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Six years ago, I presented a paper at Sunstone on the apparent unwritten law in the church that you never say anything negative about your missionary experience. The only exceptions are when you use the story to talk about something positive you learned or gained from it. 

Here's the original draft of my Sunstone paper on my blog: https://runtu.wordpress.com/2012/07/31/spinning-the-mission-experience/

And here's the audio of my presentation: https://www.sunstonemagazine.com/sins-of-omission-spinning-the-missionary-experience/

It seems someone else has reached the same conclusions and has started a web site about discussing traumatic mission experiences and how the church can do better in preparing and protecting missionaries so these experiences are less common.

https://www.timeforcambio.org

The story of one of the founders of the site is pretty horrifying. She served in the Bolivia Cochabamba mission, just as I did. A year into her mission, she was raped and her companion assaulted. The story is pretty awful, but to me, the worst part is that they were given no preparation to keep safe, they were ignored when they told mission leaders they were worried about their safety, and the assaults themselves were minimized by leaders and other missionaries.

Here's the story (be warned it's pretty grim): https://www.timeforcambio.org/single-post/2016/05/08/Finding-support-and-help-how-your-community-can-make-a-difference

I must say I'm gobsmacked that in 2016 the church was still not doing much to teach missionaries how to keep safe. Back in my day, we had "ambassadorship class" in the MTC, where we were told not to talk about the USA or politics, but that was as far as it went. We were expected, as this sister was, to work after dark, even in the most dangerous areas, and we were repeatedly told that if we followed the rules, prayed for the spirit, and kept the commandments, we would be protected. I know of two sisters in my mission who were abducted and robbed, but who somehow convinced their abductors not to rape them, and of course, two missionaries were murdered in my mission. And yet, 30 years later, the church was still providing no specific guidance and no resources either to keep the missionaries safe or to help them after a traumatic incident. 

She does note that there have been some positive changes:

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Eventually they did implement many of our suggestions, including sending out world wide safety surveys. When they did, they publicly said that no events in particular triggered the outreach. That wasn’t true, and it hurt. I believe honesty will help us change at a faster rate than trying to maintain image will. ...

The assault was devastating. The lack of training and conversations on safety on missions is devastating. My mission’s culture of blame was devastating. The isolation and lack of recourse on my mission was devastating. Working with the missionary department and being blatantly lied to was devastating. The impact on my spirituality and trust was devastating. I tear up remembering how completely betrayed and abandoned by my tribe I felt.

WE NEED CHANGE. I believe that missions hold the potential to be beautiful experiences full of love, service, growth, and safety. I believe that honest conversations about missions can fuel change. Being open and public with my experiences has fueled my healing. So has therapy through The Center for Women and Children in Crisis. (They offer 24 free sessions to victims of sexual assault, which would be an admirable goal for the church to offer, instead of 6.) Working at a school teaching sweet kiddos, coming to trust and marry a wonderful person, reading books upon books, and taking back control and authority over my life in every way, have all contributed to my individual healing.

I refuse to give up and say, “That’s just how missions are,” and that drives me to create conversations about the change that is possible. I am standing up and speaking out so that my children, should they choose to be LDS or serve missions, can serve in safety and never be denied basic rights while serving a mission.

 

What kinds of things can be done to improve missionary safety? What kind of training did you receive as a missionary? As I said, we received no specific training about safety or what to do in an emergency. Let's hope that is changing for the better. 

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Each mission should have some kind of officer (as a paid position) in charge of missionary safety, for sure.

When I was a missionary it was the same - just trust in God to keep you safe, so long as you were following the rules. Safety wise mine was pretty uneventful, thankfully.

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3 minutes ago, Gray said:

Each mission should have some kind of officer (as a paid position) in charge of missionary safety, for sure.

When I was a missionary it was the same - just trust in God to keep you safe, so long as you were following the rules. Safety wise mine was pretty uneventful, thankfully.

We had a 2-week period during my mission where pretty much everything was shut down by a general strike. I was in the mission office, and because the phones weren't working (they were on strike, too), we had no contact with any missionaries outside the city of Cochabamba. During the strike, 10,000 miners surrounded downtown La Paz with dynamite and threatened to blow up the major buildings. That's when the government sent in troops and tanks. I remember our mission president saying, "Surely the missionaries up there will know to stay in the house and not put themselves in harm's way." At that time, political unrest and military coups were regular occurrences, yet we had no training as to how to deal with an emergency like that, no instructions for staying safe even in normal conditions, and certainly no follow-up plan in case of a traumatic event. After the phones came back up, we learned that the missionaries in La Paz had gone about their business as normal during the entire strike, knocking doors and teaching. When questioned, the zone leaders said they felt the Lord would protect the missionaries. That should have been a real wake-up call, but even after that, nothing changed. And, as I said, I'm shocked that, 30 years after two missionaries were murdered in Bolivia, they still didn't even have a basic plan to ensure safety. 

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48 minutes ago, jkwilliams said:

What kinds of things can be done to improve missionary safety? What kind of training did you receive as a missionary? As I said, we received no specific training about safety or what to do in an emergency. Let's hope that is changing for the better. 

I served much of my mission in inner-city Kansas City. My first couple of months I lived on Troost, which a the time, was the most deadly street in America (according to news stories). My apartment was vermin infested. I remember vividly sitting in the bathtub (no shower) and watching roaches crawling in and out of holes in the ceiling. We didn't have a car so we walked everywhere (bikes would have been stolen instantly which is probably why we didn't have a car either). We had things thrown at us, guns flashed at us, were surrounded by mobs of angry people telling us we were in the wrong neighborhood. I heard many gunshots at night. Thankfully nothing bad happened, but it was frightening. What could have been done to improve my safety situation?

1- appropriate living conditions/location

2- regular communication with others to let them know when and where we would be certain places

3- real life training on safety issues and an urging to follow safety protocols instead of merely praying and having faith

I think the church is getting better about some of these things. Cell phones and tablets allow for constant communication and even tracking of physical location but I think there is still an over reliance on faith as a protection. It puts missionaries in bad situations. There are places and homes missionaries should never risk entering.

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1 minute ago, HappyJackWagon said:

I served much of my mission in inner-city Kansas City. My first couple of months I lived on Troost, which a the time, was the most deadly street in America (according to news stories). My apartment was vermin infested. I remember vividly sitting in the bathtub (no shower) and watching roaches crawling in and out of holes in the ceiling. We didn't have a car so we walked everywhere (bikes would have been stolen instantly which is probably why we didn't have a car either). We had things thrown at us, guns flashed at us, were surrounded by mobs of angry people telling us we were in the wrong neighborhood. I heard many gunshots at night. Thankfully nothing bad happened, but it was frightening. What could have been done to improve my safety situation?

1- appropriate living conditions/location

2- regular communication with others to let them know when and where we would be certain places

3- real life training on safety issues and an urging to follow safety protocols instead of merely praying and having faith

I think the church is getting better about some of these things. Cell phones and tablets allow for constant communication and even tracking of physical location but I think there is still an over reliance on faith as a protection. It puts missionaries in bad situations. There are places and homes missionaries should never risk entering.

Those are good suggestions. My impression is that things are improving, but I was pretty shocked that very little had changed in my mission in 30 years. 

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55 minutes ago, jkwilliams said:

Six years ago, I presented a paper at Sunstone on the apparent unwritten law in the church that you never say anything negative about your missionary experience. The only exceptions are when you use the story to talk about something positive you learned or gained from it. 

That has not been my experience.  To the contrary, one of the staples of "life of a missionary" narratives is the inclusion of challenges and difficulties.

55 minutes ago, jkwilliams said:

What kinds of things can be done to improve missionary safety? What kind of training did you receive as a missionary? As I said, we received no specific training about safety or what to do in an emergency. Let's hope that is changing for the better. 

We had a mission handbook that had safety guidelines.  Don't go to the red light district.  Don't argue with cabbies or truck drivers.  Be respectful and courteous.  Be back in the apartment by 9:00 p.m.  Stay with your companion.  Listen to the Spirit.  Use common sense.  That sort of thing.

This was apparently sufficient.  I had some close calls.  I once deliberately put myself and my companion into harm's way (to stop a drunk man who was viciously beating a woman), but otherwise these guidelines seemed to be sufficient to keep us safe.  I don't recall any serious incidents during my two years.

I would imagine that this varies by mission.  My brother-in-law served his mission in St. Louis and has some stories to tell.

Thanks,

-Smac

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Just now, smac97 said:

That has not been my experience.  To the contrary, one of the staples of "life of a missionary" narratives is the inclusion of challenges and difficulties.

