When people ask us what our assignment is, we always say “to do whatever the mission president asks us to do” because a lot of what we do is made known to us in a call from him. Ralph acts as secretary to the mission presidency so there are quite a few miscellaneous, ad hoc assignments that we are given. The president has two counselors and an executive secretary who are Guatemalans, but who are also employed full time. So, unlike them, We are available at any hour to carry out whatever task is needed at the time.
If you have never been close to the administration of a mission of the Church, you probably have no idea of the many responsibilities on the shoulders of a mission president. The obvious part of his job is the supervision and leadership of approximately 200 young missionaries, men and women in their early 20’s, scattered in cities and towns over an area of thousands of square miles. He is responsible for their safety, health and wellbeing, as well as training them in their duties and tracking their performance. He interviews each one personally and individually every few months. Training meetings take place approximately monthly for every missionary and the president determines what training is to be given. He is also available constantly to provide cousel and handle personal problems which can and do come up unexpectedly at any time. For example, one time when I was driving home with the president from an outlying area, he took a call from a pair of sisters who were in tears dealing with discouragement and difficulties getting along with each other. He lovingly and patiently took about 20 minutes to talk with each one and help them put their troubles in perspective.
To help with the administration of the missionaries, the president has four secretaries and two assistants, chosen from among the young missionaries. These assignments turn over every few months. The assistants are chosen from among the very best of the mission and are his “right hand men” who handle much of the routine supervision and training functions. The secretaries handle record keeping, clerical and administrative items, such as tracking key performance indicators weekly, and bringing in new missionaries and sending off those who have completed their service, which happens every six weeks. One of the secretaries keeps track of the finances, such as getting funds to cover living expenses out to each one monthly. The funds come from donations made by their families and others back home, and may include funds from the missionaries themselves saved up before leaving home.
The part of a president’s duties that are not as obvious is the administration of branches and districts. Branches are small congregations that are in a developmental stage, with insufficient membership to be largely self-sustaining. They are grouped into districts and the mission president presides over all of these units and their members. In our case, we have three districts with six to nine branches each. In time, these units will grow and develop into larger and stronger entities (wards and stakes) that can largely govern themselves. While they are still developing they have significant needs for training and direction.
To assist the president with the administration of these developing units, the president has two counselors and possibly two secretaries. These men are usually local members who are employed and raising families, so are available for part-time service, much like the local leaders in branches, districts, wards and stakes throughout the Church. The president can delegate much of the supervisory responsibility to his couselors, but some things he cannot delegate, and, as always, the buck stops with the mission president.
And so we spend most of our time helping with some of his many responsibilities. Our primary responsibilities are:
1. Helping the young men and women of the branches decide if they want to serve as missionaries and helping them with the process of getting ready to serve, which includes getting medical and dental exams and passports. The large majority of them will serve in other countries. We are currently working with a pool of about 50 young men and women, ages 18-25, who are potential future missionaries from all the branches.
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| Future missionaries entering their personal information for their recommendations to serve |
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| Sisters from Ecuador and Nicaragua going home after 18 months of service |
3. Jolene is also the mission historian, compiling an ongoing document of performance and events.
A fair amount of our time is spent on the road. We put over 5000 km on our vehicle over the first three months, traveling to all parts of the mission.
And we have just been given a new assignment: To move from Guatemala City to one of the districts to help it grow and prepare to become a stake! More on that later.
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| District conference at Solola - many of these people are indigenous and continue to wear traditional clothing |
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| Childrens' choir on the stand at the Santa Lucia District Conference |
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| Members heading home after conference |
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| One of Guatemala's completely modern shopping malls |
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| Elder Amado of the Seventy teaching the young missionaries |
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| Enjoying a day off |
