Missions are not boring!

[Stargazer]

8 hours ago, nuclearfuels said:

Meeting a family who had literally just been praying for God to send them messengers when we knocked on their door.  - this one happened to me many times, often after the home recently experienced a death in the family.

Helping families accept the restored gospel

Learning a foreign language and culture

Eating gator tail, amongst other semi-identifiable items

Living life with one single focus provided a lot of clarity to my otherwise distracted and addled mind

Being away from some toxic influences in UT (some people, the air, jobs, etc.) - this almost felt like I was flying

Living more independently

Having your weaknesses presented to you very clearly by companions

 

The weird:

Hearing about missionaries who came out with me being sent home before reaching 6-months

Hearing about a group of missionaries that formed their own secret society in the mission and were sent home before I got there 

Where did you serve? Language?

[ERMD]

On 8/27/2018 at 10:09 PM, Kenngo1969 said:

Waylon,

I'm not sure, even given the thumbnail sketch of my mission that was published in The New Era in 1993, that our missions were that much different in some respects (though hardly comparable, I know, because I served a "cushy" stateside mission. )  https://www.lds.org/new-era/1993/02/we-did-it?lang=eng

I had conflict with several companions, although such conflict wasn't necessarily born out of the prospect that my heart was in the wrong place.  That having been said, I'm not so much interested in whether someone is judged according to my (perhaps erroneous) standard as I am that pertinent facts be considered which bear upon the difficulties I, and we, experienced.  

The intervening years have done much to put my mission experience in perspective. 

https://greatgourdini.wordpress.com/2014/06/01/gods-army-and-my-own-mission/

Great story.  I hadn't read it before.

 

[Calm]

22 minutes ago, ERMD said:

Great story.  I hadn't read it before.

 

Nice to see you, ERMD.

[ERMD]

I served in Argentina, Buenos Aires North.  In the MTC I kept hearing that it was a "Cadillac" mission, meaning the lifestyle was REALLY nice; and it was.  We ate out almost every meal, and even though several of my areas were not in the city itself, we were safe pretty much everywhere.  

I was a trainer in my second area.  My fresh from the states companion was a hard-worker, and a music lover like myself.  We saw advertisements in the town where we lived (about 45 miles to the North of Buenos Aires) that Bizet's Carmen was to be playing at the Teatro Colon, downtown.  It's a gorgeous opera house, literally a national treasure, built in the style of the old European opera houses; gold leaf paint, velvet seats, the works.  We set a goal for hours worked and discussions taught that week, and if we reached it, we would work half of our P-day and then take the express bus downtown and go to the opera.

We reached our goal and went.  We arrived just after the performance started, and as the overture was finishing, the usher let us go to our seats.  After the first act, the lights came up for intermission, and I heard my companion exclaim, "The President is here!"  Sure enough, three rows ahead of us and just to the right, I see our mission president and his wife.  His gaze met mine, so we made our way over there.  He said, "Elderes!  Que sorpresa!"  I offered my explanation as to what we had done to "justify" our presence there, and he told us to not worry about it.  He knew that we were doing good work, and he encouraged us to enjoy the culture and beauty of the city.

He died 2 years ago.  I was able to fly up to Utah and attend his funeral.  Wonderful man.

I was able to take my wife to Buenos Aires in November of 2016.  We were able to attend church in the area in which I was serving when we made that trip to the opera, and we were also able to get together with members that I knew, as well as some of the people that we had baptized.  Some of those people have children who are now serving missions.  I look back at my missionary service with great fondness.  It wasn't all restaurants and opera tickets.  There were terribly difficult and lonely times, but I am incredibly blessed to have been able to serve where I did and to come to love the people of Argentina.

[Thinking]

After 2 layovers and 24 hours, my group arrived in Lima where we were allowed to sleep in a hostel to recover. We then filled out all the appropriate legal paperwork and met the mission president. I received my assignment, boarded a bus and headed off into the night (literally). Upon exiting the bus at my destination, I met my companion. As the bus started to pull away, a young boy ran after the bus and started peeing into the tail pipe.

Culture. Shock.

