We hoped they'd call us on a Mission
We have been in Scotland for six months and are one third of the way through our mission, so it's time for a spot of retrospective mulling over of life in general and our mission in particular. We were, frankly, surprised when we were called to work in the mission office. Neither of us has ever done an "office" type job before and had you asked us what we expected to be doing on our mission we would have said either leadership support or teaching, with a very real possibility of Richard's being involved in some sort of technology coordination. We could have done very well in those things; our mission would have been something we could have flown through (figuratively speaking) with all four of our hands tied behind our backs (to commit a mixed metaphor). And we could have really enjoyed the whole experience.
As it is, not only have we been assigned to work in an office, but Richard was assigned to do the stuff Louise is really good at - finance and accounting - and Louise is doing things that are new to her but that Richard has been doing much of his career, like preparing Power Point presentations. I (Louise) have had to overcome my deep seated distrust of Microsoft Word, and learn to use both it and Excel. From one point of view, it is a strange use of our particular talents; from another, we have both been learning a great deal. Richard has become very good at finance, and also manages the mission's fleet of 36 cars.
I (Richard) am not and am not likely to become a huge fan of cars, but my role is more managerial, like working with a couple of missionaries whose car broke down on the freeway, so they abandoned it, got a lift into town and called me late the next day to tell me about it and should they do something about it? I also manage to spend some time on the mission's much smaller fleet of bicycles, and help those missionaries who wish to cycle to become well and safely equipped. I am by default and personal interest the office technology expert advising and helping if asked; It also appears that any generic job not otherwise defined around the mission office is in the Finance portfolio, such as keeper of the keys (which sort-of makes sense) and putting out the bins (which is random).
I (Louise now) have a great many different duties, and have no idea how my predecessor managed to do all that she did with the tools she used. She tended to prepare documents (letters and certificates) one at a time, cutting and pasting slowly and beautifully. I on the other hand, have dragged myself (kicking and screaming of course, but the wounds are self-inflicted) into the 21st century, and have learned an enormous amount on the way. I have learned, with a lot of help from Google and a fair amount from both Microsoft and Techwalla, to use such facilities as mail merge and spreadsheets, and can now get through a few jobs that used to take a couple of days each in just an hour or three apiece. I still have not found an effective way to print addresses on multiple envelopes, so I spend ten minutes generating various letters and address labels, and several hours affixing address labels to envelopes
Every now and again Richard and I look at each other and wonder what may be coming next. Are we learning all this stuff just for this mission or is something else going to be coming our way in the future? I guess we shall find out in due course, but meantime this mission has taught us a few things that we wish we had learned sooner.
As we interact with young missionaries who don't have a clue about how to deal with life, and others who competently march through whatever presents itself, we wish that we had done a few things differently with our own children. Sure, they had chores growing up and we tried to teach them to be responsible and how to iron a shirt, but how much did they understand about actually running a household? Our missionaries share flats and there is no one else to shop for them, cook for them, clean up after them, or take care of them through minor illnesses. Some of them have learned these things before their missions, some learn on their missions, and some never seem to learn at all. It is hard when missionaries trash their flat, leaving dirt and damage in their wake. The mission then has to spend sacred tithing funds, which can repair the physical damage, but the loss of reputation and the opportunity costs are hard to bear.
Something else I (Louise) have learned is about myself. I love to cook, almost always, (that part is not news) but I do not love to bake, except occasionally. I frequently resolve to bake something and might even get around to it, but mostly I put it off, and if it is possible to purchase whatever it is, am more likely to go that route. Now that I write this down, I realise this may be me and may be a function of our pathetically small and unpredictable oven. We will have to see what happens to my baking propensities when we get back to 1280 Cedar, with its large double convection ovens. On the other hand, when we get home to our flat at night, no matter how tired we are, I pop happily into the kitchen to prepare our evening meal. I would rather do this than eat out or pick up takeaway. Although we did try out our local Chinese takeaway, about 150 yards from our door, a few weeks ago. The food was okay to nice, nothing to knock one's socks off. The containers the food came in, however, have proved very useful. They are wickedly irresponsible, environmentally speaking - rectangular plastic containers, stackable and dishwasher safe, which are great for storing leftovers in. It would be sad to see them thrown away, but we are repurposing (and will eventually recycle) them so effectively that we are thinking of picking up some more takeaway (just for the containers, you understand) one of these weeks.
Some of you asked about how I take care of the missionaries' medical needs. The goal is to help the missionaries to stay healthy and to make sure they get adequate care when they are ill. My job is to chat, usually over the phone, with a sick missionary or his or her companion and determine whether or not they need to see a doctor. If they need to see a doctor I arrange the appointment, either through the insurance company (which tries when possible to make an appointment with a doctor who will accept direct payment from them) or I just find a doctor if the missionary is in the Republic of Ireland, in which case I will make an appointment, arrange to pay (usually over the phone with a credit card) and then later claim from the insurance. If it's an emergency, we ask or arrange for the missionary to get to the nearest hospital with emergency facilities. Fortunately these don't happen often. Mostly the missionary doesn't need to see a doctor so I just practice Mom-type medicine over the phone and recommend over-the-counter medications. These vary between countries, and sometimes the missionary is really not well enough to go out and purchase anything, so I get the companion to gather whatever is in the flat and read the boxes to me. The Area and Mission Medical Advisors (AMA and MMA respectively) are careful not to practice medicine without a license, but a spot of training and experience can be very useful in helping a sick missionary. I have not practiced for many years and thus did not sign up to do medical stuff, but the previous mission president asked me if I would, and at this level (MMA)I think I can be pretty helpful. (Side-note from Richard: When you hear her diagnosing over the phone you might find it difficult to believe she is not a doctor in full practice, but ironically her real expertise makes her more aware of her lack of current knowledge)
Whenever possible I ask for a photograph - if one can actually see the rash, or inflamed throat or infected toe, one gets a much better idea of what is going on. One missionary phoned one evening to tell me that he thought he might have banged his big toe by kicking it against the bedroom wall in his sleep, and that it looked a little red and walking was uncomfortable and what should he do? I gave him some good general advice and mentioned if it started getting worse we might have to get him to a doctor. Then I asked if he could possibly send me a photograph. He and his companion had to pop over to the chapel to send this, which fortunately was not far away. Once I saw the photograph I phoned him right back and told him to be on the doctor's doorstep at 8:30 the next morning. (That particular doctor made afternoon appointments but would just see anyone who showed up in the morning on a first come first served basis.) The situation was not worse than I had imagined, it was much worse. Right now he is doing well, but the whole experience was a reminder to me that some missionaries exaggerate a trifle and some understate somewhat.
Our British missionaries can use the National Health System, (NHS) and sometimes I will encourage a missionary to use it. Those with chronic health conditions tend to register with a local NHS GP (general practitioner) in each area, but if they didn't and they get sick, we find a private doctor for them. The non-British ones could technically use the NHS too, as we are all legal residents, but we always go private and pay for what they need. In Ireland everybody goes to a private doctor, for which prices vary outrageously. To see a doctor in one town may cost €30, and in another it may cost €180. Interestingly enough the quality of care varies greatly, and so far the ones who charged less seem to have given better care. I keep a little list (they never will be missed :-] ) of doctors that we should or should not plan to use again.
So life in the office continues. We both know how to do the routine things and are reasonably able to manage the unusual stuff that pops up from time to time; we have both learned how to reach out for help from the area office-which is largely populated with full-time employees, who are accustomed to training and retraining senior missionaries in their jobs. We don't really know what lies in the future, or beyond, but we both are feeling like we are supporting the missionaries and the work of the mission in a useful way and are finding new projects to either simplify our jobs or to benefit the mission. This is the Lord's work; life is good.
As it is, not only have we been assigned to work in an office, but Richard was assigned to do the stuff Louise is really good at - finance and accounting - and Louise is doing things that are new to her but that Richard has been doing much of his career, like preparing Power Point presentations. I (Louise) have had to overcome my deep seated distrust of Microsoft Word, and learn to use both it and Excel. From one point of view, it is a strange use of our particular talents; from another, we have both been learning a great deal. Richard has become very good at finance, and also manages the mission's fleet of 36 cars.
I (Richard) am not and am not likely to become a huge fan of cars, but my role is more managerial, like working with a couple of missionaries whose car broke down on the freeway, so they abandoned it, got a lift into town and called me late the next day to tell me about it and should they do something about it? I also manage to spend some time on the mission's much smaller fleet of bicycles, and help those missionaries who wish to cycle to become well and safely equipped. I am by default and personal interest the office technology expert advising and helping if asked; It also appears that any generic job not otherwise defined around the mission office is in the Finance portfolio, such as keeper of the keys (which sort-of makes sense) and putting out the bins (which is random).
I (Louise now) have a great many different duties, and have no idea how my predecessor managed to do all that she did with the tools she used. She tended to prepare documents (letters and certificates) one at a time, cutting and pasting slowly and beautifully. I on the other hand, have dragged myself (kicking and screaming of course, but the wounds are self-inflicted) into the 21st century, and have learned an enormous amount on the way. I have learned, with a lot of help from Google and a fair amount from both Microsoft and Techwalla, to use such facilities as mail merge and spreadsheets, and can now get through a few jobs that used to take a couple of days each in just an hour or three apiece. I still have not found an effective way to print addresses on multiple envelopes, so I spend ten minutes generating various letters and address labels, and several hours affixing address labels to envelopes
Every now and again Richard and I look at each other and wonder what may be coming next. Are we learning all this stuff just for this mission or is something else going to be coming our way in the future? I guess we shall find out in due course, but meantime this mission has taught us a few things that we wish we had learned sooner.
As we interact with young missionaries who don't have a clue about how to deal with life, and others who competently march through whatever presents itself, we wish that we had done a few things differently with our own children. Sure, they had chores growing up and we tried to teach them to be responsible and how to iron a shirt, but how much did they understand about actually running a household? Our missionaries share flats and there is no one else to shop for them, cook for them, clean up after them, or take care of them through minor illnesses. Some of them have learned these things before their missions, some learn on their missions, and some never seem to learn at all. It is hard when missionaries trash their flat, leaving dirt and damage in their wake. The mission then has to spend sacred tithing funds, which can repair the physical damage, but the loss of reputation and the opportunity costs are hard to bear.
