Couples conference
The young missionaries regularly attend zone conferences to train and inspire them. Sister Donaldson organised a "Senior Couples Conference" for all the senior missionary couples in the mission. They all came in to the mission home from the far reaches of southern Ireland and western Scotland. I would also say from the isles of the sea, of which Scotland and Ireland have plenty, but we don't have any senior missionaries on them.
The roles that senior missionaries take on are interesting. From our very limited exposure it seems that we are the people who fill in the gaps. The young missionaries' lives are very carefully (and appropriately) controlled. Their schedules have very little flexibility. In an ideal world the mission would run like a well oiled machine and everything would work. But this is not an ideal world, so the senior missionaries have more flexible rules and can pick up the slack. Does a missionary need to be taken to the station and no one else is available? Does someone need to inspect the missionaries' flats or cars, or choose a new flat for missionaries to occupy? Do we need a missionary couple to split up and be in two places at once? Does someone need to be with sister missionaries while they teach a young man? Senior missionaries can fill in all these gaps, but apart from the office staff they tend to work in isolation from each other.
It was nice to get together with other senior missionaries, form connections on a personal level, share experiences and build each other. So we spent nearly three days together. We did serious stuff, like discussing our missionary purpose and hearing the testimonies and counsel of the mission president and his wife. We did fun stuff on building relationships with each other--we played a variant of the "newly-wed" game where couples are separated and the one is given a set of questions and then the other tries to guess how they would respond. Mom and I had one that stands out. The question was something like, "What did you think of your partner on your first date". I wrote my answer and then Mom came in and her response was "I don't know when we had our first date" The MC was just insisting that that was not an acceptable response, when I revealed my written response, "I don't know when our first date was". Nailed it! (Also a comment on our odd courting relationship)
We also went up to Pratt's Hill (Arthur's Seat) to remind us of where Orson Pratt dedicated Scotland to the preaching of the gospel. We wanted a group picture so Richard asked some passing hikers if they would take it for us, which they willingly agreed to do. Of course he couldn't let an opportunity like that pass by so afterwards that became a conversation about who the Mormons are. The hikers knew about our missionaries and were polite but not interested. Oh well, every positive contact opens a door for future work.
As part of the experience we also went as a group to Traquair House, "The oldest inhabited house in Scotland."
It has been continuously used as a residence since 1491. Lots of stories and history but the curious one is the story of the famous Bear gates. Since the lairds of Traquair were Stuarts, it is not surprising they supported both Mary Queen of Scots (who visited there) and Bonnie Prince Charlie. In fact in 1745 when Bonnie Prince Charlie was fighting for the throne of Scotland and England the 5th Earl of Traquair, Charles Stuart, symbolically locked the main gates of the Traquair estate "until a Stuart shall sit on the throne in London". Well, Bonny Prince Charlie lost that fight at Culloden and fled to Skye. However, a promise is a promise and so the Bear Gates have been shut for a wee while.
Everybody since then enters the property through the "temporary driveway entrance" created in 1745. There is some discussion that when William ascends to the throne his Stuart blood (through Diana) will fulfill the promise and they may be able to open the gates again.
As part of the conference we also got to watch several mission videos that we had not seen before, and lead and participate in devotionals. The conference provided us lots of time to make and renew friendships. By the end of it we felt refreshed and enlivened. We couldn't help being impressed with the dedication and quality of the senior couples that are serving. We really got the feeling that each of them wants to give their best in serving the Lord and are willing to do all they can to promote the building of the kingdom. Not only that, they are all very, very nice people. It is a pleasure and privilige to be a part of this select group.
The conference finished on a Wednesday afternoon and we scrambled around trying to catch up on all that needed doing. Our work in the office has a similarity to Richard's career at BYU. It's okay to go and do something else for a while. Take your time, don't worry about the work that needs doing, when you get back the work will be there waiting for you.
The roles that senior missionaries take on are interesting. From our very limited exposure it seems that we are the people who fill in the gaps. The young missionaries' lives are very carefully (and appropriately) controlled. Their schedules have very little flexibility. In an ideal world the mission would run like a well oiled machine and everything would work. But this is not an ideal world, so the senior missionaries have more flexible rules and can pick up the slack. Does a missionary need to be taken to the station and no one else is available? Does someone need to inspect the missionaries' flats or cars, or choose a new flat for missionaries to occupy? Do we need a missionary couple to split up and be in two places at once? Does someone need to be with sister missionaries while they teach a young man? Senior missionaries can fill in all these gaps, but apart from the office staff they tend to work in isolation from each other.
It was nice to get together with other senior missionaries, form connections on a personal level, share experiences and build each other. So we spent nearly three days together. We did serious stuff, like discussing our missionary purpose and hearing the testimonies and counsel of the mission president and his wife. We did fun stuff on building relationships with each other--we played a variant of the "newly-wed" game where couples are separated and the one is given a set of questions and then the other tries to guess how they would respond. Mom and I had one that stands out. The question was something like, "What did you think of your partner on your first date". I wrote my answer and then Mom came in and her response was "I don't know when we had our first date" The MC was just insisting that that was not an acceptable response, when I revealed my written response, "I don't know when our first date was". Nailed it! (Also a comment on our odd courting relationship)
We also went up to Pratt's Hill (Arthur's Seat) to remind us of where Orson Pratt dedicated Scotland to the preaching of the gospel. We wanted a group picture so Richard asked some passing hikers if they would take it for us, which they willingly agreed to do. Of course he couldn't let an opportunity like that pass by so afterwards that became a conversation about who the Mormons are. The hikers knew about our missionaries and were polite but not interested. Oh well, every positive contact opens a door for future work.
As part of the experience we also went as a group to Traquair House, "The oldest inhabited house in Scotland."
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| Traquair House |
It has been continuously used as a residence since 1491. Lots of stories and history but the curious one is the story of the famous Bear gates. Since the lairds of Traquair were Stuarts, it is not surprising they supported both Mary Queen of Scots (who visited there) and Bonnie Prince Charlie. In fact in 1745 when Bonnie Prince Charlie was fighting for the throne of Scotland and England the 5th Earl of Traquair, Charles Stuart, symbolically locked the main gates of the Traquair estate "until a Stuart shall sit on the throne in London". Well, Bonny Prince Charlie lost that fight at Culloden and fled to Skye. However, a promise is a promise and so the Bear Gates have been shut for a wee while.
 |
| Bear Gates: Traquair Estate |
Everybody since then enters the property through the "temporary driveway entrance" created in 1745. There is some discussion that when William ascends to the throne his Stuart blood (through Diana) will fulfill the promise and they may be able to open the gates again.
As part of the conference we also got to watch several mission videos that we had not seen before, and lead and participate in devotionals. The conference provided us lots of time to make and renew friendships. By the end of it we felt refreshed and enlivened. We couldn't help being impressed with the dedication and quality of the senior couples that are serving. We really got the feeling that each of them wants to give their best in serving the Lord and are willing to do all they can to promote the building of the kingdom. Not only that, they are all very, very nice people. It is a pleasure and privilige to be a part of this select group.
The conference finished on a Wednesday afternoon and we scrambled around trying to catch up on all that needed doing. Our work in the office has a similarity to Richard's career at BYU. It's okay to go and do something else for a while. Take your time, don't worry about the work that needs doing, when you get back the work will be there waiting for you.
I enjoy how well you know each other, as demonstrated by the game. This gathering sounds like a nice way to connect with your fellow senior missionaries.
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