[rongo]

7 hours ago, Thinking said:

After 2 layovers and 24 hours, my group arrived in Lima where we were allowed to sleep in a hostel to recover. We then filled out all the appropriate legal paperwork and met the mission president. I received my assignment, boarded a bus and headed off into the night (literally). Upon exiting the bus at my destination, I met my companion. As the bus started to pull away, a young boy ran after the bus and started peeing into the tail pipe.

Culture. Shock.

Similar to my entry into Germany, minus the third world country touches. We spent the entire day at SL International (plane trouble before boarding), and we were finally sent back to the MTC. By then, the new wave of Wednesday entrants had arrived, so we were put in cots in the basement (down by where Joseph Bishop's room allegedly was). So, we were a day late getting there, and we were picked up, quickly given to our trainers, and away we went. Everything was a whirlwind for a few days, with jetlag, appointments and tracting, etc. It seemed like sleep took literally one minute before it was time to wake up and go, go, go! I was never homesick, and it was all a big adventure. 

I've struggled to post something on this thread, because I had a lot of great experiences and I want to do them justice. No danger or crazy stories like that. I did extend, and my visa expired (they probably don't do that any more). On the night before going home, on literally the last building I would tract in, a man tried to kick us out of the building, saying he would call the police. I told him that he had told us he wasn't interested, and we politely accepted that and moved on, but he didn't have the right to kick us out of the building. We had the right to be there, and the people had a right to have the opportunity to decide for themselves whether they wanted to hear us or not. He insisted vehemently, and I told him to go ahead and call the police, and we would wait right there for them. We had our passports and our minister's licenses. We would sit on the stairs right there and wait for the police. He was almost in tears, and said he really would, and I said, great, go call them and we will wait for them. I didn't think about it at the time, but I wonder what would have happened if the police had come and I were found to have an expired visa. We ended up continuing, and had an hour and a half conversation at the door with a man who wouldn't let us in, but wanted to talk to us about the gospel. I asked him repeatedly if we could come in, because he clearly wanted to talk more with us, but he wouldn't. So, we stayed at his door and talked with him. That made staying in the building and not allowing us to be kicked out all worth it! 

For lunch on that last day, we ate at a restaurant. I was a poor missionary, so we rarely ate at restaurants, but we splurged on my last day. It was an interesting feeling to have it be really over. Happy/sad at the same time. 

I thoroughly loved the whole mission experience. I think our mission averaged one baptism per missionary, and I had eight, but the best thing was the day to day conversations and experiences. Yes, if you add up all of the doors and people, our batting averages and success rates were very low, but it didn't feel that way, and the good conversations made everything all worth it. 

The neat thing, too, was really experiencing revelation in your life. There were certain areas we were led to that are among my fondest memories. One of these is Krusenbusch, a suburb of Oldenburg that is a Catholic island in heavily Lutheran country. The quality and quantity of door to door success there was staggering. Or, the Sargstedter Siedlung outside of Halberstadt, a "suburb" of wealthy people building nice homes themselves in East Germany (this was six years after the reunification, and there was still 25% unemployment there). These wealthier people who were bending rules and using connections to get things done were very receptive, and we had a lot of good conversations and experiences there (including an area mob boss telling us he liked us and he liked how we carried ourselves, and we could eat at any of his restaurants for free. Just drop his name!). Or the family from Freiberg whose sons were training to be tennis pros. They lit up when talking about the temple being built there and talking about how electrifying it was to have new construction, and a church of all things ("they must have paid Uncle Erich something fierce!") Great area! I also had an experience with a vision, and the place we were led to had some of my best experiences, including the lady we taught deep into the discussions with a toddler with a lazy eye (my companion also had a lazy eye, and that's why she let us in), the huge gay man who screamed at us but whom we actually had a very good discussion with once we calmed him down (he committed to come to General Conference with us --- we talked with him the week the Proclamation was issued), or the Jehovah's Witnesses elder whose last words to his daughter were to let the Mormon boys know that he had died. We also played soccer with the kids there, and the parents were upset because they didn't want their kids to play with us, but they were having so much fun, they didn't want to tell them to stop. 

