Tuesday, May 8, 2007
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- It's been a busy year for us. Danica and Kevin had their baby Claire on the 14th of January. Nathan is leaving for a two year mission for our church in Slovakia. Stefan is a Freshman at GBN and loving Volleyball.
Nathan's mission - nuts and bolts
Nathan left for his mission to Slovakia on May 16th, 2007. He’ll be gone for two years. The first 8 weeks were spent in the MTC (Mission Training Center) in Provo, Utah. In the MTC he was enrolled in an intensive language training program and learned the basics of being a missionary.
The MTC helps them make the transition from being college kids with little more than themselves to worry about to individuals who can represent the church with a spiritual message in an area that is far from home and the comforts they are used to. The mission rules are strict. The idea is that these “kids” leave their lives completely behind them to focus on serving God and others. While they are on missions looking to help convert others, they also go through a conversion process themselves. They leave behind their families, friends, books and their music (unless it is worshipful and uplifting) even their “names”. Nathan will wear a name tag for two years identifying himself as Elder Van De Graaff - Starsi actually - Slovakian for elder. He will be with a companion 24/7. They wear conservative suits with white shirts and ties 6 days a week. The suits probably help them step into their new roles in a more dignified way. It certainly makes them more identifiable to the public. (I love being on vacation and running into these guys. You can spot them a mile away and they are always ready to chat.) On the seventh day, called p-day or preparation day, they can wear normal clothes. This is when they do all of their errands; buy groceries, do laundry, send and receive email, write letters, go to the post office, etc. They are allowed to call home twice a year (Christmas and Mother’s Day ☺).
After the MTC the missionaries go to the area they were called to serve in. Parents entrust their kids to a Mission President and his wife who oversee them. The MP and his wife arrange airport transfers and help the incoming missionaries get settled. They meet with the missionaries throughout their terms of service, and encourage, counsel and help with health or other issues that need to be resolved. A mission might have about 120 missionaries, often in more than one country so the MP and his wife keep very busy. (Nathan’s MP lives in Prague in the Czech Republic.) The missionaries check in nightly with a zone leader (a more experienced missionary) who reports to the MP. The MP is also responsible for assigning each missionary a companion and sending them to the area where they will serve until they are switched. This switch is called a transfer and in Nathan’s mission they happen every 9 weeks.
A typical day starts at 6:30 am with prayer, exercise, showers and breakfast, followed by personal scripture and language study. After this they pray together and plan their day around any appointments they may have with people they are working with. By 10:30am they are out the door. Some days they knock on doors offering to tell people about our beliefs, or they may just talk to people in the street. Nathan told us recently, “We aren’t here to convince people, we’re here to show them how to convince themselves.” On other days they might do service projects or teach people English. They are usually back in their apartments by 8 pm when they check in, have dinner, do some more language study and get ready to start again the next day - lights out at 10:30pm.
This is voluntary service. Nathan not only sacrifices two years of his life, but also pays his own way. (Currently the cost of a mission is $400/ month.) But besides religious benefits there are others too. Although it seems like he has put his education on hold, he’s learning a new language, and he’s in an accelerated course about life. All this human interaction is teaching him empathy, tolerance, awareness, dependability, communication skills and insights on human nature and relationships. It is even teaching how to deal with rejection and developing his sense of humor. These are skills that will prepare him to be a better employee, employer, husband, father and for a lifetime of serving others.
Yes we miss him. We miss him a lot, but we are also grateful that he has chosen this path.
The MTC helps them make the transition from being college kids with little more than themselves to worry about to individuals who can represent the church with a spiritual message in an area that is far from home and the comforts they are used to. The mission rules are strict. The idea is that these “kids” leave their lives completely behind them to focus on serving God and others. While they are on missions looking to help convert others, they also go through a conversion process themselves. They leave behind their families, friends, books and their music (unless it is worshipful and uplifting) even their “names”. Nathan will wear a name tag for two years identifying himself as Elder Van De Graaff - Starsi actually - Slovakian for elder. He will be with a companion 24/7. They wear conservative suits with white shirts and ties 6 days a week. The suits probably help them step into their new roles in a more dignified way. It certainly makes them more identifiable to the public. (I love being on vacation and running into these guys. You can spot them a mile away and they are always ready to chat.) On the seventh day, called p-day or preparation day, they can wear normal clothes. This is when they do all of their errands; buy groceries, do laundry, send and receive email, write letters, go to the post office, etc. They are allowed to call home twice a year (Christmas and Mother’s Day ☺).
After the MTC the missionaries go to the area they were called to serve in. Parents entrust their kids to a Mission President and his wife who oversee them. The MP and his wife arrange airport transfers and help the incoming missionaries get settled. They meet with the missionaries throughout their terms of service, and encourage, counsel and help with health or other issues that need to be resolved. A mission might have about 120 missionaries, often in more than one country so the MP and his wife keep very busy. (Nathan’s MP lives in Prague in the Czech Republic.) The missionaries check in nightly with a zone leader (a more experienced missionary) who reports to the MP. The MP is also responsible for assigning each missionary a companion and sending them to the area where they will serve until they are switched. This switch is called a transfer and in Nathan’s mission they happen every 9 weeks.
A typical day starts at 6:30 am with prayer, exercise, showers and breakfast, followed by personal scripture and language study. After this they pray together and plan their day around any appointments they may have with people they are working with. By 10:30am they are out the door. Some days they knock on doors offering to tell people about our beliefs, or they may just talk to people in the street. Nathan told us recently, “We aren’t here to convince people, we’re here to show them how to convince themselves.” On other days they might do service projects or teach people English. They are usually back in their apartments by 8 pm when they check in, have dinner, do some more language study and get ready to start again the next day - lights out at 10:30pm.
This is voluntary service. Nathan not only sacrifices two years of his life, but also pays his own way. (Currently the cost of a mission is $400/ month.) But besides religious benefits there are others too. Although it seems like he has put his education on hold, he’s learning a new language, and he’s in an accelerated course about life. All this human interaction is teaching him empathy, tolerance, awareness, dependability, communication skills and insights on human nature and relationships. It is even teaching how to deal with rejection and developing his sense of humor. These are skills that will prepare him to be a better employee, employer, husband, father and for a lifetime of serving others.
Yes we miss him. We miss him a lot, but we are also grateful that he has chosen this path.