary also received a letter from his future mission president that included instructions specific to his mission, information on obtaining a bicycle, recommendations regarding his personal preparation and answers to FAQ.

He also received a letter from the MTC that included information on how to prepare for his arrival, how to obtain his missionary email address and his MTC mailing address, and directions for drop-off on the day of his arrival. Two weeks before his arrival at the MTC, he received an email at his missionary address from the MTC presidency with specific guidelines regarding his stay at the MTC.

All this information was, of course, invaluable in planning and preparing him to serve. I recommend, however, that your missioanry read it all and you read it all and that you have someone else read it. Somehow I got confused and purchased 8 long-sleeved shirts and 2 short sleeved shirts instead of the other way around. My friend Sheli said that both she and her mother missed the instructions to bring sheets so when she arrived in her mission she had none. Wish I'd Known...that including someone else in the preparation might have helped us not to miss things in the details.

Friday, August 20, 2010

P-days Bring Me Joy

Friday is our missionary's preparation day (P-day), and every Friday since our missionary entered the MTC, we get an e-mail from him at about 2:00 pm CST. Can I just tell you how happy his little notes make me. All day long, I wait for them, and after getting them, I smile and am warm for the longest time.

Not much changes from week to week in the MTC, but I like hearing about it all anyway.

The separation is a sacrifice, and I'd encourage him to go on a mission all over again if I had to, but I miss him. Even though he has already been away for a year at college, I miss seeing his face on Skype and hearing his voice on the phone. His e-mails sound like him, and his writing looks like him, and I know he's there. And that brings me great joy.

Thursday, August 19, 2010

One Stop Shopping for Less

There is a bookstore type facility at the MTC...Wish I'd known. In his first e-mail to us, our missionary wrote, "Buying stuff at them MTC is super cheap. For example, I could get that tape recorder for $14 dollars. Just so you know when [younger brother] comes to the MTC. I should have bought my tape recorder, my journal, my notebooks, my shoulder bag (they have backpacks and shoulder bags here) and my scriptures here (and they engrave for free, if you buy it here). Basically, we get a 40% off missionary discount for all items. I also received a new pair of Spanish scriptures for free. (So if [younger brother] goes foreign language speaking, don't buy him new scriptures)."

One Stop Shopping

The new flagship Deseret Book store across from Temple Square was a great place for one stop shopping. We purchased our son's temple clothes, scriptures, additional reading material, oil vial and other odds and ends all in one place. The location was convenient to the temple, and it had everything "Mormon" that is hard to find outside of the intermountain west.

While we were there, the younger brothers and sister bought LDS and YA books. I bought some distribution materials including some soft cover copies of the Book of Mormon (for our own missionary efforts). And my husband bought a muffin.

There is also a Deseret Book store conveniently located next to a Church Distribution Center in Orem.

Wednesday, August 18, 2010

What to Bring to the MTC

Besides their luggage, there are a couple of things that your missionary will be requested to bring with them to the MTC. These include: their temple recommend, their immunization/shot record, their driving record, a copy of their driver's license and a four generation pedigree chart with stories about their ancestors. For studying, they will need pens, pencils, a notebook, and highlighters. They will also need a hymnbook in their native language, envelopes, stamps, hangars, a towel and personal care items. In order to travel, they will need $100 in cash to use to pay for transportation from the airport to the MTC and to check their luggage when they leave the MTC for their mission.

Saturday, August 14, 2010

The Mormon Missionary and Social Media

Guess what? While your child is out on their mission, their investigators, companions' families, ward members and others are going to look them up on the social media sites like Facebook, MySpace and YouTube.  Hopefully since your child has chosen to go on a mission, they have been living a life worthy of being a representative of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and that is reflected in their use of social media. But people will check up on them because they will want to know that they are "for real" and that they practise what they preach. Still, it would not hurt to clean up their social media pages for their mission by adding a picture of them in their missionary garb and their favorite scripture.

Also another piece of advice for LDS missionaries and their parents: While our missionary is serving, we post his weekly e-mails to his Facebook page to help let his friends and our family know how he is doing. One of his friends started a group on Facebook that receives her weekly mission updates, posted by her mother. It has been really great to see the reactions of their friends of other faiths and a great way to keep in touch. Just a thought...

Thursday, August 12, 2010

The Suitcase Dilemma-Advice for Future Missionaries

While helping our son pack for his mission, we determined that he only really needed two suitcases. So to lighten his load, we used his large and medium size bags, and we were able to fit everything in. The only problem was that after he arrived at the MTC, he was told that he would need to pack a carry-on bag with a change of clothes and other personal items in case he and his luggage got separated during his trip to his mission. It makes sense as a precaution, but it wasn't in the instructions we were given. Wish I'd known...Ultimately, we ended up shipping his empty carry-on bag to him while he was still at the MTC.

Wednesday, August 11, 2010

Where in the World is Elder Zaitzeff?

How do mission calls get assigned? My husband had the idea that missionaries were just sorted into available openings and needs of the Church's missions on any given week, and my mentality was kinda like let's throw all the applications up in the air and see where they land. However, it was our good fortune that Elder Ronald A. Rasband gave a great talk called The Divine Call of A Missionary while we were waiting for our son to receive his call.  Since I was not at the Saturday Evening Session of General Conference, I was able to watch the video on line at the General Conference page of the website for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Elder Rasband's talk was inspiring and answered all our questions. It also enabled us to fully and confidently explain the process to our family and friends of other faiths.

Getting the Mission Call

Our son was told it would take 10 days to 2 weeks after he met with his Stake President before he could expect his call. Because General Conference fell during that time, it understandably took a little longer. The call was mailed to our son at his college address, but we were able to watch him open it using Skype, a free internet video calling service. All you need is a computer, a broadband internet connection and a webcam for both the sender and receivers in order to make your video call. It was just like being there and so thrilling to share that moment with our son and his friends.

Monday, August 9, 2010

A Good Gift for an 18 Year Old Future Missionary

Get them a passport even though you don't know if they will need it for their mission. If your missionary already has a passport when they receive their call and they need it for their mission, then that's one less thing you have to worry about acquiring before the day they report to the MTC.

You never know when world events are going to impact the application process or worldwide travel. In 2010, travel to the World Cup in South Africa was a major factor in getting passports and visas in a timely manner. The US State Department has a great website with step by step instructions. Also the US Postal Service's website has applications on-line.  The passport book is going to cost about $135. You are going to need a copy of their birth certificate so pull that out of the file. 

Oh and passport pictures were less at CVS than at FedEx Office. Wish I'd known...

A Good Gift for a 17 Year Old Future Missionary

Luggage...yep. Not very flashy, but oh so practical. The missionary luggage went to EFY and college before it was dropped at the curb at the MTC. I recommend the 3 piece set from the Missionary Mall. It meets international travel standards and it has a 15 year warranty.

The Wisdom Teeth

The wisdom teeth are going to have to come out even if your dentist says that your child has room for them. Extraction is going to set you back about $500 if you have good dental insurance, more if you don't. Our son had his wisdom teeth out between college semesters. His younger brother won't be so lucky. Our plan is for him to have them out during spring break of his senior year.

It's all so bittersweet...

It's all so bittersweet, sending your child on a mission. You've wanted them to go since birth, practically, and now the day has arrived you don't want to let go of them. I am reminded of Hannah who brought her precious son, Samuel, to the temple as her offering to the Lord and in gratitude for the blessing of being his mother. Though not as dramatic, my husband and I took our son and two suitcases and dropped them at the curb of the MTC. Our son had told me he was ready to go, and by the time we had come to that moment I was ready for him to be gone, but that doesn't mean I don't miss him everyday. Sometimes I even yearn for him, but I'd do it again in a heartbeat. (And I hope to do it at least four more times in the next twelve years.) It wasn't easy, but it was right. There are just a few things I wish I'd known before he got his call...