That was pretty much how I spent two years, with a lot of "not interested" thrown in that fades with time. 

[nuclearfuels]

On 8/31/2018 at 8:03 PM, Stargazer said:

Where did you serve? Language?

Served States-side; English and Spanish speaking w/ some Creel

[SettingDogStar]

The most interesting thing that ever happened on my mission, at least spiritually, was legit being on my own for a transfer. Me and my companion were completely isolated in one of our areas and had terrible wifi so we couldn't skype in to any district/zone meetings. The church buildings and community that was located there was almost from a different era, and the buildings were old and unique too. Trying to introduce the gospel anew to the Less-Actives, the ingrained bishop and leaders, and a church culture that hadn't experienced much changed since the 80s.

It was really difficult to get the members to trust us and our "silly ipads" or even trying to stay on top during Gospel Doctrine. Getting the Ward motivated to come out and work with us was even more challenging because they just assumed that their town was so small that everyone has already been tried and had heard us. However this really taught me and my companion how to work with leaders and members in away that our young immature minds hadn't thought of, we had to start smaller and work by degrees to get anything to start moving.

HOWEVER the biggest part of this story is that about 5 weeks in we had lost hope in accomplishing anything in the area when we discovered something amazing. When the tiny branch building was built an Apostle came to the dedication and in the prayer (they did that back then, we found it in an old document buried in a box in the church library) said that it would stand until it would be replaced by a stake center, this would only come if the Members that were active paid a full tithe and generous offerings for only a few years. Of course this blessing was never realized, but to us we believed it was still in effect and it motivated us to push even harder to get Home/Visiting Teachers operating and LA back to church. Eventually we went from 5 active members, to 10 faithful members! Not a lot, but a start!!

[rongo]

1 hour ago, SettingDogStar said:

The most interesting thing that ever happened on my mission, at least spiritually, was legit being on my own for a transfer. Me and my companion were completely isolated in one of our areas and had terrible wifi so we couldn't skype in to any district/zone meetings. The church buildings and community that was located there was almost from a different era, and the buildings were old and unique too. Trying to introduce the gospel anew to the Less-Actives, the ingrained bishop and leaders, and a church culture that hadn't experienced much changed since the 80s.

It was really difficult to get the members to trust us and our "silly ipads" or even trying to stay on top during Gospel Doctrine. Getting the Ward motivated to come out and work with us was even more challenging because they just assumed that their town was so small that everyone has already been tried and had heard us. However this really taught me and my companion how to work with leaders and members in away that our young immature minds hadn't thought of, we had to start smaller and work by degrees to get anything to start moving.

HOWEVER the biggest part of this story is that about 5 weeks in we had lost hope in accomplishing anything in the area when we discovered something amazing. When the tiny branch building was built an Apostle came to the dedication and in the prayer (they did that back then, we found it in an old document buried in a box in the church library) said that it would stand until it would be replaced by a stake center, this would only come if the Members that were active paid a full tithe and generous offerings for only a few years. Of course this blessing was never realized, but to us we believed it was still in effect and it motivated us to push even harder to get Home/Visiting Teachers operating and LA back to church. Eventually we went from 5 active members, to 10 faithful members! Not a lot, but a start!!

Where did you serve? Louisianna? You had mentioned that you have been home around a year.

I think in that area, I would have ditched your iPads. The wifi didn't even work, for one thing, and they appear to have been a stumbling block for the "old-school" members there (I'm old-school myself, at 43). 

One of my biggest takeaways from my mission is similar to this story: the joy is in the daily effort and being a drop in the bucket, and a link in the chain. That you saw tangible results in your time there is wonderful. Sometimes, we don't even see the tangible results, but we still receive joy in the work. 

My first area as a senior companion was the only East German area in my mission, and we were the first companionship to have a phone. It was far, far away from the nearest area and the mission headquarters, and it was kind of fun to be cut off (in a good way --- we weren't rebellious or disobedient). In another area, we were without a phone for a few weeks after moving to another apartment (I was a zone leader, which made it hard to receive reports and give reports to the office. The pay phone outside our apartment always had a long line, and it was bitter cold at that time. The Elbe froze over for the first time in 100 years that winter!). It's kind of liberating to not have to worry about the paperwork and the reports for a while . . .  

