Missionary Life Essentials


anatess2
 Share

Recommended Posts

17 hours ago, anatess2 said:

Takes after his father?

My son is different.  He knows who he is and where he comes from and what shaped him to be who he is.  He is not embarrassed by it.  Just because he has a bigger house than a lot of Filipinos doesn't mean he is better than them and he is open to the opportunity to teach others of this fact and open to the opportunity to learn from others.  So okay, he is his mother's son....

By the way, does my memory serve me right... you're in SLC?  Or was it @mirkwood...

Oddly you have missed the point - it was not about shame.  After my son's mission I spent some time with my son revisiting some of his areas - that include places that cannot be accessed year round by mortised vehicles and the homes that are one or two rooms with uncovered holes for widows and door.   My son wanted to teach me of something I have little experience.  For some places, perhaps even your Filipino home would be, too big and opulent.   My son took the opportunity to devote himself to that circumstance, to live as they live and experience things I could never have taught him.  Without a doubt his mission experience was a world of difference from mine.  Very little of my mission or my life experience would have prepared him for what the L-rd provided for him through his mission experience.  I believe G-d calls every missionary for a reason - sometimes we must exercise faith that the L-rd will take care of our missionaries when we cannot and it will be better for them.  The mission of my son changed him more than he changed them and he learned things I could never have taught him.

I live in the SLC area as does @mirkwood 

 

The Traveler

Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 hours ago, Traveler said:

Oddly you have missed the point - it was not about shame.  After my son's mission I spent some time with my son revisiting some of his areas - that include places that cannot be accessed year round by mortised vehicles and the homes that are one or two rooms with uncovered holes for widows and door.   My son wanted to teach me of something I have little experience.  For some places, perhaps even your Filipino home would be, too big and opulent.   My son took the opportunity to devote himself to that circumstance, to live as they live and experience things I could never have taught him.  Without a doubt his mission experience was a world of difference from mine.  Very little of my mission or my life experience would have prepared him for what the L-rd provided for him through his mission experience.  I believe G-d calls every missionary for a reason - sometimes we must exercise faith that the L-rd will take care of our missionaries when we cannot and it will be better for them.  The mission of my son changed him more than he changed them and he learned things I could never have taught him.

I live in the SLC area as does @mirkwood 

 

The Traveler

I don't think I missed your point.  I was merely stating that my son would approach that immersion without needing to avoid remembering where he comes from.  My son has experienced that life several times when he visits my homeland with me so it is a part of who he is.  I may have grown up in the city but when we go home, we visit and live with all of my family and friends - most of whom are not in the city, a lot of whom live in a fisherman's town of sea-to-table sustenance or the rice fields.  He is who he is, I am who I am wherever we go.  I'm not anatess2-the-opulent when I'm in Florida and anatess-the-poor when I'm in the rice patties.  I'm just anatess2 wherever I go.   And so, seeing a picture of our big house and fancy car in Florida while sitting on the dirt floor with my Filipino family gutting fish doesn't change that - not for my son and I nor the fisherfolk because they all know who we are.  My son remembering his fancy vacuum cleaner in Florida doesn't change the fact that when he's in my cousin's house, he scrubs the floor with a coconut husk.  And so, if he gets assigned to an even poorer circumstance, he's going to do what he always does... bring all of himself into it and live the life he's in with everything he knows adding more to himself as he goes.  And if the challenge is something he hasn't seen or experienced before, then he has every bit of skill he gained including his Eagle Scout experience to see him through. 

Yes, I'm going to worry - he's never been to the Philippines without me and I can be quite the hawk when we're there so I'm sure he will experience a lot of hardship that he was protected from before that I don't even realize.  It will change him.  I'm worried but also excited to see him in 2 years and see the man that he will be then.

I believe God called my son to the Philippines in part to fulfill His promise to my husband of leading a nation unto Him through my husband's obedience.  I believe he was assigned specifically to the Tacloban Mission to temper my son's tendency to delve into deep gospel teaching - having to learn different languages every time he gets transferred will force him to have to simplify gospel teaching as he tries to learn the dialect.  Most other Philippine missions only have one language.  But that's just my own musings.  I'm sure God has His purposes for him and it will soon become manifest in the next 2 years.

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'm going to make this thread my "Running thoughts on my son's mission" thread.

I had the opportunity to talk to him on his very first pday of his mission.  He's been in the mission only a couple days and he sounded very different.  His vocal cadence is different.  His choice of words is different.  His facial expressions were different.  During the 30-minute video call, he became "my son" again when he excitedly gave me a quick tour of his room that 4 other Elders share with him.  His voice/cadence/facial expressions came back when he showed me his closet and how I'd be happy to know it is well organized, how he lined up his toiletries just like at home, how his room is awesome and how his new friends are awesome and how he had lunch with his childhood best friend who coincidentally arrived in the same MTC a week before him (they were together through primary and through the Deacons quorum but his family moved halfway to the other side of the country after that).  Then we told him our dog that has been with us for 13 years passed away and he turned back into "the missionary" offering comfort to his brother.

It is very curious to see 2 different personas.  I'm not sure yet what to make of it.  It can't be due to MTC training - he hasn't been there long enough to adopt that change.  My husband noticed the same thing and is wondering the same thing.

Thoughts?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...
 Share