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LDS Missionary Moms Blog
by Betty and Karl Pearson
These pictures are for you to comment on, and if you click on them, you can view the full-sized image, and then right-click to save to your computer.
Please be sensitive to individual privacy by not sharing these pictures on other websites. If you wish to post any of them, please contact each individual in each photograph and ask for written permission.
Thanks and Enjoy!
Karl & Betty
These pictures are for you to comment on, and if you click on them, you can view the full-sized image, and then right-click to save to your computer.
Please be sensitive to individual privacy by not sharing these pictures on other websites. If you wish to post any of them, please contact each individual in each photograph and ask for written permission.
Thanks and Enjoy!
Karl & Betty
66 comments:
Be supportive, don't tell how much you miss him/her, just how happy you are that he/she is doing what he/she is doing.
Even though they are away be thankful for this time that they are serving the Lord. Pray for them daily.
Trust in the missionary to be capable of what he/she was sent to do. Trust the Lord to see him/her through. Trust in your efforts of all that was taught and learned in your home. Be joyous!
Remind them what a blessing it is to have a missionary serving from the family.
Remind your missionary that they are a daughter/son of God and that they are loved by both the Lord and their earthly family.
As hard as is it, remember that you only have them on loan. Heavenly Father loves them even more than you do. He is aware of them and of their needs. Trust in Him and in the Plan.
Be a missionary at home and share the experiences that you are having and the spirit that you are feeling.
I believe that being a good Missionary mom is supporting your missionary from start to finish in life. It is very important to pray to have the knowledge of individualize what each child needs.
Write on a regular basis and share uplifting thoughts and experiences with your missionary! Be loving, understanding and supportive in all they do!
Write upbeat letters. Share spiritual experiences that might help with struggles they're having. Pay it forward by loving & supporting the local missionaries.
For me, being a good missionary mom means having faith in Heavenly Father that all will be well. I share that faith with my missionary in each letter.
She was so worried about leaving me behind and how hard that would be for me, that I prayed and prayed for the Lord to help me to not miss her and to be calm about her being gone. If she saw that I was ok, then I knew she would be able to concentrate on her mission and not worry about me. I received an answer to those prayers and have shared that with my missionary.
I have, and always have had, the faith to know that wherever she is, whether I hear from her weekly or not, that she is on the Lord's errand and as such, only He can protect her. I have turned it over to Him!
Remember that your missionary is a child of Heavenly Father and that He loves them even more than you do! We must have faith and trust in the Lord that He will guide and protect our missionaries.
Share spiritual experiences and funny stories from home life. Ask specifically what self/family can pray for, do own missionary work and feed missionaries.
I think being a good missionary mom/parent begins at birth or as soon as possible if you are a convert. You teach them the gospel, you help them prepare by giving them opportunities to serve and grow their testimony, and most important you lead by example. After they are in the field you give them lots of love and support, and you pray for them like crazy!
Be patient, the Lord is shaping our sons and daughters and also shaping us. I try to give thanks for the times of growth, as well as the good times that are obvious.
I love the blessings of a spiritual nature that are bestowed upon our family when we have a missionary in the field. It is a comfort to me.
Prepares missionaries with character building experiences. For example, visit elderly, fellowship less actives, make own appointments, cook dinner for the family and even ride bike in rain!
Being a good missionary mom is a life-long journey that starts when your first child is born and never ends. It is having my own strong testimony and teaching my children to have their own. It is giving them the tools they need and then allowing them to be the best missionaries they can. And it is accepting the pain that comes with letting them go because I know this is the greatest gift I can give them at this time in their lives.
I think that you need to write wonderful letters, sharing spiritual experiences and missionary opportunities. Also I think it is important to go to the temple often and to be sure to put their names on the prayer roll. You should also send pictures and let them know that they are in your prayers. They can feel those prayers.
Don't gossip - it will only discourage them.