Something else I (Louise) have learned is about myself. I love to cook, almost always, (that part is not news) but I do not love to bake, except occasionally. I frequently resolve to bake something and might even get around to it, but mostly I put it off, and if it is possible to purchase whatever it is, am more likely to go that route. Now that I write this down, I realise this may be me and may be a function of our pathetically small and unpredictable oven. We will have to see what happens to my baking propensities when we get back to 1280 Cedar, with its large double convection ovens. On the other hand, when we get home to our flat at night, no matter how tired we are, I pop happily into the kitchen to prepare our evening meal. I would rather do this than eat out or pick up takeaway. Although we did try out our local Chinese takeaway, about 150 yards from our door, a few weeks ago. The food was okay to nice, nothing to knock one's socks off. The containers the food came in, however, have proved very useful. They are wickedly irresponsible, environmentally speaking - rectangular plastic containers, stackable and dishwasher safe, which are great for storing leftovers in. It would be sad to see them thrown away, but we are repurposing (and will eventually recycle) them so effectively that we are thinking of picking up some more takeaway (just for the containers, you understand) one of these weeks.
Some of you asked about how I take care of the missionaries' medical needs. The goal is to help the missionaries to stay healthy and to make sure they get adequate care when they are ill. My job is to chat, usually over the phone, with a sick missionary or his or her companion and determine whether or not they need to see a doctor. If they need to see a doctor I arrange the appointment, either through the insurance company (which tries when possible to make an appointment with a doctor who will accept direct payment from them) or I just find a doctor if the missionary is in the Republic of Ireland, in which case I will make an appointment, arrange to pay (usually over the phone with a credit card) and then later claim from the insurance. If it's an emergency, we ask or arrange for the missionary to get to the nearest hospital with emergency facilities. Fortunately these don't happen often. Mostly the missionary doesn't need to see a doctor so I just practice Mom-type medicine over the phone and recommend over-the-counter medications. These vary between countries, and sometimes the missionary is really not well enough to go out and purchase anything, so I get the companion to gather whatever is in the flat and read the boxes to me. The Area and Mission Medical Advisors (AMA and MMA respectively) are careful not to practice medicine without a license, but a spot of training and experience can be very useful in helping a sick missionary. I have not practiced for many years and thus did not sign up to do medical stuff, but the previous mission president asked me if I would, and at this level (MMA)I think I can be pretty helpful. (Side-note from Richard: When you hear her diagnosing over the phone you might find it difficult to believe she is not a doctor in full practice, but ironically her real expertise makes her more aware of her lack of current knowledge)
Whenever possible I ask for a photograph - if one can actually see the rash, or inflamed throat or infected toe, one gets a much better idea of what is going on. One missionary phoned one evening to tell me that he thought he might have banged his big toe by kicking it against the bedroom wall in his sleep, and that it looked a little red and walking was uncomfortable and what should he do? I gave him some good general advice and mentioned if it started getting worse we might have to get him to a doctor. Then I asked if he could possibly send me a photograph. He and his companion had to pop over to the chapel to send this, which fortunately was not far away. Once I saw the photograph I phoned him right back and told him to be on the doctor's doorstep at 8:30 the next morning. (That particular doctor made afternoon appointments but would just see anyone who showed up in the morning on a first come first served basis.) The situation was not worse than I had imagined, it was much worse. Right now he is doing well, but the whole experience was a reminder to me that some missionaries exaggerate a trifle and some understate somewhat.
Our British missionaries can use the National Health System, (NHS) and sometimes I will encourage a missionary to use it. Those with chronic health conditions tend to register with a local NHS GP (general practitioner) in each area, but if they didn't and they get sick, we find a private doctor for them. The non-British ones could technically use the NHS too, as we are all legal residents, but we always go private and pay for what they need. In Ireland everybody goes to a private doctor, for which prices vary outrageously. To see a doctor in one town may cost €30, and in another it may cost €180. Interestingly enough the quality of care varies greatly, and so far the ones who charged less seem to have given better care. I keep a little list (they never will be missed :-] ) of doctors that we should or should not plan to use again.
So life in the office continues. We both know how to do the routine things and are reasonably able to manage the unusual stuff that pops up from time to time; we have both learned how to reach out for help from the area office-which is largely populated with full-time employees, who are accustomed to training and retraining senior missionaries in their jobs. We don't really know what lies in the future, or beyond, but we both are feeling like we are supporting the missionaries and the work of the mission in a useful way and are finding new projects to either simplify our jobs or to benefit the mission. This is the Lord's work; life is good.
I loved this update! I especially liked, "Are we learning all this stuff just for this mission or is something else going to be coming our way in the future?" I feel like I ask myself the equivalent question frequently. (And come up with the same "wait and see" answer every time!)
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