Who is a missionary? According to the 1828 Noah Webster's Dictionary a "missionary" is one who "propagates religion," which means, someone who cultivates and carries from place to place, by word and example, the word of God. Thus, a parent, a teacher, a colleague, as well as those serving as a service missionary, a temple missionary, a historic site missionary, or a missionary in the proselyting field are all missionaries. Really, any person striving to make and keep covenants is a missionary by their very example of word and deed.
Unfortunately, too many sister missionaries serving at the Mormon Battalion Historic Site find themselves battling the feeling that they aren't real missionaries. These thoughts creep in when the historic site mission leaders pictures are not on their mission portals. The thoughts are nurtured when they go to the MTC and the Historic Site Mission Leaders are not up on the wall for sisters to point at and say there are my historic site mission leaders. The feeling that they don't start their real mission until they are in the proselyting field continues when they receive welcoming and preparing letters from their future proselyting fields that don't acknowledge they have been out in the field serving already. But I think the hardest one is when people say to a historic site sister missionary, "So, when do you go on your real mission?" or "Where is your real mission going to be?"
Sister Chan, from Hong Kong, came to the MBHS in late November 2023 and left us in mid May to finish her missionary service in the Hawaii Laie Mission. During the six months she was with us she gave 304 tours with people from 20 different states and 21 different countries. She gave away 54 copies of the Book of Mormon to visitors who showed an interest in having a copy. Thirty-seven of those were in Chinese, 11 in English, 2 in Thai, 1 in French, and 1 in Vietnamese. Sister Chan was and still is an amazing missionary!
Sister Logo-Vaelua, from American Samoa, came the same time as Sister Chan and is now serving in the California Anaheim Mission. She did not share with me how many copies of the Book of Mormon she gave away to interested people, but she did share that she gave 270 tours to 1,910 individuals from 46 different states and 39 different countries. Anaheim is receiving a powerhouse of a missionary!
Sister Christensen, from Bluffdale, Utah, leaves to serve in the Hawaii Honolulu mission the end of June. I asked her to share her Battalion stats with me last week. Up until May 30th she had given 220 tours to 1,705 individuals from 32 different states and 31 different countries. This quiet and humble sister will impact people in Honolulu for good.
Now as much as these numbers are impressive and fun to recite, we know that "The real success is not measured on a chart--it is [what is etched in a missionary's] heart and in the hearts of those whose hearts have been eternally changed because of [her]." ("To a Missionary Son," Elder Neuenschander, 1991)
Not only do the sisters at the Mormon Battalion Historic Site serve a 4-5 hour shift at the Battalion seven days a weeks they also give service in the community, study their scriptures and PMG, attend meetings, and open their mouths in teaching and testifying like all other missionaries. Before every tour they stop and pray and often continue a prayer in their hearts throughout their tours. I have heard them excitingly and often reverently sharing an experience they had with an individual, friends, or family where they felt the undeniable guidance from the Spirit to say or not say certain things. Of course that doesn't happen everyday for every sister. But everyday someone is experiencing it in some way. When a tourist asks questions or shows interest they are able to respond, and they feel like a "real" missionary engaging in a gospel conversation. Naturally, they absolutely relish in the spirit of it!
It isn't easy serving mainly in one rather small building and saying the same historical story over and over every day for six months, so I think the Lord sends us sisters He knows can handle the challenge and learn from it too. I think one of the greatest things they learn is to trust the Lord (Proverbs 3:5-6) He knows them and these people. They are in His hands. When they walk in the door for a tour, He knows their hearts, their needs, their dreams, their hopes. And He knows how an experience at the MBHS can help them. God is working through these young women to help gather Israel. They are most certainly "real missionaries"!
(The pictures below are of Sister Logo-Vaelua, Sister Chan, Sister Christensen, Sister Hernandez, and Sister Pope. All six were are departing sisters in May. The last picture is (L/R) Sister Polanco, Sister Azpeitia, and Sister Christensen.)
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