LDS Missionary Wellness 101

Here is some great physical health advice for future missionaries from a 2007 Ensign article by Donald Doty, MD: 

• Regular (daily) exercise. A missionary must be able to walk an average of six miles (10 km) per day and ride a bicycle 12 miles (19 km) per day. Prospective missionaries can prepare for the rigors of missionary life by establishing a regular pattern of aerobic exercise—walking, running, or cycling for one hour every day.

• Adequate sleep. Although sleep needs vary, young adults generally need to sleep seven to eight hours per day. Missionaries live a scheduled life. They are in bed by 10:30 p.m. and up by 6:30 a.m. every day. This schedule will be difficult unless prospective missionaries get into a similar routine well in advance of the call to service.

• Healthy eating habits. Rather than living on sugar and fat, young people should learn to enjoy meals consisting of protein and fiber, such as lean meat, yogurt, vegetables, and fruit. Also, drinking more than 12 ounces of carbonated beverage per day is too much. The Missionary Department requires that missionaries have a body mass index no higher than 37. Prospective missionaries should strive to keep their weight in the normal range, thereby avoiding obesity-related health problems. Being markedly under normal weight can also have serious health consequences.

• Meal preparation skills. Parents can help their sons and daughters learn how to prepare simple, healthy meals. I stress the word simple because missionaries often cook food on a hot plate or a single gas burner and may not have an oven. Every prospective missionary needs to know the basics of cooking and sanitary food handling. Since dishwashers are rarely found in missionary living quarters, it is also important to know how to clean up after meals with hot water and dish soap.

• Personal hygiene. Personal cleanliness and good grooming habits are vital to missionary success. Favorable first impressions are lasting. Clean hands also help missionaries stay healthy and prevent the spread of communicable diseases.

• Skin problems. Those with a severe acne problem should get help from a medical doctor well before entering the Missionary Training Center. Some acne medicines require monitoring over time and are not used in the mission field.

• Dental health. Prevention is the key to good dental health. This means a habit of brushing teeth at least morning and night, daily use of dental floss, and consistent visits to your dentist. Any required dental repair should be finished before the missionary recommendation is submitted. Orthodontic treatment—which often takes two years or more—must be completed before arrival at the MTC.

• Chronic health issues. With proper treatment, many health problems become controllable, making missionary service possible if treatment continues throughout the mission.

• Immunizations. Those preparing to serve missions should obtain all available routine vaccinations and booster injections at appropriate ages. Well before beginning their missionary service, they should also receive any special immunizations required for the particular country where they will serve.The advantages of immunization overwhelmingly exceed the minuscule risks of receiving vaccines. Immunization renders an individual resistant to disease for varying time periods. Maintaining immunity may require a booster injection.

Why 3% of LDS Missionaries Go Home Early

Dr. Donald Doty writes, "Today about 3 percent of missionaries have their missions shortened by either physical or mental health problems. Losing three out of 100 missionaries may not seem like very many. But to the individual and his or her family, having a mission cut short is significant...I recommend that health preparation begin at least two years in advance of the anticipated missionary service. Those who wait to prepare until the last minute or until after they have received the call to serve may not be ready and may even have their missions delayed."

Here's where having to take PE everyday or attending sports practice or living without a car or walking or biking to class falls under missionary prep. Daily exercise offsets fatigue, saddle sores, and weight related problems that might occur while serving as a missionary. Being in good physical shape also helps make the other transitions to missionary life easier.

This is Why We Sent Him on a Mission

I just have to share this...today when our missionary closed his e-mail, this is what he wrote:

"Thank you for all the effort that you put into raising me, for my good education and everything. I am a lot more grateful for these things now that I've seen other homes and other people's situations. I Love You."

I get all happy inside every time I read this. It makes every sacrifice and every penny spent seem insignificant.

May all our LDS missionaries come home with a greater appreciation of their blessings and a greater sense of compassion towards others. Amen.

How to "Lose" $4800

My sister-in-law shared this unfortunate story with me.