ETA: Oh, yeah. There is a small, struggling branch in Gila Bend, Arizona that similarly has a prophetic promise. Hugh B. Brown promised them they would have their own stake if they would pay tithing and keep the commandments. Similar to your branch, there are 5-10 active members, and on paper, it would make more sense to have them go to the Ajo Ward or the nearest Maricopa Ward (both 45 minutes away), or the Buckeye Stake (25 minutes away). Because of President Brown's promise, it is kept open, but it requires several active families from the stake to prop up (called in 2-3 year waves). It's a cute, tiny building that reminds me of some branch buildings in Germany. 

Edited October 11, 2018 by rongo

[SettingDogStar]

2 minutes ago, rongo said:

Where did you serve? Louisianna? You had mentioned that you have been home around a year.

I think in that area, I would have ditched your iPads. The wifi didn't even work, for one thing, and they appear to have been a stumbling block for the "old-school" members there (I'm old-school myself, at 43). 

One of my biggest takeaways from my mission is similar to this story: the joy is in the daily effort and being a drop in the bucket, and a link in the chain. That you saw tangible results in your time there is wonderful. Sometimes, we don't even see the tangible results, but we still receive joy in the work. 

My first area as a senior companion was the only East German area in my mission, and we were the first companionship to have a phone. It was far, far away from the nearest area and the mission headquarters, and it was kind of fun to be cut off (in a good way --- we weren't rebellious or disobedient). In another area, we were without a phone for a few weeks after moving to another apartment (I was a zone leader, which made it hard to receive reports and give reports to the office. The pay phone outside our apartment always had a long line, and it was bitter cold at that time. The Elbe froze over for the first time in 100 years that winter!). It's kind of liberating to not have to worry about the paperwork and the reports for a while . . .  

We kinda did end up ditching most of the iPad stuff, social media was essential non-existent to most members BUT the Mormon messages/bible videos were useful for visuals and that’s sorta where we started. We did learn however that we had better traction when we carried our leather scriptures with us and taught from those instead of the app. I honestly preferred that anyway, there’s something about paper copies that just has a tangibility to it.

Also, I served in the Arizona, Tempe mission! It’s essentially just the bottom corner of the state. The area I’m referring to is called Gila Bend and is between a rock and hard place..in the middle of the desert 😂

[rongo]

8 hours ago, SettingDogStar said:

We kinda did end up ditching most of the iPad stuff, social media was essential non-existent to most members BUT the Mormon messages/bible videos were useful for visuals and that’s sorta where we started. We did learn however that we had better traction when we carried our leather scriptures with us and taught from those instead of the app. I honestly preferred that anyway, there’s something about paper copies that just has a tangibility to it.

Also, I served in the Arizona, Tempe mission! It’s essentially just the bottom corner of the state. The area I’m referring to is called Gila Bend and is between a rock and hard place..in the middle of the desert 😂

Wow, what a small world! Depending on when you were in Gila Bend, you may have had three families from my ward serving in the branch. I've spoken there, before, and have been there several times. I can't remember the name of the family with the member wife and the non-member Turkish husband. Wasn't she a Skinner? I don't remember who the new branch president is now, but it was probably President Morgan when you were there. My family has since moved to Gilbert. Did you ever serve in Gilbert?

Your story reminded me of the Hugh B. Brown prophecy, and that's exactly what you were talking about! 

As far as using book scriptures instead of the iPad when teaching, that's a drum I've been beating here for a while. I always used what I was giving people, so my teaching scriptures were 1) a hardback Bible, 2) the missionary Book of Mormon (what I gave them), and 3) a separate D&C/PoGP (separate for when we taught the restoration, so we had tangible, separate books). 

[SettingDogStar]

1 hour ago, rongo said:

Wow, what a small world! Depending on when you were in Gila Bend, you may have had three families from my ward serving in the branch. I've spoken there, before, and have been there several times. I can't remember the name of the family with the member wife and the non-member Turkish husband. Wasn't she a Skinner? I don't remember who the new branch president is now, but it was probably President Morgan when you were there. My family has since moved to Gilbert. Did you ever serve in Gilbert?

