We Report in 8 Days!

Well, our bags are packed and we’re ready to go – the house is empty and we’re pacing the floor – it’s nearly time for us to begin our mission to Taipei!

But how did all this get started? And many people ask -  why are we going again, for the third time?

We’ve always wanted to serve a senior mission together, ever since we were first married. It was something in the back of our minds over the years. That plan shaped many of our earlier decisions – financial and debt issues, health and

Our wedding day -
a very long time ago!

lifestyle choices, retirement plans. Going on a senior mission takes much more preparation than sending your 18 or 19-year-old out the door for a mission experience!  There is a lot to think about and many things to prepare for.

But with all the different kinds of senior mission opportunities out there now, it is much easier of a choice and much easier decision than it used to be.

I’ve heard that wondering what to do with pets is a big issue for many!! But here are the top three questions we get asked by strangers and friends alike, about serving senior missions:

1.       Did you have to learn the language?

We served our first mission in the Hong Kong Area office as humanitarian specialists, in a Cantonese/Mandarin/English speaking country.

We served our second mission in Vietnam as MLS missionaries, in a Vietnamese/English speaking country.

We are now going to Taiwan Taipei as office specialists, in a Mandarin/English speaking country.

I think you see the pattern - English is spoken nearly everywhere!

Our MTC Senior missionary group studying how to
share the gospel - all in English!

Seniors are not required to learn the language. You simply would not become fluent and effective if you started from scratch and tried to learn the language of whatever country you are assigned.  If you know the language, great! If not, just stick with English as there are plenty of people who speak English and who will translate for you.

On a final note, there are tons opportunities in English speaking areas of the world – way more openings than they can possibly fill. You are needed everywhere!

2.       How much does it cost to serve?

Mission costs are very straight forward.  Kind of.  On the church’s senior mission opportunities website (Church Senior Mission Website) each mission need is listed, along with the cost for that mission. Some missions are relatively inexpensive (like a Handcart Trek specialist in Argentina for $1050 a month for two people) or can be on the higher side (like the Ivory Coast Abidjan CES Program Specialist mission which is currently $4300).  In the search engine, you just specify how much money you are able to spend each month, and the computer will find missions to match.

We found that we usually spend pretty close to what the website specifies, though sometimes we came in lower.  We tend to be frugal by nature.

As an example, our current mission expenses breakdown is this:

Housing - $1400 (which includes rent, utilities and furnishings)

Transportation - $100 (for public transportation or other in-mission travel)

Personal expenses - $850 (food, things and stuff)

Medical insurance through Missionary Medical – about $550 for the two of us (we’re not on Medicaid yet)

Total: $2900

Here’s the clincher – if you’ve been able to plan ahead and have no debts (your house is paid for and your cars are debt free) – then going on a mission can actually be cheaper than living at home!  We spend less on our missions and can actually find it a good way to save retirement money!

3.       What about your children and grandchildren?

We have 9 wonderful children, 7 amazing spouses, and 23 perfect grandchildren. And we bank on this promise given to missionaries: Elder Robert D. Hales said, “The Lord will send special blessings to your family as you serve. ‘I, the Lord, give unto them a promise that I will provide for their families’ (D&C 118:3). Couples are sometimes concerned that in their absence they will miss weddings, births, family reunions, and other family events. We have learned that the impact on families while grandparents are on missions is worth a thousand sermons. Families are greatly strengthened as they pray for their parents and grandparents and read letters sent home which share their testimonies and the contribution they are making in the mission field.” 

Our senior missionary MTC group in 2014 - seniors training to serve
all over the world and US. 

Some seniors think that they need to wait for the perfect time to serve a mission – where there will be no obstacles of finances, family needs or upcoming events, health, etc. If you wait for the perfect time, it will probably never come.  There are flexible missions with flexible hours, missions from home, part time missions, 6 month missions – so many to choose from!  We know from personal experience that if you just put your best foot forward and tell the Lord you want to go, He will do the rest.  Doors will open in ways you never imagined.  We’ve seen it happen over and over again, to many, many senior couples.

Many seniors want to do something exciting and are afraid of getting “stuck” in an office position, but the thing to remember is this – we go on missions not because they are fun vacations, but because we love the Lord and want to serve. We are there to do whatever the mission president or area president wants us to do.  We are there to help them. Period. We served an office mission in Hong Kong and it was truly one of the highlights of our lives. You’ll have to read our blog posts to find out why. And we’re doing another office this time round.  Stay tuned and we’ll keep you posted on how we make it, too, one of the highlights of our lives.

So why are we going again?  Because missions are awesome!  Because we love the Lord and want to serve Him as full time as possible for the rest of our lives. And because the MTC food is amazing!  Can’t wait to go there again!  Ha!

Studying at the MTC