jkwilliams Posted May 27, 2021 Posted May 27, 2021 Just now, Scott Lloyd said: Um, are they incapable of fixing their own food? Sure, but from what they said, they don't have a lot of money to buy food with, so they're eating pretty poorly.
Scott Lloyd Posted May 27, 2021 Posted May 27, 2021 19 minutes ago, jkwilliams said: Maybe things have changed since we were young. No doubt. But reason and common sense are timeless. At least I would hope so.
jkwilliams Posted May 27, 2021 Posted May 27, 2021 2 minutes ago, Scott Lloyd said: No doubt. But reason and common sense are timeless. At least I would hope so. I agree. I'm just saying that maybe missionaries do things differently than we did. I don't know. Our missionaries here don't seem to have much other than their clothes, books, and bikes. Just like us (well, we didn't have bikes). 1
Scott Lloyd Posted May 27, 2021 Posted May 27, 2021 (edited) 9 hours ago, jkwilliams said: Sure, but from what they said, they don't have a lot of money to buy food with, so they're eating pretty poorly. My eldest son left for his mission six years ago. I doubt things have changed much since then. He got a monthly stipend from the office. If that wasn’t enough to ward off hunger, he never said so. For emergencies, he carried a debit card from our family credit union with the understanding I would keep an eye on the balance and replenish it as needed. He very rarely used it. I served in the same mission he did. It was a long time ago, I admit, but we only had dinner appointments once every few months. Cooking for ourselves was a skill we soon acquired if we didn’t already have it when we got there. Edited May 28, 2021 by Scott Lloyd
jkwilliams Posted May 27, 2021 Posted May 27, 2021 2 minutes ago, Scott Lloyd said: My eldest son left for his mission six years ago. I doubt things have changed much since then. He got a monthly stipend from the office. If that wasn’t enough to ward off starvation, he never said so. For emergencies, he carried a debit card from our family credit union with the understanding I would keep an eye on the balance and replenish it as needed. He very rarely used it. I served in the same mission he did. It was a long time ago, I admit, but we only had dinner appointments once every few months. Cooking for ourselves was a skill we soon acquired if we didn’t already have it when we got there. I don't think it's as bad as it was in Houston, when the missionaries were prohibited from eating with members but were not given any money to offset the loss of meals. Those kids were struggling. We usually paid someone to cook lunch and dinner for us, so I only cooked a few times for myself on my mission. We avoided dinner appointments if we could, as they were likely to get you some intestinal parasites.
Scott Lloyd Posted May 27, 2021 Posted May 27, 2021 7 minutes ago, jkwilliams said: I agree. I'm just saying that maybe missionaries do things differently than we did. I don't know. Our missionaries here don't seem to have much other than their clothes, books, and bikes. Just like us (well, we didn't have bikes). I bought a bike in my first area and carried it with me each transfer. By the time my son got to the same mission, they had gotten smarter and had each missionary pay into a bike fund. Then, the missionary would just use the bike in the area, eliminating the need to take one on transfers. As it happened, my son never used a bike. He served in none of the cities where I did. 1
jkwilliams Posted May 27, 2021 Posted May 27, 2021 Just now, Scott Lloyd said: I bought a bike in my first area and carried it with me each transfer. By the time my son got to the same mission, they had gotten smarter and had each missionary pay into a bike fund. Then, the missionary would just use the bike in the area, eliminating the need to take one on transfers. As it happened, my son never used a bike. He served in none of the cities where I did. We mostly walked or took the bus if there was one. You get in pretty good shape hiking up canyons at 12,000 feet. 1
ttribe Posted May 27, 2021 Posted May 27, 2021 2 minutes ago, jkwilliams said: I don't think it's as bad as it was in Houston, when the missionaries were prohibited from eating with members but were not given any money to offset the loss of meals. Those kids were struggling. We usually paid someone to cook lunch and dinner for us, so I only cooked a few times for myself on my mission. We avoided dinner appointments if we could, as they were likely to get you some intestinal parasites. I served in TN and KY; losing weight wasn't the problem, gaining it was... 2
longview Posted May 27, 2021 Posted May 27, 2021 8 minutes ago, Scott Lloyd said: 18 minutes ago, jkwilliams said: Sure, but from what they said, they don't have a lot of money to buy food with, so they're eating pretty poorly. My eldest son left for his mission six years ago. I doubt things have changed much since then. He got a monthly stipend from the office. If that wasn’t enough to ward off starvation, he never said so. For emergencies, he carried a debit card from our family credit union with the understanding I would keep an eye on the balance and replenish it as needed. He very rarely used it. I served in the same mission he did. It was a long time ago, I admit, but we only had dinner appointments once every few months. Cooking for ourselves was a skill we soon acquired if we didn’t already have it when we got there. What about how they did it in the early days of the restoration? Luke 22:35 And he said unto them, When I sent you without purse, and scrip, and shoes, lacked ye any thing? And they said, Nothing. Mark 6:8 And commanded them that they should take nothing for their journey, save a staff only; no scrip, no bread, no money in their purse: D&C 24:18 And thou shalt take no purse nor scrip, neither staves, neither two coats, for the church shall give unto thee in the very hour what thou needest for food and for raiment, and for shoes and for money, and for scrip. D&C 84:86 Therefore, let no man among you, for this commandment is unto all the faithful who are called of God in the church unto the ministry, from this hour take purse or scrip, that goeth forth to proclaim this gospel of the kingdom.
