Recipe for a Happy Missionary

In 2022 while attending the Seminar for new Mission Leaders, Elder Marcus B Nash gave an emotionally charged talk that he titled:  The Missionary Experience: “Converted unto the Lord”.  At that time, I was overwhelmed by all the messages and our impending responsibilities, so it mostly went over my head.  However, one quote stayed with me because it scared me to death.  He said:  Your paramount duty is to help each missionary be “converted unto the Lord” through their missionary Experience.

Fast forward a few months later in Peru, we were drowning by the needs of all our missionaries. I couldn’t help but feel sorry for them and I wondered if we were asking too much of them. I worried that their mission experience would cause them to leave the church because it was too hard and no fun.

At about this time, I began to study Elder Nash’s talk again and I discovered the answer to our problems with his promise:

 “When a missionary does missionary things as a means of seeking Christ, he or she will come to know and trust Him, for such a missionary will experience Christ’s presence and power.”

This is when I realized that in my efforts to overly care for our missionaries, I was actually getting in between them and their potential beautiful experiences with God!  How could they learn to trust God if I didn’t trust God?

 As I continued to think about this talk and observe our missionaries, I realized that our truly happy missionaries were those who knew their missionary purpose and had a desire to work hard.  They were self-reliant and knew how to rely on the Lord as they worked through their own individual issues. 

That is when we began to change our approach as leaders.  Rather than trying to solve all their problems, we pointed to the Savior and the work that he called them to do. We helped them to be prepared for the challenges that they would face and encouraged them to keep moving forward.   President Chipman has a saying: 

You should expect bad things to happen, and when they do,  you can cry for only two minutes. Then you must get up, dust off their knees, and keep moving forward.

I hear him say this to missionaries every day and I hear them say it to each other!  It has become our rallying cry as a mission.

This changed the culture of our mission. Our missionaries work hard and focus on their purpose. Because of this, they are happy.  So happy that they have a light in their countenances, and our new missionaries see it and comment on it and desire to have that same light.  I testify that this is true. I see this principal play out over and over again and I am very grateful for this opportunity to witness it as we serve.