Express your gratitude to them for the service they are giving. Pray for them, and express your love for them and for the Savior.
Being excited about all their triumphs big and small! Encouraging of personal growth including learning the language and cultural things too.
Just be happy and upbeat don't talk about the problems
Don't share everything about back home such as the fun vacations you have been on etc. so they don't become too home sick and feel like they are missing out on the fun family activities. Encourage them and support them no matter what. Know they will have ups and downs and you are there for them. Tell them often that you are so Proud of them and their service and sacrifice’s that they are making.
Remind your missionary that the only one who could love them more than you do is their Father in Heaven and that you know He, along with you, are proud of his/her service.
Treat them like an adult and not like a child.
keep in mind that they are doing things we aren't and that they may be hesitant to share all their ups and downs. I learned if I ask specific questions I get better answers.
Be uplifting and positive - and always ALWAYS trust in the Lord.
I am thinking a good missionary mom is everything I am not. I am not good at sending letters, I rush Sunday night to get an email off so he has something to read on Monday. However he does know I love him and He does know I am proud of him and he know I am doing the best I can, and has learned a long time ago (when I forgot his birthday) that this is who I am and I will just try a little harder each day to be a better person for him and our family.
Good missionary moms pray for their sons/daughters every time they pray.
Making sure you email EVERY week but NOT every day. They really need that contact each week!
I love all the comments made. I would add that I share thoughts about the scriptures I'm reading and encourage them to share theirs. It adds a spiritual uplift to both of our emails and keeps us thinking during the week. Another great help is I asked my missionary about a certain subject ie Fasting - that his little sis was struggling with and it was amazing how all of us have grown in our ability to understand it and to do it better and we sought the Lord's help and searched for deeper meaning.
Be specific in your prayers, for safety, that they will find those who are searching for Christ. And that they will be able to find "the one," the lost sheep that was part of the fold but has wondered off.
Always be positive. You may have to relate bad news but let him know it will be okay, and make sure not every communication (email or snail mail) has bad news!
It is okay to mention fun things your family is doing but don't dwell on them. Example: Family Reunion, let him/her know how everyone is so thankful for the work your missionary is doing and that they say hi. You don't have to go on and on about everything you did and how much fun it was etc. Letting him know he is being thought of is good, making him feel he is missing out on things is not.
Missionary Mom's worry about their Missionary but are positive and uplifting when talking or writing to their missionary.
Always be positive - especially about news from home. Always share your missionary experiences which they love to hear.
Pray for them. Write them encouraging letters. Let them know when people ask about them so they know that many people care about them. Stay positive.
Offer to put names on the prayer roll at the temple for your missionary. It's a way of sharing in the experience. Our elder has had us put investigators, less active, fellow missionaries, and even his mission president and his wife, on the prayer roll.
Send fun packages because they like to get mail besides their weekly e-mail.
I always ask myself, "am I the member my missionary would want me to be?" meaning that I want to be a good member missionary myself, be a good example, reach out to others and support the missionaries in my area.
Look for the hand of the Lord in your own life and share it with your missionary in your weekly emails.
I always try to be positive and supportive. I also try to support the local missionaries in our area. I attend the temple and put my missionaries name on the temple prayer roll. When sending an email or letter I always end it with..."Stay Strong, Stay Obedient, Stay Faithful, and Stay Awesome!".
Be encouraging and really listen and comment in your letters with things they have written to you. Share your spiritual experiences with them, stay positive and let your missionary know you are thinking of them daily.
So much has already been said. Praying with exactness for our missionary's needs along with fasting and praying for all her investigators and companions is probably on the top of my list!
be supportive and try to be a missionary along with them.
Always pray for them and for their testimony to grow! These are the best 2 years of their lives and they should take advantage of every second they have to thank our Heavenly Father for all He has given them!!
A great missionary mom is one that loves the Lord unconditional. For we are placing our hearts in the hands of the Lord. We cry when we miss them and when we get the email. Oh not to forget the Skype or phone call. When we are talking to friends or acquaintance our missionary's name is not far from our tongue. We share there experiences and sometimes even get to teach a Gospel principle. I guess you could say we get strength from their dedication to the Gospel and we become member missionaries by sharing our testimony of the importance of our child serving the Lord for 18 months - two years.
Let them know you are praying for them. Do comment about the latest family news but not the latest movies. Send pictures that show how much the siblings are growing so they know before they get home that younger brother is now taller than them. :). Comment on where you are in scripture reading or find out where they are and follow along.
Write short letters, including your testimony or favorite scripture verse. Pray for the missionary constantly. Tell your missionary about your hopes and prayers for them.
Be positive at all times even during difficult times. Your son/daughter will learn to do the same. Show gratitude for the decision they have made to take time to serve The Lord full time. As my son was preparing to serve his mission, I always reminded him that his small sacrifice away from his family will bring endless blessings to many families and generations to come. As a convert, he does not have to look too far to see that truth.
Pray for them throughout the day and for the people they meet. Have faith that they are truly in the Lord's hands and that He will direct their paths. Tell them of your faith in this and of your prayers.
Write letters, send packages, pray, be a good missionary, try to be there when he emails :)
Pray for them constantly. I also tell both of my missionaries about the spiritual experiences that I have during the week, and that I am proud of them for their service.
We should always be positive, teaching missionaries to give the benefit of the doubt and help and guide them to solving their problems and coming up with their own solutions.
Remind your missionary how many prayers are prayed for them every day. When I served a mission I loved it when I heard this from my family.
Let them know what you are doing, they love to hear what is going on at home. Share pictures when you can.
Most everything has already been said. I am still trying to figure it out. If you ask my daughter, she would probably say it is "sending lots of mail" (USPS mail, not email) even if it is repeat information.
A good missionary mom/dad... is thankful for every miracle, tender mercy, blessing, progress, letter, etc. that comes her/his way: including the privilege of being a missionary mom/dad.
Wow...so many things make us good missionary parents but I believe the most important is to be supportive and let them know often you support and love them. They are doing hard things daily and just knowing they have our support in good, and bad, times can make all the difference in the world.
One of the most important things we can do to be a good missionary mom is to do missionary work ourselves. Invite people to church, to activities, to our homes, help reactivate members who haven't been attending (sometimes they just need to be reminded of what they're missing) and also don't forget about doing missionary work for our ancestors who have passed away.
As we do missionary work, we actively show our sons and daughters that we believe what we preach. Remember, actions speak louder than words.
I try to be a good missionary mom by being a good missionary at home, and by helping the missionaries in my area with whatever I can. I try to write uplifting letters and NOT say what I'm actually thinking, which is "Waaahhh, I miss you so much and I cry whenever I think about you!!"
Trust that they are adults now and are perfectly capable of making really good decisions without you.
So many things are important and people are different but being supportive and positive are very important.
Praying for inspiration to be guided to articles and quotes that will help your missionary and Praying yourself for missionary moments,.
My missionary has been out (Chicago) for two months and I love getting his emails. I enjoy his growth and can't wait to hear from him again.
He did a crazy things with the elders: They all thought they were hair stylists and cut each others hair - it looked good that night, but the next morning they were scared - they all looked terrible so they shaved their heads. so now all four of them look like military missionaries. :) in the COLD of Chicago!! :)
The idea of "do unto others" comes to mind. We should do unto other missionaries as we want other missionary moms to do unto our missionaries.
Being a good missionary mom requires you to let go and turn your son or daughter, or in my case, both my daughters over to Heavenly Father and TRUST in Him. Sending my girls to Guatemala and Nicaragua was one of the hardest things I have ever done, but knowing that Heavenly Father is their parent away from home makes it a lot easier for me.
Write them real snail mail letters, in addition to the weekly email. My RM's have said that it's what in the mailbox that they really look forward to.
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