jkwilliams Posted May 27, 2021 Posted May 27, 2021 1 minute ago, ttribe said: I served in TN and KY; losing weight wasn't the problem, gaining it was... Ah, southern food is the best. I dropped down to 114 lbs. on my mission. 4 different types of parasites at the same time. Not fun.
Rain Posted May 27, 2021 Posted May 27, 2021 7 minutes ago, Scott Lloyd said: My eldest son left for his mission six years ago. I doubt things have changed much since then. He got a monthly stipend from the office. If that wasn’t enough to ward off starvation, he never said so. For emergencies, he carried a debit card from our family credit union with the understanding I would keep an eye on the balance and replenish it as needed. He very rarely used it. I served in the same mission he did. It was a long time ago, I admit, but we only had dinner appointments once every few months. Cooking for ourselves was a skill we soon acquired if we didn’t already have it when we got there. It all widely varies. It often depends on the mission and the area. My son has noticed that his money goes far further when he is in a car, with a washer and dryer in a family ward than on bikes, at the laundry mat in a YSA ward. The amount of money is often given based on the idea that missionaries will be eating with a member every night. With the pandemic some MP didn't increase the amount nor let members have missionaries over or even bring restaurant food. Other missions like my son's the MP increased the amount and while they couldn't go to a members house members could bring it to them, though in fewer numbers. 1
ttribe Posted May 27, 2021 Posted May 27, 2021 4 minutes ago, jkwilliams said: Ah, southern food is the best. I dropped down to 114 lbs. on my mission. 4 different types of parasites at the same time. Not fun. Yeah, I sometimes wonder if I missed out by not going on a foreign mission...and then I just read your book again and I'm all better. Chicken-Fried-Everything was the way to go. Oh, and I had a car for 17 of my 24 months. Just sayin'. 2
Rain Posted May 27, 2021 Posted May 27, 2021 11 minutes ago, Scott Lloyd said: I bought a bike in my first area and carried it with me each transfer. By the time my son got to the same mission, they had gotten smarter and had each missionary pay into a bike fund. Then, the missionary would just use the bike in the area, eliminating the need to take one on transfers. As it happened, my son never used a bike. He served in none of the cities where I did. Some missions do this, some still don't. The biggest catch is when you have really short or tall missionaries.
Amulek Posted May 27, 2021 Posted May 27, 2021 41 minutes ago, jkwilliams said: No, there are sign-ups for every night of every week. They're just not getting fed. Apparently, we're often the only meal they get in a week. That's rough. I remember our mission president calling out the members in a stake conference I attended for not providing enough meals. He said the living allowance calculated for missionaries takes into consideration that a certain number of meals will be provided by the members, and if they wanted to keep missionaries in their wards then they had better meet that expectation. /word 2
jkwilliams Posted May 27, 2021 Posted May 27, 2021 Just now, Rain said: It all widely varies. It often depends on the mission and the area. My son has noticed that his money goes far further when he is in a car, with a washer and dryer in a family ward than on bikes, at the laundry mat in a YSA ward. The amount of money is often given based on the idea that missionaries will be eating with a member every night. With the pandemic some MP didn't increase the amount nor let members have missionaries over or even bring restaurant food. Other missions like my son's the MP increased the amount and while they couldn't go to a members house members could bring it to them, though in fewer numbers. On my mission, the Bolivian missionaries received about $85-90 a month from the church. The times I had a Bolivian companion, we just pooled our money, and we struggled with having enough to meet our expenses. I remember that we would have a piece of bread and a cup of cocoa (made with water) for breakfast because we didn't have enough money for 3 decent meals a day. Come to think of it, lunch was usually a tuna sandwich and a banana. So, yeah, it depends on the circumstances. We kind of cheated when we lived in Texas when the missionaries weren't allowed to eat with members. We would just drop food off or order them a pizza. I'm not sure they ever knew who was feeding them. 1
