Did you serve an LDS mission?

[Jennarator]

My MIL would have been Sister Jamieson. Actually, my MIL and I have (had?) the same first name. My husband's and my name were always in the Ward Directory and sometimes I would get phone calls looking for my MIL but calling me by mistake. They would ask to speak to Maureen and I would say "Speaking", then confusion would set in because of course I didn't sound like my MIL. :)

M.

YES!!!! Sister JAmison! I remember her! It was so sad to hear of her death.

[jayanna]

Well, I haven't served a mission, I joined when I was 24 and a mom already...but I am very very active in the ward mission, though I'm not called into it. I friendship and go with the missionaries when they teach as much as I can. I am currently working on a genealogical project through my library that is utilizing the family history center workers to help community members with family research. It is becoming really huge. There are about 65 people attending the one tomorrow night actually. Since my library has resources, but not genealogical skills, and our ward needs resources as our microfilm machines are all broken, I have been trying to coordinate the two.

I obviously don't baptize, but I have helped with several baptisms, weddings, and some endowments, oh and a sealing or two. Especially loved going to one in particular, when a family that I taught as a ward missionary when they first joined went to the temple to get sealed...mom, dad, son, baby daughter. They had to go very very far away to get sealed and didn't think anyone in the ward could come, I had just had a sister who moved to that city and had a townhouse like 15 minutes from the temple, so we got to go! It was amazing! We took tons of pics on the temple grounds and made a slide show with music, and then had a reception for them at our ward and showed it.

I have a lot of great missionary stories, one is my hubby who was a Baptist when we met, and another is when I did get to read and speak Spanish during classes, prayers, testimony meeting, and a couple of baptism talks, I evidently was completely fluent...though I can NOT understand it when it is spoken to me I have found that I could only speak it when in the church building and talking about the gospel, that's it.

I'm still friends with some that I shared the gospel with that joined the church, though almost all of them have moved away. I am really looking forward to maybe someday serving a mission or possibly working in the temple. I don't want to wait for that though, I want to work NOW :)

I don't know if it's being in the tribe of Ephraim that has me so jazzed about missionary work, or maybe it's the gratitude I feel for having the gospel....

[mirkwood]

Philadelphia 86-88.

[beefche]

mirky, I thought you served in Indiana?

[Dravin]

mirky, I thought you served in Indiana?

Maybe Mirkwood felt the mission boundaries were more like guidelines, kinda like the Pirate's code?*

*Okay, now I'm picturing an Elder with an eye-patch and a parrot that has been taught to recite key scriptures.

Edited January 20, 2012 by Dravin

[john doe]

mirky, I thought you served in Indiana?

I spent some time in Vincennes and Evansville.

[mrmarklin]

Served in the old Andes South mission comprising Southern Peru, Northern Chile and all of Bolivia at the time. Time frame was 1967-69.

Attended a 30 year reunion in 1997. Would you believe that most of the ex-missionaries were old, fat and balding with gray hair?????

[Maureen]

YES!!!! Sister JAmison! I remember her! It was so sad to hear of her death.

It's a small world.

M.

[mirkwood]

mirky, I thought you served in Indiana?

I lived in West Lafayette 67-78.

Boiler up!!!

[Palerider]

Missouri, St Louis Mission, but then it seems rather small next to PC's

I have lived in the St Louis area all my life....what areas were you in??

[Palerider]

Seved in Leeds England from 79-81....it was fun learning the lanquage...LOL!!!

Had a great time. Awesome expierence!!!

[Maureen]

I am non-LDS but the husband’s family is LDS and a few have done this mission thing. I’m going to list them:

BIL#1 - 77-79 - Las Vegas, Nevada

BIL#2 - 79-81 - Manchester, England

SIL - 87-88 - Independence, Missouri

FIL&MIL - 95 - St. Petersburg, Florida

Nephew#1 (Son of BIL#1) 2000-02 – Edinburgh, Scotland

Nephew#2 (Son of BIL#1) 2001-03 – Hong Kong & Macau

Nephew#3 (Son of BIL#1) 2009-11 – Boise, Idaho (this Nephew just returned last November and I enjoyed all the emails he sent while on his mission)

Nephew#4 (Son of BIL#1) 2011-present – Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

There are more nephews and nieces, so I’m sure there will be more missions.

M.

Edited January 20, 2012 by Maureen

[slamjet]

I have lived in the St Louis area all my life....what areas were you in??

I trained in Ellisville and also served for a real short times in St Louis (I could see the stacks from the brewery from my apartment window), and around the Carondelet park area. Other than the short times in the city, I served in Kirksville (for 2 weeks, emergency transfer to keep a missionary company), Columbia, Dexter, Rolla and Waterloo, Illinois.

The biggest eye opener was Dexter. Small town of about 5000. My high school had over 1500 students so you could imagine big city boy in little town Missouri. It was all a foreign mission as far as I was concerned.

I came home with that Missouri drawl something bad. My family, my ward, everyone pretty much made fun of me.

[Palerider]

I trained in Ellisville and also served for a real short times in St Louis (I could see the stacks from the brewery from my apartment window), and around the Carondelet park area. Other than the short times in the city, I served in Kirksville (for 2 weeks, emergency transfer to keep a missionary company), Columbia, Dexter, Rolla and Waterloo, Illinois.

The biggest eye opener was Dexter. Small town of about 5000. My high school had over 1500 students so you could imagine big city boy in little town Missouri. It was all a foreign mission as far as I was concerned.

I came home with that Missouri drawl something bad. My family, my ward, everyone pretty much made fun of me.

I live in the Cape Girardeau Stake.

[Traveler]

Served in the old Andes South mission comprising Southern Peru, Northern Chile and all of Bolivia at the time. Time frame was 1967-69.

Attended a 30 year reunion in 1997. Would you believe that most of the ex-missionaries were old, fat and balding with gray hair?????

Wow - we went to different missions together - but I was bald already on my mission. BTW the old discussions were created in the NorthWestern States mission - where I served - at the time it was the top producing mission in the church. The mission record for a set of elders was 80 converts in a month.

The Traveler

[BenRaines]

Florida Ft. Lauderdale (Spanish) Mission was everything south of Ocala, FL. Also all the Caribbean. Served 11 months in Puerto Rico. The rest in Miami, FL.

For all you children I served from 73-75. Only a few here who were before me.

I speak spanish as well as I speak english. Can read and write it as well.

Taught at MTC when I returned home. Well at Knight Magnum Hall. Mission Training Center opened the month after I left school.

It was a great two years of my life. I got to sleep in. No cows to milk. Animals to feed.

Loved the work. Have always been happiest when doing missionary work

Ben Raines

[Madriglace]

I was denied the chance to serve a mission. My Bishop at the time took it upon himself to decide I weighed to much and didn't send in my papers. It has always haunted me that there was someone out there for me to find I was unable to get there because of someones stupidity. it took many many years to forgive him for that.

So I have served vicariously (sp?) through my folks. #1 Lima South in Peru doing leadership training, #2 the area that included Peru, Bolivia, Ecuador & Venezuala working with the area on Public Affairs (they visited 144 stakes twice in 2 years and got to serve as Mission Pres for a month while there was an emergency change). #3 Dominican Republic as leadship training, #4 Dominican republic Temple, #5 Cuernavaca Mexico, reactivation. They loved their missions and the people where ever they served. And they always had loads of fun. One time Elder Jensen was asked where they were and he replied that they were out there somewhere riding the chicken buses.

The Lord has a sense of humor. after the 3rd mission Mom said she didn't want to go back to DR and didn't want to do a temple mission ... so I guess you know where they went ... the Lord sends you where He wants you.

I am finally serving my mission ... tho not what I had expected. I am heavily into missionary work for my ancestors. just a week ago we completed the first stack of work with sealings for 28 couples and 30 childern.

[pam]

I never served a full time mission however, I'd like to think I'm on somewhat of a mission with my work with TheMoreGoodFoundation. Also using various media avenues to promote the gospel. There are so many ways to spread the gospel these days..it's my mission.

[Carl62]

I served a mission in San Diego, Ca. As for the people I met and had a chance to share the gospel with, it was some of the best experiences I ever had. As for the political side of the mission that I wasn't aware existed 'til I got out there, it turned out to be the biggest mistake of my life.

[pam]

I served a mission in San Diego, Ca. As for the people I met and had a chance to share the gospel with, it was some of the best experiences I ever had. As for the political side of the mission that I wasn't aware existed 'til I got out there, it turned out to be the biggest mistake of my life.

Was that when it was still the Southern California mission? Were you ever down in the Chula Vista area?

[lizzy16]

Seved in Leeds England from 79-81....it was fun learning the lanquage...LOL!!!

Had a great time. Awesome expierence!!!

Thats where my dad served :) No idea when....He's like 48 or something right now... So, i think if my maths right he could have served while you were serving :)

[RipplecutBuddha]

Was that when it was still the Southern California mission? Were you ever down in the Chula Vista area?

Not to butt in, however Chula Vista was my first area:)

[theoriginalavatar]

I read one of Ram's posts that said he served a mission in Bolivia. I thought that was pretty neat, of course, serving a mission is a pretty neat opportunity regardless of where the Lord sends you. But just out of curiosity and for fun, where did the rest of you serve? How many years ago? If it was in a foreign country, was the language easy to learn and are you still fluent? What are some of your fondest memories of the people you taught?

Thanks for sharing your experiences!

I took 8 years of German, starting in grammar school.

My first German teacher was hired by my grandmother when I stayed with her during the day in Summer. He was from a German-speaking area of Brazil, of all places, and his name was Paul Bepler. He excited in me the desire to learn German.

My second German teacher was in junior high school. He wasn't German, although he'd lived in German for many years and his wife was German. I learned a great deal in my years with him.

My next German teacher was in high school. This teacher WAS from Germany, and she was excellent (although she, admittedly, hated men).

When I started the university, I took a year of French to expand my horizons. I also took German for several years and did exceedingly well.

When I turned in my papers, I was convinced I would serve in Germany or, at least, in a German-speaking community.

I was called to the Republic of China.

I enjoyed my mission very much indeed. I learned Mandarin Chinese (as well as Taiwanese), and I would not have had it any other way. The Lord knows what he is doing.

[jayanna]

Original, that is so great that you got to serve in China. I bet they really had to begin at the beginning with the gospel, and I bet you showed that diligence, patience, and desire to learn you developed in childhood.

[theoriginalavatar]

Original, that is so great that you got to serve in China. I bet they really had to begin at the beginning with the gospel, and I bet you showed that diligence, patience, and desire to learn you developed in childhood.

Hello Jayanna,

I should clarify that I did, indeed, serve in China...although probably not the one you are thinking of.

I served in the Republic of China, which is Taiwan, and not in the People's Republic of China, which is what people most commonly think of when they hear "China."

It depends on whom you ask politically. Either way, it was Chinese in every respect, and it was such a wonderful experience. The Chinese people are go wonderful. Thank you for your comments!