A family in her ward had a son (let's call him Elder J) on a mission, and in addition to his family's monthly contributions, the ward was receiving financial donations in Elder J's behalf. Only the donor had not specified on the Tithing and Donation slip that the money was for Elder J; they had just entered their donation on the line titled "Ward Missionary." Consequently, the ward had approximately $4800 extra in their ward missionary fund, because the money had not been forwarded to church headquarters, and then on to Elder J's mission. As per procedure at the end of the year, the extra $4800 was sent to church headquarters to the general missionary fund, and Elder J and his family discovered too late that they were still responsible for the coming year's worth of financial contributions.

While I am sure that the Church made good use of the donation, it was probably an unwelcomed surprise to Elder J's family. They were probably counting on that money to cover the balance of Elder J's missionary service.

Please, please, please check periodically with your ward's financial clerk to make sure all your missionary's funds and contributions are in order. No one needs a $4800 surprise.

Accounting for the $$$

The first installment payment for our son's mission was due by the first day of the month that he reported to the MTC. Since then, we have made a payment to our ward using a donation envelope on the last Sunday of every month. These are easily tracked in our checking roster. However, we also have extended family members who are donating towards our son's mission on an irregular basis, and these payments are harder to account for and track.

What I did not know was that our ward's financial clerk could print off a report called Income and Expense Detail Report for a ward missionary that was just like looking at a checking account statement. It showed the Who, What, When of the donations that have been made to our ward in our son's behalf.

What we discovered from reviewing the report was that during a leadership transition when a new financial clerk was called, one of our payments had not been forwarded to church headquarters. Just a small oversight, but it takes checks and balances to make sure all the details of missionary service are covered.

Try not to overwhelm your ward's financial clerk, but definitely check your missionary's account at your ward every quarter or, at least, semi-annually.

What's in His Wallet?

His temple recommend, his driver's license and an ATM card.

The first two are self-explanatory. The third is linked to a joint checking account at our local bank.

When our son went to college, we opened an account in both of our names so we could funnel money to him while he was away from home. Now that he is on his mission, the account has a $100 balance that he can access in case of emergencies like no food at the end of the month or incidentals like new socks.

I figure that everything in his wallet can be replaced if it is lost or stolen or left behind during the last transfer.

Another piece of financial advice is to check your missionary's credit report once a year to make sure that their identity is secure while they are serving. You can access free credit reports at AnnualCreditReport.com. The site allows you to request a free credit report once every 12 months from each of the nationwide consumer credit reporting companies. You will need their social security number, permanent address and permission because they are of legal age.

Dear Elder

While our son was in the MTC, he kept writing about a service called DearElder.com. I had no idea what he was talking about. Finally I checked it out, and I must say that it's absolutely fabulous.

DearElder.com is a fantastic way to write your LDS missionary while they're serving in any LDS mission worldwide. The online service allows you to type in a letter which is then printed off and sent to either the MTC, a mission home, or through pouch mail if your missionary is serving in an area where regular mail service is not reliable.

If your missionary is in the Provo MTC, you can type in a letter by noon MST Monday-Friday at DearElder.com, and they will receive a hard copy of your letter that very day for free!

While in the MTC, our missionary's prep day was Friday. We found that if we sent a DearElder letter by Thursday at noon MST, he could read it Thursday night and respond to it on Friday when he sent his weekly email. That way he did not have to try to read all our messages and then reply during the short time he had to access to a computer. It was also a great, easy way for my husband and our younger children to correspond with their brother.

Now that our missionary is on the field, we send our DearElder letters to his mission's office (which is the procedure recommended by his Mission President) for the cost of a domestic stamp. At DearElder, you can check the recommended mailing procedure for your missioanry's mission by searching here.

If your missionary is serving in an area that ulitizes pouch mail, you can find out more about how their free pouch service works here or in their FAQ section.

DearElder also offers some very creative care packages that are available to send to either the MTC, a domestic or an intermational mission. Our son received the chips and queso in the Spice of Life package from a friend while he was in the MTC. His birthday is coming up in October, and both the birthday package and the complete birthday cake package look like fun options and are reasonably priced.

DearElder accepts donations which help cover their many free services. 

Wish I'd known about DearElder.com before our son entered the MTC, but now that I do, I am a regular.