As I said, those stories are often told, but usually as part of a larger point. 

Quote

 

We had a mission handbook that had safety guidelines.  Don't go to the red light district.  Don't argue with cabbies or truck drivers.  Be respectful and courteous.  Be back in the apartment by 9:00 p.m.  Stay with your companion.  Listen to the Spirit.  Use common sense.  That sort of thing.

This was apparently sufficient.  I had some close calls.  I once deliberately put myself and my companion into harm's way (to stop a drunk man who was viciously beating a woman), but otherwise these guidelines seemed to be sufficient to keep us safe.  I don't recall any serious incidents during my two years.

I would imagine that this varies by mission.  My brother-in-law served his mission in St. Louis and has some stories to tell.

 

I would hope that the church would have basic safety standards and procedures applied worldwide, with specific additional measures depending on local conditions. Maybe I'm wrong, but I don't see any evidence that there are such standards and procedures. What kinds of things do you think would help protect missionaries from harm?

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That is a really tragic story.

When I was serving in downtown Seattle, my companion and I were assigned to accompany the sister missionaries whenever they had a teaching appointment in a rough part of town - especially if it was taking place in the evening. On the way back from an appointment one night we witnessed a guy being beaten on the street. I tried to get out and help, but the sister driving was unwilling to stop. It was probably for the best in terms of missionary safety, but it felt really wrong. 

 

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We had no safety training as far as I remember, other than to follow the mission rules.  But in my mission there were quite a few areas where sisters were not allowed to serve at all (such as Vallejo California) or where missionaries weren't allowed at all (Orick California-a town of 357 people in the middle of the Red Woods).

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Just now, bluebell said:

We had no safety training as far as I remember, other than to follow the mission rules.  But in my mission there were quite a few areas where sisters were not allowed to serve at all (such as Vallejo California) or where missionaries weren't allowed at all (Orick California-a town of 357 people in the middle of the Red Woods).

I don't remember there being any specific areas that sisters weren't supposed to serve. The welfare missionaries, in particular, worked in some pretty bad places in terms of poverty, crime, and living conditions. 

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10 minutes ago, Amulek said:

That is a really tragic story.

When I was serving in downtown Seattle, my companion and I were assigned to accompany the sister missionaries whenever they had a teaching appointment in a rough part of town - especially if it was taking place in the evening. On the way back from an appointment one night we witnessed a guy being beaten on the street. I tried to get out and help, but the sister driving was unwilling to stop. It was probably for the best in terms of missionary safety, but it felt really wrong. 

Sounds like a reasonable approach your mission took. I'm just surprised there is apparently no church-wide policy for basic safety and that it seems to be left to individual mission presidents. 

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8 minutes ago, bluebell said:

We had no safety training as far as I remember, other than to follow the mission rules.  But in my mission there were quite a few areas where sisters were not allowed to serve at all (such as Vallejo California) or where missionaries weren't allowed at all (Orick California-a town of 357 people in the middle of the Red Woods).

There were areas in my mission that were "off-limits" as well. 

I don't recall ever receiving any specific safety training - though I do distinctly remember my first mission president say something one time about always carrying a few bucks to give a thief. 

 

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4 minutes ago, jkwilliams said:

I would hope that the church would have basic safety standards and procedures applied worldwide, with specific additional measures depending on local conditions.

From page 50 of the Missionary Handbook:

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SAFETY

Follow safety rules for pedestrians, vehicles, bicycles, appliances, heaters, and anything that is potentially dangerous.

Fuel-burning heaters that do not work properly can be very dangerous. Follow instructions in the Missionary Health Guide for using these heaters. Do not risk your health or safety for any reason, including to save money.

SECURITY

Listen to and follow the promptings of the Spirit, which can warn you of danger. Be sensitive to anything that is out of the ordinary, especially anyone who watches you closely or asks probing questions. Immediately report any possible problems to your mission president and to your district leader or zone leaders.  Stay away from unsafe areas. Travel after dark only in lighted areas. Vary the routes you travel. Walk quickly and with purpose. Do not fill your carrying case with too many items or with materials that are heavy or bulky, which could create the impression you have items of value. Do not resist if you meet thieves. Carry a little cash with you so you have something you could give to thieves.

Avoid situations that could lead to confrontations. Stay away from public demonstrations and from locations where those seeking to cause trouble might target you. Because of the close association in some people’s minds of the Church with the United States of America, in some countries you may need to avoid locations or institutions associated with the United States and avoid areas where large groups of people have anti-American feelings.

Be careful what you say and write in public and in private.  Do not make negative or offensive comments about political or cultural circumstances, even in letters or e-mails home. Never become involved in political or commercial activities or in discussions or arguments on political or economic topics.

In some countries it is illegal to photograph government buildings, including embassies, airports, military installations, and other city, state, or national buildings.

Do not take pictures of civil unrest or demonstrations.  Do not photograph sacred objects or statues. Never take part in pranks or joke about terrorism or terrorist acts. Such actions may lead to serious problems.  In all ways be wise and mature in your conduct.

Perhaps some additional instructions for sister missionaries is warranted?  What would you propose?

There's also this announcement from May 2018:

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Update on Missionary Safety Survey

NEWS RELEASE
4 MAY 2018 - SALT LAKE CITY
In June 2017, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints sent a survey to missionaries worldwide to better understand their day-to-day experiences and perceptions related to physical safety. The results painted a picture of overall safety among missionaries and highlighted areas for improvement.

We were pleased to learn that an overwhelming majority of missionaries reported feeling safe within their missions, and the number of incidents was very low compared to the total missionaries serving. Gratefully, serious threats and violence involving missionaries are uncommon, although we recognize that exceptions occur.

This sounds like the Church is paying attention to this issue.

Quote

The feedback from this survey will inform future changes to the Missionary Handbook and has already impacted the following policies and procedures:

  • A Sister Safety Committee that meets regularly is using the survey results to determine how to enhance the overall safety of sister missionaries.
  • A follow-up process has been implemented to provide better care and support for missionaries following an incident.
  • A significant health, safety, and security training program is being produced that is heavily influenced by the survey results.

Additionally, the Church will soon send a second survey to missions where multiple safety concerns have been reported. Information from this follow-up survey will be shared with mission presidents to help them understand the potential risks in their missions and to help them consider where missionaries are placed.

Sounds like mission presidents are getting further training.

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Missionaries throughout the world are known for their goodness and selfless service. We greatly value their safety. We are committed to doing all we can to understand and to improve, where needed, the circumstances of all missionaries.

Again, this sounds like the Church is paying attention.

4 minutes ago, jkwilliams said:

Maybe I'm wrong, but I don't see any evidence that there are such standards and procedures.

What are your thoughts about the items above?

4 minutes ago, jkwilliams said:

What kinds of things do you think would help protect missionaries from harm?

100% protection?  Nothing.  There is no such thing.  My daughter just spent 10 months in Italy as an exchange student.  She had rules and guidelines to follow, but there was no way to keep her fully protected.  She had a few close calls, but fortunately she arrived back home without having endured any seriously harmful experiences.

As for the narrative in your link in the OP, you are correct.  It is horrific.  I am appalled and angered that it happened.  It seems like a lot of her (justified) grievances pertain to what happened to her after the assault.

As far as as what things we can do to improve missionary safety, I think the Church is looking into that (see above).

Thanks,

-Smac

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Just now, smac97 said:

From page 50 of the Missionary Handbook:

Perhaps some additional instructions for sister missionaries is warranted?  What would you propose?

There's also this announcement from May 2018:

This sounds like the Church is paying attention to this issue.

Sounds like mission presidents are getting further training.

Again, this sounds like the Church is paying attention.

What are your thoughts about the items above?

100% protection?  Nothing.  There is no such thing.  My daughter just spent 10 months in Italy as an exchange student.  She had rules and guidelines to follow, but there was no way to keep her fully protected.  She had a few close calls, but fortunately she arrived back home without having endured any seriously harmful experiences.

As for the narrative in your link in the OP, you are correct.  It is horrific.  I am appalled and angered that it happened.  It seems like a lot of her (justified) grievances pertain to what happened to her after the assault.

As far as as what things we can do to improve missionary safety, I think the Church is looking into that (see above).

Thanks,

-Smac

As I said in the OP, I'm glad they are apparently making changes. According to the story I linked to, these changes happened as a direct result of her pushing for them. I look forward to seeing some specifics come out of this. And no one is expecting "100% protection," but some common-sense guidelines and support would help. It shouldn't take a sister missionary getting raped and pushing hard for the church to start thinking about these things, IMO. 