Your story reminded me of the Hugh B. Brown prophecy, and that's exactly what you were talking about! 

As far as using book scriptures instead of the iPad when teaching, that's a drum I've been beating here for a while. I always used what I was giving people, so my teaching scriptures were 1) a hardback Bible, 2) the missionary Book of Mormon (what I gave them), and 3) a separate D&C/PoGP (separate for when we taught the restoration, so we had tangible, separate books). 

Oh my goodness!! Yes it’s exactly the Hugh B. Brown prophecy! I did serve on the border of Gilbert, unfortunately we only have one Gilbert stake in our mission boundaries. Also it was totally the Skinners, they were the craziest couple but Sister Skinner was actually really helpful haha! 

I agree as well, introducing people with the BoM and then slowly introducing investigators slowly was usually our best bet. If we gave them a triple combination then they would get overwhelmed really fast! It looks a lot like a thick “new” bible if you do it all at once. 

[mbh26]

One of my issues with missionary work is that it seems at this point that only the people on the lowest rung of the socioeconomic ladder are willing to listen.  Nobody else is interested.  The lessons feel like you're teaching a special education class and even at that pace most of them don't understand the most basic things about the Church.  Often times it felt like I was talking to a wall.  It's hard to see what good you're doing.  

[rongo]

50 minutes ago, mbh26 said:

One of my issues with missionary work is that it seems at this point that only the people on the lowest rung of the socioeconomic ladder are willing to listen.

This is largely true, but there are exceptions to this all the time. And, many of "those who heard Jesus gladly" make surprising church, social, employment, etc. progress, such that years later, it is hard to imagine that they were where they were. Good people are brought in by the "gospel net" all the time, even though most of the "catch" is unimpressive. Many of Christ's parables predict exactly that; I don't think it's really been any different, other than 1st generation of the Restoration.

 

Nobody else is interested.  The lessons feel like you're teaching a special education class and even at that pace most of them don't understand the most basic things about the Church.  Often times it felt like I was talking to a wall.  It's hard to see what good you're doing. 

That's not true (the bolded part). I differ, though, from current missionary work practices in wanting our missionaries to be bolder and to unashamedly proclaim more of our uniquely Mormon beliefs, rather than tentatively and timidly. I remember doing street displays in the German equivalent of malls (downtown, cobblestone areas closed to traffic known as "pedestrian zones" --- Fussgaengerzonen) with blown up copies of the Articles of Faith, "17 points of the true church," the Proclamation on the Family, and other thought-provoking and "laying it on the line" approaches. Such would be seen today as too provocative and combative, but you do catch the eye and interest of sharp, thoughtful people, and you're able to talk to them ("Now wait just a minute. Are you really saying that . . . ?"). That is light years different from the approach in most stateside missions, which is largely designed to teach the simplest. This is also the largest reason, I think, for our struggles with retention. You can often see retention struggles a mile away. 

I even did a blow up checklist with the Church, the Lutheran Church, the Catholic Church, and New Apostolic churches (prominent in Europe at the time).  Yes, the "17 points of the true church" is not a perfect list, but the stark checklist (with our Church being the only one with all boxes checked, and none of the others coming close) is a thought-provoker and a conversation starter. I think that would be frowned on in most U.S. missions today. 

[strappinglad]

In Central America, I mostly remember the wild life. We had rats , of course, everywhere. Snakes of various types, they were called ' one steppers and two steppers ' indicating how far one got after being bitten. 3 inch long cockroaches, 8 inch long scorpions, snakes kept as house pets to eat the rodents , geckos walking around the walls and ceilings etc. Then there were all the variety of fruit, some REALLY good tasting. ( learned never to eat a mango like eating an apple , lots of strings in your teeth)

Occasionally we would accidentally tract out a house of special ladies. . We would not figure it out until we would ask when the man of the house would be home. They would say," Oh, they start coming around about 2 pm. "  OOPS !

I

 

 

[SettingDogStar]

2 hours ago, mbh26 said:

One of my issues with missionary work is that it seems at this point that only the people on the lowest rung of the socioeconomic ladder are willing to listen.  Nobody else is interested.  The lessons feel like you're teaching a special education class and even at that pace most of them don't understand the most basic things about the Church.  Often times it felt like I was talking to a wall.  It's hard to see what good you're doing.  

I actually agree, to an extent, those missionaries in the richer areas of my mission did have a harder time finding investigators because they were satisfied with their lives. “What more could I have? I have my own church, I’m not in need!” would be a common response. However those that are “poor” have a much more open mind and their lives are not cluttered with distracting riches and objects that pull their attention away. Christ asked the rich man to sell all that he had, and if you have nothing then that makes it much easier!

Alma’s people in the BoM are a great example of this. Their own neighbors kicked them out because they didn’t have fancy clothes or things, and Alma told them that they were blessed because of this. The Lord uses the weak and humbled to do his work because their ears are opened and they are in need of help!

I much preferred those in the “ghettos” and those who were down on their luck. They would listen to every word and had the time to act on our message and invitations. They didn’t have a thousand activities or “things” to care for and they were able to commit so much stronger to the Lord! 

[mbh26]

27 minutes ago, SettingDogStar said:

I much preferred those in the “ghettos” and those who were down on their luck. They would listen to every word and had the time to act on our message and invitations. They didn’t have a thousand activities or “things” to care for and they were able to commit so much stronger to the Lord! 

As a missionary I preferred those in the ghettos as well, much more pleasant than knocking doors or arguing with Jehovah's Witnesses.  But as a bishop or branch president I'm not sure I would always be happy to see these kind of conversions.  How much is it really strengthening the church?  

[mbh26]

1 hour ago, rongo said:

I even did a blow up checklist with the Church, the Lutheran Church, the Catholic Church, and New Apostolic churches (prominent in Europe at the time).  Yes, the "17 points of the true church" is not a perfect list, but the stark checklist (with our Church being the only one with all boxes checked, and none of the others coming close) is a thought-provoker and a conversation starter. I think that would be frowned on in most U.S. missions today. 

We had an investigator asking about polygamy and the current approach of the mission leader and members is to say, "We don't believe in it."  To me that's dishonest.  It's true that people who practice it now are excommunicated and we're not allowed to speak in support of it in Church anymore.  But to say we don't believe in it seems like conceding that Joseph Smith and our early prophets were in error.  And what does it say for members of the quorum of the 12 now who are sealed to more than one spouse in eternity?  

[rongo]

1 minute ago, mbh26 said:

We had an investigator asking about polygamy and the current approach of the mission leader and members is to say, "We don't believe in it."  To me that's dishonest.  It's true that people who practice it now are excommunicated and we're not allowed to speak in support of it in Church anymore.  But to say we don't believe in it seems like conceding that Joseph Smith and our early prophets were in error.  And what does it say for members of the quorum of the 12 now who are sealed to more than one spouse in eternity?  

I agree. It is still doctrinal, and D&C 132 is still in force. I'm not ashamed of my polygamist heritage, and I believe it was a commandment for some of our ancestors. I don't think trying to memory-hole it is good or effective. 

In Germany in the mid 1990s, the idea most people had about Mormons, if they had any, was 1) "Vielweiberei" (polygamy), 2) Westerns, cowboys, and wagon trains and 3) (for people my age and older) Donny and Marie. I would usually say, when asked about it, "Eigentlich, duerfen wir heute nur zwei Frauen haben" (Actually, we are only allowed to have two wives today). After they recoiled in shock, I would say, "Eine fuer mich, und eine fuer ihn" (One for me, and one for him)!  That usually got a bit of a laugh, and then I would explain that we formerly practiced polygamy, but hadn't for a century. I also explained that I had polygamist ancestors on both sides of my family. I tried to use it as a springboard to discuss further if it came up, which was fairly common ("God told us to stop polygamy in 1890. Would you like to read about that? May we come in to discuss it?").

