The Mission Leadership Thread and Poll

[Drunk Tank]

I was a DL for a couple months then they decided I needed to be a ZL comp. I got tired of that and went home.

[Paperback Writer]

I spent six months in the office with no proselyting area. Meals at the MP's house, milkshake brakes with the MP's wife, saving most of my $140/mo. instead of spending it on crappy food, flirting with the sister office missionaries, peeking at the transfer board, first looks at all the newly assigned missionary files from SLC to see if any of the new sisters were hot... It was awesome.

I did not covet leadership positions during my mission. What I did covet was serving in the mission office; specifically, exactly what you describe (except I would have saved far more than $140 per month - more like $500).

I had to live vicariously through former companions who did serve in that role (and who leaked information to me). Almost "outed" my source once after a phone call (before transfers) when I was told I would be staying in my area (I wanted a transfer and had been there for 5 months) and would instead be training a new missionary (an Elder from American Fork who looked like a "Mongoloid").

After the phone call, I'm visibly upset:
Elder San Diego: Elder PBW, what's wrong?
Elder PBW: I can't believe prez is leaving me here to train another missionary.
Elder San Diego: I think you did a great job training me.
Elder PBW: Thanks. You were already a very good missionary. Not sure how much training took place.
Elder San Diego: So how do you know you are going to train another missionary? Was that the Mission President on the phone?
Elder PBW: No.
Elder San Diego: The Zone Leaders? I wanted to talk to Elder Bountiful.
Elder PBW: Wasn't the Zone Leaders.
Elder San Diego: So how do you know you're staying here and training a new missionary?
Elder PBW: Personal revelation.
Elder San Diego: Nice try. So did the voice on the phone say where I'm going to be transferred?
Elder PBW: Personal revelation doesn't work that way. I only receive inspiration pertaining to my own contemplations. I wasn't asking about your next area, only mine.
Elder San Diego: I wonder if Elder Bountiful (ZL) thinks the same way; perhaps I should call him.
Elder PBW: You have to go through your DL first, who happens to be me. I'll get a call from Elder Bountiful next week when tranfers get announced. He won't know before then.
Elder San Diego: But yet you seem to know now.
Elder PBW: Let me give you some advice. You don't want to question the source of this personal revelation that I received. It could cause problems and anger some people. And they are not the people you want to cause problems for - you want them on your side. For the time will probably come when you too will be a recipient of this personal revelation, hopefully from yours truly.

[Viking]

I decided the moment--literally the moment--the APs picked me up at the airport in Lisboa that I wanted to be AP.

I had a blast working with my MP, now a Brazilian GA and a great guy

[Dwight Schr-ute]

I fall more and more in love with this board every day. Not bad for 3 days in. All of these threads seem like conversations that I would love to have but can't find anyone that wants to have them.

I split my time with 2 MP's. In my second area, we lived with the AP's. I got along with every one and things looked pretty good. When I got transferred from that area, the AP looked me in the face and said, you're getting put with Elder so and so because you're the only one that will get along with him and the MP needs you to buy him some time. We were together for 3 months before they split us up. The two of us made it work. He wasn't the most obedient, but he baptized. A lot.

Because we got along, I assume that there was some kind of whisper campaign about his "stink" rubbing off on me. I had a Spanish speaking missionary lean into me one mission conference and told me "I never saw your kind on 'Call to Serve.' Whatever the hell that was supposed to mean.

Anyway. The new MP came in about that time and I always felt that he had something against me. I was in "co-companionships" with guys who had issues for awhile and I found myself in my head a lot trying to figure it all out. Then in my second to last wards, met one of my favorite people in my life and combined with some other things, I was able to stop worrying about what everyone else thought. Cliche much? Ended up pulling some DL work and trained my last 2 companions, which were nice votes of confidence, but I didn't need them by that point.

A lesson that has been very helpful in my life. Unfortunately much more so in my church life than in my temporal life. Since that seems to be where I tend to fall under the most judgement.

[SportUTE]

A lesson that has been very helpful in my life. Unfortunately much more so in my church life than in my temporal life. Since that seems to be where I tend to fall under the most judgement.

Very true. I've wanted to move from my current ward many because of this judgemental attitude...

[SoonerCoug]

Wow--at least at least 3 of the 6 APs are no longer true believers.

[Flattop]

Did any mission leader profoundly impact your mission/life?

One of my first zone leaders was what some might call a mullah or a stick-in-the-mud type. But I always had a lot of respect for him because he was a friend when I really needed one.

My trainer, when were together, was a complete and total jerk -- he later experienced a change of heart and we became good friends. Anyway, one day he got into an argument with the zone leader mentioned above and was a real A-hole about it. It seemed natural to side with the zone leader, who ended up being right anyway.

Later on, this zone leader was made a traveling A.P. and we had more interactions for the rest of his mission.

My other first zone leader eventually became an A.P. As the story was told to me, when he first arrived in the mission he was an extremely shy and quiet person. He probably spoke all of five words during his first two months. Then he did some soul searching and became much more out going. His story was an example of the kind of transformation you could experience on a mission.

My second companion, when we were together, suddenly felt the need to find himself. After I transferred out of that area, he got caught driving around town with the district leader in street clothes on a regular work day. He, too, must have experienced a big transformation because he also finished his mission as an A.P. A few years ago I attended my nephew's Eagle Scout court of honor and this guy was giving a motivational talk when it suddenly hit me that this was my old companion.

My third companion was a lot like the zone leader who was shy and quiet when he arrived in the mission. This elder was so shy that he didn't even speak at his farewell -- he had a twin brother who was sharing the farewell. My companion didn't show up to the meeting until the last five minutes. His bishop saw him and asked him to come up and bear his testimony, but he waved him off.

After a few months in the mission, one of his companions impressed on him that his issue was just about intimidation. He couldn't even order a hamburger at a fast food place and it hit him, "You mean that I am allowing a teenager behind the counter intimidate me?" I was his last companion, and by the time he was with me it was clear that he was not intimidated by anything or anyone.

When I went on my mission, I too was very shy and quiet. But in those first four months I was given some great examples and some good friends. I tried to have my own transformation and succeeded to a certain extent. I can still be quiet, and if you met me in person you might be surprised at how quiet I can be. But if I have something to say, I can say it and with some confidence. Quite often, though, I just don't have anything to say. Interacting with people in the web is actually liberating to me because I can pick my moments and I have plenty of time to craft my post.

But I digress. I became a senior companion after 13 months and was never called to leadership -- thank heavens. Instead of calling me into leadership, my MP gave me a couple of really difficult companions. The first was an elder on strict written probation for renting a car and leaving the mission, driving from one end of the state to the other. On some days I tracted him into the ground and on other days I took it easier on him. I wanted to give him a real taste of what staying would mean as he considered whether to stay or go home. He ended up staying.

My next companion was with me in the MTC. He never made senior companion, and by the time we were together he had simply given up. He said he didn't even know why he was on a mission; I was tempted to ask him to figure it out soon because I did know and had work to do. Nothing I did try could motivate him. I believed in keeping the rules and working hard, but I could never be a hard-case about it. I tried everything except being an s.o.b. The worst part was that we were together for three months, which just about drove me crazy. Somewhat ironically, we did have two baptisms.

I always wanted to be a trainer, if only because I wanted the opportunity to do a better job than my trainer did. The closest I came was being a greenie-buster. Each mission has its own lingo, but this one was new to me when my nephew, currently on a mission and approaching his nine month mark (with more baptisms already than I had in 24 months), used it in a recent letter. A greenie-buster is the companion after your trainer, according to my nephew.

Anyway, I was a greenie-buster to my last companion, and we both challenged each other to work harder. In my mission we were supposed to do a minimum of 25 hours of teaching and tracting a week, but you can be a little lazy and still do that. We wanted to stretch ourselves to do more and an extra hour a day would give us five or six hours more a week. After our two months together, as I was going home, he was called to train.

I absolutely loved my mission, even though it was never easy and often supremely difficult. I learned that if we humble ourselves and have faith in Christ, then our weaknesses can become strengths. But most of all I learned the importance of charity.

[Flystripper]

I had shoulder surgery last week so I missed this. I had all the leadership positions. I doubt the percentage of apostate former APs church wide mirrors the makeup of this site.

I liked being an AP. I always said that I didn't want it, but deep down I was happy when I was asked to be an assistant.

I never tell anyone that I was an AP unless they ask. These days I don't tell anyone about my mission unless they ask. Since I have not been to church in a few years and I don't have to explain my knowledge of a cool foreign language, I am rarely asked.

I don't regret serving a mission, but I do regret that I didn't have the opportunity to pick up some useful language skills along the way.

[Goatnapper'96]

I think my MP knew he was making a deal with the devil by making me AP.

I arrived in Portugal able to completely converse with him in Portuguese because I busted my ass to memorize all six discussions in the language prior to getting there + I had about 100 verbs memorized. So, two weeks in, he sent me to Cape Verde (normally reserved for "good" missionaries to finish up as a reward for a solid mission). He did this (as he told me) to send a message to the rest of the mission.

I was a terrible companion to most. But I hated my mission and knew if I worked and minimized my sleep time (I only sleep 5-6/hrs a night anyway), I'd get through the mish faster. My comps--every one--have reported being w/me was the best and worst time on their missions. I worked them into the ground. We had tons of success by the only metric that matters...the numbers. Nossa lei eh batizar.

But my MP knew that I was all numbers and work and nothing more. He has zero amount of surprise at my current status as he remains a good friend.

I think you should change your board name to John Beck. Do you still need ritalin?

[Goatnapper'96]

I loved my mission. I was a ZL. I was pretty lax about the rules initially then got serious. Never really mullah type in that I have never liked trying to force people to do things in the Church. Attempting to replicate business or military leadership at Church misses the point, IMO.

I occassionally commented on the size of British "bangers!"

My wife was a travelling sister, so she actually got higher up the hierarchy than I did.