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I think the attitude that by simply following the rules, one will be protected is misplaced. Perhaps the attitude should be changed to one of "the Lord helps those who help themselves," and a little caution goes a long way toward safety.  Young people have an invincible attitude already and coupled with the belief that the HG acts as a shield can lead to bad results. I certainly had this attitude on my mission.  Hanging onto a person that was hanging onto a bus going 50 mph was definitely poor and unsafe conduct by me. I was also held up and robbed once and my last area had armed gangs that would routinely have gun battles. A former companion was shot at near my last area too. We thought nothing of it because we were missionaries. Luckily no one was injured.

Also, we were specifically instructed not to write about these experiences to family back home. I can understand why the church wouldn't want to have parents anguished over something they cannot control. However, the church has an obligation to take as many reasonable precautions to keep missionaries safe. It looks like more can be done in this area. Rapes happen and I feel for the young woman who wrote about her horrible experience. Perhaps there should be an earlier curfew for all missionaries? I also think it is obvious that the leaders involved should have reacted differently. 

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I had some scary moments on my mission, but I never felt that the Mission Presidency was not concerned or that they didn't care about our safety.  When your in a third world country anything can happen and there are risks associated with that.  Missionaries need to be aware of their surroundings, know how to deal difficult individuals, and make smart decisions surrounding their safety even if it means breaking mission rules. I served in Mexico and the Elders who had the biggest problems were those who came from Idaho,Utah, Arizona. They never really had to deal with crime, vagrants, people of low character etc. They were like a deer in the headlights when it came to that stuff I guess I'm saying they had no street smarts.  I grew up in a large urban area none of my neighbors were LDS and I did have to deal with those things so when I got to Mexico I had a little more self awareness If I was in a bad neighborhood and it got dark I would leave even if it was during proselytizing hours and my mexican companions did not complain because they knew it was dangerous also.  I only got in one jam during my mission and it happend during daylight hours in a bad neighborhood.  My companion and I walked away unscathed because as we were accosted the federal police come out of nowhere and arrested they guys trying to rob us.  This is obviously anecdotal and based on my experience only.  I will say that I served for quite some time in the offices of the mission and what I just described was fairly typical. 

In general I think that the attitude that "the Lord will protect" is a bad and lazy.  Not an attitude that I expressed to new missionaries when I was in a position to do so.

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1 hour ago, will227457 said:

I had some scary moments on my mission, but I never felt that the Mission Presidency was not concerned or that they didn't care about our safety.  When your in a third world country anything can happen and there are risks associated with that.  Missionaries need to be aware of their surroundings, know how to deal difficult individuals, and make smart decisions surrounding their safety even if it means breaking mission rules. I served in Mexico and the Elders who had the biggest problems were those who came from Idaho,Utah, Arizona. They never really had to deal with crime, vagrants, people of low character etc. They were like a deer in the headlights when it came to that stuff I guess I'm saying they had no street smarts.  I grew up in a large urban area none of my neighbors were LDS and I did have to deal with those things so when I got to Mexico I had a little more self awareness If I was in a bad neighborhood and it got dark I would leave even if it was during proselytizing hours and my mexican companions did not complain because they knew it was dangerous also.  I only got in one jam during my mission and it happend during daylight hours in a bad neighborhood.  My companion and I walked away unscathed because as we were accosted the federal police come out of nowhere and arrested they guys trying to rob us.  This is obviously anecdotal and based on my experience only.  I will say that I served for quite some time in the offices of the mission and what I just described was fairly typical. 

In general I think that the attitude that "the Lord will protect" is a bad and lazy.  Not an attitude that I expressed to new missionaries when I was in a position to do so.

It's kind of scary to think how many times I was in a dangerous situation and thought nothing of it because I was a missionary and figured I'd be protected if I was doing what I was supposed to be doing. 

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9 minutes ago, jkwilliams said:

It's kind of scary to think how many times I was in a dangerous situation and thought nothing of it because I was a missionary and figured I'd be protected if I was doing what I was supposed to be doing. 

Me too.

One of my best friends from high school died on his mission. A member was driving, got in an accident, and everyone in the car died. He was in an adjoining mission so everyone had heard about it. I recall a zone meeting when the Senior Office Missionary over vehicles used my friend's death as a cautionary tale about not following mission rules. How if he would have required the driver to obey the speed limit, and had been home long enough before curfew that they didn't have to rush back, he wouldn't have died. But when we don't follow the rules, we have no protection.

Of course this old guy didn't know it was my friend, or that he had some of the details of the accident wrong, but it seriously ticked me off. Among other things, I can see now how such a focus on obedience as a means of physical protection can blame the victim and be totally devoid of compassion. And it's overly simplistic and unrealistic.

One other thing that I think would improve overall safety is for missionaries to have greater communication with their families. Allow them to be honest about their living conditions and the safety of their surroundings. Don't sanitize things for family members because if parents recognize the danger you'd better believe they will make the mission aware. Mission Presidents may have a harder time blowing off parents than they are the missionaries themselves.

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2 minutes ago, HappyJackWagon said:

Me too.

One of my best friends from high school died on his mission. A member was driving, got in an accident, and everyone in the car died. He was in an adjoining mission so everyone had heard about it. I recall a zone meeting when the Senior Office Missionary over vehicles used my friend's death as a cautionary tale about not following mission rules. How if he would have required the driver to obey the speed limit, and had been home long enough before curfew that they didn't have to rush back, he wouldn't have died. But when we don't follow the rules, we have no protection.

Of course this old guy didn't know it was my friend, or that he had some of the details of the accident wrong, but it seriously ticked me off. Among other things, I can see now how such a focus on obedience as a means of physical protection can blame the victim and be totally devoid of compassion. And it's overly simplistic and unrealistic.

One other thing that I think would improve overall safety is for missionaries to have greater communication with their families. Allow them to be honest about their living conditions and the safety of their surroundings. Don't sanitize things for family members because if parents recognize the danger you'd better believe they will make the mission aware. Mission Presidents may have a harder time blowing off parents than they are the missionaries themselves.

I agree. We were specifically counseled not to share anything that might worry our families, so we basically lied about the conditions we were in. My father says he will never forgive me for doing that. 

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1 hour ago, jkwilliams said:

It's kind of scary to think how many times I was in a dangerous situation and thought nothing of it because I was a missionary and figured I'd be protected if I was doing what I was supposed to be doing. 

That is scary, I was under no impression that my obedience would protect me other than not doing something overtly stupid I figured that I had to look out for myself.

 

1 hour ago, jkwilliams said:
1 hour ago, HappyJackWagon said:

because if parents recognize the danger you'd better believe they will make the mission aware. Mission Presidents may have a harder time blowing off parents than they are the missionaries themselves.

I agree. We were specifically counseled not to share anything that might worry our families, so we basically lied about the conditions we were in. My father says he will never forgive me for doing that. 

The problem with this is that then the mission presidents are fielding calls and dirty emails from parents all day, because little johnny had to take a cold shower, or little johnny got food poisoning etc. etc. 

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Just now, will227457 said:

That is scary, I was under no impression that my obedience would protect me other than not doing something overtly stupid I figured that I had to look out for myself.

The problem with this is that then the mission presidents are fielding calls and dirty emails from parents all day, because little johnny had to take a cold shower, or little johnny got food poisoning etc. etc. 

Generally, the issues were more significant than that in my mission. At least the stuff I lied about was. 

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21 minutes ago, will227457 said:

That is scary, I was under no impression that my obedience would protect me other than not doing something overtly stupid I figured that I had to look out for myself.

 

The problem with this is that then the mission presidents are fielding calls and dirty emails from parents all day, because little johnny had to take a cold shower, or little johnny got food poisoning etc. etc. 

Yeah, so? Why shouldn't the Mission Pres field calls from parents? Maybe he could delegate those calls to his wife so he's not distracted by trivial "safety issues". ;) 

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Just now, HappyJackWagon said:

Yeah, so? Why shouldn't the Mission Pres field calls from parents? Maybe he could delegate those calls to his wife so he's not distracted by trivial "safety issues". ;) 

If the missionaries have better communication with their families, I'd think it would result in fewer calls to the mission president. A parent, knowing of a health problem, for example, would likely just tell their kid to see a doctor and wouldn't bother calling the mission president.

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Suggestion==

The parents of a missionary recently called should call the .... MTC... missionary department... the mission president and have a conversation on their safety measures and training in that specific  mission.  Get specific details, not letting them get away with general "We take measures....  we are concerned, etc"

Be firm, proactive and let them know that you are very  serious.  You want to SEE any training materials, the safety rules. etc
Become the "squeeky wheel"/

Edited by cdowis
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