My best response ever to this was right after I graduated from BYU. I was renting motorhomes to German-speaking tourists in the Salt Lake area (Yellowstone and the Utah National Parks), and quickly learned to load up on Book of Mormons, Joseph Smith testimonies, and Truth Restoreds in German, Dutch, and French. People always headed to Temple Square after picking one up, and many asked if we had things to read about Mormons.   One man, whom I could tell had a sense of humor and was pretty eclectic, asked about polygamy, and I told him, "Das mussten wir aufhoeren, nachdem wir in der Bibel gelesen haben dass kein Mann zwei Meistern dienen kann" (We had to give that up after we read in the Bible that no man can serve two masters). He got a big kick out of that, but I could tell that he would get it and not come away with a misunderstanding. 

I think these, and many other experiences, illustrate why it's important not to be too uni-browed about using terms like "Mormon" and "polygamy" (and many others) in real-time conversations with interested people. I can't imagine how confusing and momentum-stalling it would have been to have constantly been correcting people about the name of the Church. 

[SettingDogStar]

1 hour ago, mbh26 said:

As a missionary I preferred those in the ghettos as well, much more pleasant than knocking doors or arguing with Jehovah's Witnesses.  But as a bishop or branch president I'm not sure I would always be happy to see these kind of conversions.  How much is it really strengthening the church?  

True! Alma (love him) talks about how the church grew rapidly, became popular, and of course got lifted up in their pride. Sometimes X number of baptisms really doesn’t matter, it only counts if that person has really allowed the gospel to take root in their hearts.

I think many missionaries are guilty (and honestly I made this mistake and regret it terribly) of baptizing to quickly. “Can more or less answer the baptism questions? Check. Finished the lessons? Check. Time to baptize!!” I really don’t think that this is appropriate or healthy. While it’s not our place to necessarily stop someone from getting baptized if they’re worthy of it, it is our place to give them time to grow and really allow their conversion to begin before we Really encourage the taking on of covenants. 

[a_little_taller]

My mission was a glorious experience in every way. A lot of hard work, but so worth every minute. It makes me smile to think of the good people we worked with...those who accepted the message and many who didn't. They were all a blessing to me, and I learned something from each one. I served in the mid-west. I was called on an 18 month mission but had the opportunity to extend another 6 months just 3 months before I was to return home. I jumped all over that!

A couple of experiences that might be considered interesting:

• We were tracting at dusk and had 3 police cars pull up and frisk us (small catholic town in Kansas). We were told we could not knock doors an hour before the sun went down. So we didn't.
• Also while tracting, we found a man who died on his front lawn from a heart attack (small town in Missouri). The family was appreciative that we called the police and ambulance.
• Slept on the rock floor at Liberty Jail. Not quite the same effect since the jail is enclosed in a Visitor's Center now, but still pretty cool.
• Sang at several non-LDS funerals. An older Visitor's Center sister who played the piano very well thought I had a decent voice and took every opportunity to sign us up for "gigs". Mostly "How Great Thou Art".
• So many experiences where the power of the priesthood blessed lives in a big way. I'll share one. We were teaching a family and most had accepted the invitation to be baptized. But the 17 year old daughter wasn't feeling it. So we fasted and prayed for her. One night, as she was riding her scooter home from the movies, she was hit by a car that ran a red light. It was an awful accident that left her in pretty much a full body cast. We offered her a blessing and the Spirit was just stifling as we laid our hands on her head and gave her a blessing of healing. Long story short...she decided to be baptized. And at her baptism, she told how that blessing had confirmed to her heart that the priesthood was real and that God loved her and that she needed to be baptized. 
• More than one time we knocked on a door and were invited in by someone who had been praying for some direction or help. We were able to leave a prayer of comfort with them and baptized a few of them.
• Once tracted into a college party that was going on and were invited in. There were some jeers and laughs at our expense. And maybe it wasn't the right place or time to do it, but we talked about what we were doing as missionaries and we left a prayer and blessing before we left. I just remember that you could hear a pin drop where there had been loud music and partying a minute before. Some thanked us and patted us on the backs as we left.

I am a big proponent of missionary service. One of the best experiences of my life.