30 things to remember as a missionary

After returning from the South Africa Cape Town Mission in 1991, I was called to be mission leader of my ward at Brigham Young University. Since I was living in the dorms, the ward featured lots of freshmen planning to serve missions at the end of the school year and only one nonmember. So my chief function was to teach the missionary preparation class.

During my two years in Africa, I had vowed that if I ever had the opportunity to work with prospective missionaries, I would let them know what it was really like out in the mission field.

Sure, I wanted my class members to know about the thrill associated with finding that “golden” family. But I also wanted them to know about some of the other adventures — challenges like serving with a companion who doesn’t follow every rule, having three bikes stolen in your zone within 72 hours, and not being transferred for more than eight months.

I wanted my class members to write to me during their missions, so at the end of the school year I typed up a short note of thanks to them and included my home address. As an afterthought, I decided to add a few short pieces of advice, many of which had surfaced during the class. When I ran out of room on the page, I had recorded 65 reminders. Later on, I thought of many, many more.

Whether the assignment is to serve in Africa, Europe or the United States, here are a few of the things on my list (out of more than 400 on the list total) that I think missionaries should remember: