Mission Leadership

[MikeWaters]

How about this:

How many of you served both an english seeking mission and a foreign speaking mission?

It's not that uncommon. About nine months out in my mission, I was transferred to foreign-speaking, after being English speaking.

So in some ways, I feel like I had two missions.

[MikeWaters]

Originally Posted by MikeWaters

How about this:

How many of you served both an english seeking mission and a foreign speaking mission?

It's not that uncommon. About nine months out in my mission, I was transferred to foreign-speaking, after being English speaking.

So in some ways, I feel like I had two missions.

I should add that in the first place, it was a lot like the USA (with malls, electricity, running water), but the second place was like New Guinea.

[RC Vikings]

Originally Posted by SeattleUte

I made zone leader in ten months. Top that.

Did you ever make AP? I would be a little disappointed in you if you didn't.

[JohnnyLingo]

Originally Posted by MikeWaters

How about this:

How many of you served both an english seeking mission and a foreign speaking mission?

It's not that uncommon. About nine months out in my mission, I was transferred to foreign-speaking, after being English speaking.

So in some ways, I feel like I had two missions.

That's me. Called foreign-speaking, moved to English-speaking mission after 2 months, then moved back to initial foreign-speaking mission after another four months.

In a way, the time I spent serving in English really helped my Malagasy skills. I had time for my brain to "digest" all the new language information that had been crammed into it in the MTC. While in Madagascar, I was constantly struggling to speak and understand the language and remember everything I'd been taught. With speaking and understanding out of the way, I had time to pick apart grammar rules and figure out the "why"s instead of just the "how"s.

When I got back to Madagascar I felt like I hadn't lost very much language ability.

[MikeWaters]

where is trainer in the hierarchy of responsibility? I have heard of some mission presidents considering trainer to be a position only given to the most trusted (far more important than district leader, for example). what is your take?

[SteelBlue]

Originally Posted by MikeWaters

How about this:

How many of you served both an english seeking mission and a foreign speaking mission?

It's not that uncommon. About nine months out in my mission, I was transferred to foreign-speaking, after being English speaking.

So in some ways, I feel like I had two missions.

I got two different mission calls. My mission (Holland/Belgium) split 8 months in, and I got called to the new one with a new letter from ETB and all. Flemish is a dialect of Dutch, so I didn't really have to learn a new language, but it was different enough that it felt like square one. Part way into my mission a mission was opening in Suriname and a GA came to interview us all. They took 8 elders and put them in the Suriname mission because of their Dutch skills. I really wanted to go, I thought that would be cool to serve in Europe and S. America, but I didn't get selected.

[Clark Addison]

About 20% of Elders in my mission were ZLs at any given time. 90% were ZLs at some point. If you weren't, there was something wrong with you.

One of our APs was famous for water-skiing. Among other things.

[SteelBlue]

Originally Posted by MikeWaters

where is trainer in the hierarchy of responsibility? I have heard of some mission presidents considering trainer to be a position only given to the most trusted (far more important than district leader, for example). what is your take?

This was true in my mission until the visas stopped coming. After a nearly 6 month period with no new missionaries, we got them all at once and we had to put greenies with greenies. That was awful for them, they couldn't really understand a word let alone speak it. And the Belgians are nowhere near the English speakers that the Dutch are so there was a lot of learning the hard way for those guys.

[SeattleUte]

Originally Posted by FMCoug

In my mission ZL's were a companionship. Both were zone leaders. Jr. ZL was also the DL for their district.

Then I see they locked you up in the assylum. Darryl Strawberry missionary.

[YOhio]

Originally Posted by MikeWaters

where is trainer in the hierarchy of responsibility? I have heard of some mission presidents considering trainer to be a position only given to the most trusted (far more important than district leader, for example). what is your take?

Yeah, and Home Teacher is the most important calling in the church.