Older Missionary Couples Back At The Coal Face

[Ticketyboo]

I don't like to post overly much & tend to stay in the safer waters of the Social Hall, but I would like to post an observation if I may.

Just recently in our Branch we've had two successive senior missionary couples coming here to do name extraction & record processing at the National Library of Wales.

I'm pretty sure that the work that these couples have done in that service is vital, but the real bonus for them & us is the service that they've contributed within the Branch.

Back in their home wards they've given faithful service in various callings over many years, but perhaps have begun to fall somewhat into the background.

All of a sudden they're in a Branch, serving as High Priest Group Leaders, Clerks, in Young Women's Presidencies, in Relief Society & absolutely thriving as they do so.

I guess the point I'm making is that these missionary couples are vital to help in the running of Branches & get a real benefit from the service they give.

[Calm]

I think one of the great blessings of the Church is its ability to find something meaningful for most everyone at any age to do, especially older couples who have retired. I read a study eons ago that demonstrated that the risk of death went up dramatically after retirement in general. People have been engaged in a meaningful endeavour for a great portion of their life and suddenly they are living an unstructured life where no one is depending on them. In the past where older people lived with the younger generations, they were still valuable resources to the family, at the very least being able to care for the children, freeing up parents for more vigorous work....and in many cultures there wasn't really such a thing as retirement even if one shifted some of the burden onto the next one, one was still often working side by side with others of the family until it became physically impossible. Now people are retiring when they are still quite vigorous themselves, in full possession of active minds and bodies...with nothing to really accomplish besides basic upkeep and entertaining oneself. It can be a stressor, which can lead to health issues both emotional and physical...depression being a huge issue for many retirees. And it can be hell on a spouse to suddenly have a dissatisfied loved one under one's feet expecting one to be with him to provide the social interaction and entertainment he was getting from others (and it can work that way now for the men as well as women these days, both spouses are expected to suddenly fill the social gap left by no longer have work companions to interact with).

Getting involved in volunteer work on an almost daily basis is a great way to add a sense of accomplishment to one's life as well as meet one's social need to have people to interact with, to stimulate one's mind and heart and soul so to speak. Our Church gives important, meaningful jobs to seniors and even offers to those who are financially and otherwise able, a new fulltime 'career' of helping others, often with travel to new places which really helps open up their lives and keep individuals more 'flexible' in their interactions with others, something that gets important as one gets older where one tends to develop habits of behaviour that can really interfere with trying new things, thinking in new ways and instead one falls into a rut, lives on autopilot...and if one doesn't keep the brain active...especially in pushing it to think in new paths, this can result in other health issues and often social issues as well (one begins to limit oneself, stops making new acquaintances, stops having new conversation and instead just keeps repeating old ones, memory is more likely to become impaired, etc). Boredom and too much routine isn't healthy.

Knowing that it matters for you to get up, out of bed and be somewhere for someone, that someone needs you, that you have important responsibilities makes life less stressful than having a 'stressfree' life with no demands on one, contrary to what one would think at first glance. I think if one can't go on a mission, finding another way to be involved during the week as well as on Sunday is very wise...whether working at a local school as an aid/volunteer, local library helping out (often they have tutoring programs), hospitals, local senior centre (especially good if it's hard for one to be around kids), shelters and food banks...there are endless possibilities and one has the freedom to move on if the fit isn't a good one (though it's good to push oneself at least a little out of the comfort zone, I think one needs to be able to enjoy what one is doing to maximize the benefits for everyone involved). If one has physical limitations, there are still ways to be important in someone's life even if it is only picking up the phone and having conversations with shutins.

[Garden Girl]

Hello Ticketyboo...

Do I understand you that you are in Wales?

My husband was Welsh... both sets of great-grandparents immigrated to the U.S. from Wales with their children. He has Humphreys, Bowen, Copper, and Jones. Each time we'd visit his family in Nebraska, we'd go down to the Welsh Cemetery... they were from the Carnarvon, Llanrwst(sp?), Cemmaes/Montgomeryshire areas... naturally I may have spelled these wrong. We found his grandfather's church at Maestyk(?) during our trip to the British Isles in 1986. We started at London where we rented a car, going to Cardiff and then worked our way up through northern Wales, then down into Scotland, through the English Cottswold country and back to London. I loved the villages. We took a side trip over to Ireland for two days.

When they arrived in the U.S., most settled in Pennsylvania where the men worked in the coal mines. One day an explosion in the mine nearly cost his great-grandfather his life (many died), so he moved his family to Nebraska and became a farmer.

I too admire the senior missionary couples and the work they do throughout the world. Particularly when they go to the branches and give such help and support. We currently have a senior couple who are serving their 3rd mission.

from the beach... GG