jkwilliams Posted May 27, 2021 Posted May 27, 2021 2 minutes ago, ttribe said: Yeah, I sometimes wonder if I missed out by not going on a foreign mission...and then I just read your book again and I'm all better. Chicken-Fried-Everything was the way to go. Oh, and I had a car for 17 of my 24 months. Just sayin'. Yeah, but was it a Land Cruiser? 1
ttribe Posted May 27, 2021 Posted May 27, 2021 Just now, jkwilliams said: Yeah, but was it a Land Cruiser? Unfortunately, no. I was relegated to Chevy Cavaliers, Toyota Corollas, and one Saturn. But, the AC worked in all of them, so that's really what mattered. 1
jkwilliams Posted May 27, 2021 Posted May 27, 2021 3 minutes ago, ttribe said: Unfortunately, no. I was relegated to Chevy Cavaliers, Toyota Corollas, and one Saturn. But, the AC worked in all of them, so that's really what mattered. I had a neighbor in Utah who bought a used Nissan Sentra that had been a mission fleet car. It was bright metallic purple. I'm sure the missionaries would have been proud to drive it. 1
bluebell Posted May 27, 2021 Posted May 27, 2021 5 minutes ago, jkwilliams said: I had a neighbor in Utah who bought a used Nissan Sentra that had been a mission fleet car. It was bright metallic purple. I'm sure the missionaries would have been proud to drive it. On my mission we had a bright metallic purple Nissan Sentra. We called it Barney. 1
jkwilliams Posted May 27, 2021 Posted May 27, 2021 4 minutes ago, bluebell said: On my mission we had a bright metallic purple Nissan Sentra. We called it Barney. Maybe it was the same car. We had the aforementioned Land Cruiser, which is a terrible car to give to a bunch of 19-year-old boys. 1
Scott Lloyd Posted May 27, 2021 Posted May 27, 2021 29 minutes ago, Rain said: Some missions do this, some still don't. The biggest catch is when you have really short or tall missionaries. That’s what adjustable seats and handlebars are for.
Amulek Posted May 27, 2021 Posted May 27, 2021 1 hour ago, Scott Lloyd said: [Jaw drop] Full weight sets, Gracie? Yup. Quote That strikes me as outrageous. It certainly wasn't practical, but some guys obviously thought it was worth the effort. Quote The need to pack light was the reason we were restricted to three or four titles, besides the scriptures, in our so-called “mission library.” And these guys are lugging around weight sets? But that’s OK. They can contain it all in a 15-foot U-Haul. 😜 I am floored! What does the Missionary Department say about this? No idea. This was years ago. I never heard our mission president say anything about it one way or the other, so I always thought about it as a self-inflicted problem sort of thing. 1
Amulek Posted May 27, 2021 Posted May 27, 2021 34 minutes ago, Rain said: The biggest catch is when you have really short or tall missionaries. Or really big ones. We had a Samoan elder who served in our ward when I was in high-school who was flippin' ginormous. He broke multiple bike frames during the time he was in our ward.
bluebell Posted May 27, 2021 Posted May 27, 2021 13 minutes ago, jkwilliams said: Maybe it was the same car. We had the aforementioned Land Cruiser, which is a terrible car to give to a bunch of 19-year-old boys. Did it leave them stranded often? Because Barney left us stranded often. He was not a favorite. I can only imagine a group of elders with a landcruiser. We have one (i think it's a 1980 something) as our main offroading vehicle and the thing is not all that reliable. We've had almost every kind of 4x4 possible and this one is probably one of my hubby's least favorites. It's very capable but still a huge pain in the butt. So much maintenance.
jkwilliams Posted May 27, 2021 Posted May 27, 2021 7 minutes ago, bluebell said: Did it leave them stranded often? Because Barney left us stranded often. He was not a favorite. I can only imagine a group of elders with a landcruiser. We have one (i think it's a 1980 something) as our main offroading vehicle and the thing is not all that reliable. We've had almost every kind of 4x4 possible and this one is probably one of my hubby's least favorites. It's very capable but still a huge pain in the butt. So much maintenance. I do remember my neighbor working on the Sentra a lot. I want to say it was about a 1996 or so. As for the Land Cruiser, it was pretty indestructible, except when my successor as travel secretary took it up into the Andes on a Wednesday and hit a rock, knocking the oil pan off. 1
Recommended Posts