October 17, 2019
It may seem, based on what you see on the blog, that we are really tourists with missionary name badges. Nothing could be further from the truth, let me explain...
There are currently four Area Mental Health Advisers for the whole Europe Area, about 30+ missions. These missions are divided up amongst the four of us and it is our job to work with each Mission President and their wife to do all we can to support the mental health needs of the missionaries serving in their missions.
Currently, I have been assigned the following missions; Norway, Finland, Belgium/Netherlands, England MTC, Cape Verde, Czech/Slovak, Italy Milan, Italy Rome and Adriatic North. What this means is that when a missionary is struggling with anxiety, depression, companion relationships, anger management, psychosomatic symptoms, high stress, perfectionism and a host of other issues, I may be asked to meet with the missionary.
If I had to travel to each mission and meet with each missionary in person, it would be impossible to manage. All of my sessions are either by telephone or in the best case scenario, using WhatsApp so I can at least see them. So far, all speak English.
My office is the second bedroom of our apartment which is fully outfitted with two computer monitors, desks, file cabinets, a printer, etc. There is a special phone to call Cape Verde which is off the coast of Africa.
To give everyone an idea of what a typical day looks like, I'll share my schedule for today and then tomorrow. Today, I started with a missionary in Norway at 7:30 am followed by another Norway missionary at 8:30. I generate two emails for each appointment. Then I login to the computer and update the medical records for each missionary, which adds another 30 minutes for each appointment.
We met today with a General Authority that is in the Area Presidency for Europe, Elder Kopischke who welcomed us to the mission. Later in the afternoon I had a video conference with the Mission President and his wife from the Finland Mission and an AMA (retired MD) that advises on medical issues for that mission. We spoke for an hour trying to coordinate medical/mental health care for missionaries needing help. Each mission has monthly, Mission Health Councils. Following that meeting, I had a 90-minute conference call with headquarters in Salt Lake City and all the Area Mental Health Advisers throughout the world where we received training. Following that, we went to dinner with the other mental health advisers and medical doctors and their wives by train.
Tomorrow, I meet with missionaries from Finland, Croatia, two from Italy, two from Norway and one from the England MTC.
Saturday, we will take the day off and have some fun cruising part of the Rhine River Valley to see cool castles from the river and some Fall colors. We are going with another senior missionary couple who knows the area.
So what you'll see mostly in our blog are pictures of a bunch of Saturdays. I hope this helps you understand what the role of a Area Mental Health Adviser is day-to-day. Occasionally, we work Saturdays and Sundays, but not with as many on the schedule and those are mostly emergencies.
My comments haven't even addressed all the things that Joanne is involved in on top of helping me. She can tell you more about her work. She is also quite busy in the Church Communications Department and as editor of the weekly senior newsletter, the Wegweiser.
I share this information not to complain in any way. We knew what we were signing up for when we volunteered to serve on our mission. This is precisely what I wanted to do. It is so satisfying for me to work with these marvelous young men and women who have given up 18 months to two years of their lives to move to foreign countries and are asked to adapt to new cultures and learn new languages. This is the hardest thing most of them have ever done in their lives, it certainly was for me when I served as a young man in England 46 years ago.
If I can help them overcome adversity, better manage whatever challenges they face so that they can find the success and joy that comes from serving the Savior of the World, then it is all is worth it to me. As they are engaged in spreading a message of peace, love and redemption, I try to help those that stumble along the way get back up and keep going.
So as a missionary myself, I spend almost all my time helping those on the front lines of the battle, to heal and return to the front. Our callings are different but we all have a role in trying our best to prepare the world for the second coming of our Savior Jesus Christ. It is an honor to serve here and I hope this helps the readers of our blog understand more of what I do, besides being an occasional tourist.
It may seem, based on what you see on the blog, that we are really tourists with missionary name badges. Nothing could be further from the truth, let me explain...
There are currently four Area Mental Health Advisers for the whole Europe Area, about 30+ missions. These missions are divided up amongst the four of us and it is our job to work with each Mission President and their wife to do all we can to support the mental health needs of the missionaries serving in their missions.
Currently, I have been assigned the following missions; Norway, Finland, Belgium/Netherlands, England MTC, Cape Verde, Czech/Slovak, Italy Milan, Italy Rome and Adriatic North. What this means is that when a missionary is struggling with anxiety, depression, companion relationships, anger management, psychosomatic symptoms, high stress, perfectionism and a host of other issues, I may be asked to meet with the missionary.
If I had to travel to each mission and meet with each missionary in person, it would be impossible to manage. All of my sessions are either by telephone or in the best case scenario, using WhatsApp so I can at least see them. So far, all speak English.
My office is the second bedroom of our apartment which is fully outfitted with two computer monitors, desks, file cabinets, a printer, etc. There is a special phone to call Cape Verde which is off the coast of Africa.
To give everyone an idea of what a typical day looks like, I'll share my schedule for today and then tomorrow. Today, I started with a missionary in Norway at 7:30 am followed by another Norway missionary at 8:30. I generate two emails for each appointment. Then I login to the computer and update the medical records for each missionary, which adds another 30 minutes for each appointment.
We met today with a General Authority that is in the Area Presidency for Europe, Elder Kopischke who welcomed us to the mission. Later in the afternoon I had a video conference with the Mission President and his wife from the Finland Mission and an AMA (retired MD) that advises on medical issues for that mission. We spoke for an hour trying to coordinate medical/mental health care for missionaries needing help. Each mission has monthly, Mission Health Councils. Following that meeting, I had a 90-minute conference call with headquarters in Salt Lake City and all the Area Mental Health Advisers throughout the world where we received training. Following that, we went to dinner with the other mental health advisers and medical doctors and their wives by train.
Tomorrow, I meet with missionaries from Finland, Croatia, two from Italy, two from Norway and one from the England MTC.
Saturday, we will take the day off and have some fun cruising part of the Rhine River Valley to see cool castles from the river and some Fall colors. We are going with another senior missionary couple who knows the area.
So what you'll see mostly in our blog are pictures of a bunch of Saturdays. I hope this helps you understand what the role of a Area Mental Health Adviser is day-to-day. Occasionally, we work Saturdays and Sundays, but not with as many on the schedule and those are mostly emergencies.
My comments haven't even addressed all the things that Joanne is involved in on top of helping me. She can tell you more about her work. She is also quite busy in the Church Communications Department and as editor of the weekly senior newsletter, the Wegweiser.
I share this information not to complain in any way. We knew what we were signing up for when we volunteered to serve on our mission. This is precisely what I wanted to do. It is so satisfying for me to work with these marvelous young men and women who have given up 18 months to two years of their lives to move to foreign countries and are asked to adapt to new cultures and learn new languages. This is the hardest thing most of them have ever done in their lives, it certainly was for me when I served as a young man in England 46 years ago.
If I can help them overcome adversity, better manage whatever challenges they face so that they can find the success and joy that comes from serving the Savior of the World, then it is all is worth it to me. As they are engaged in spreading a message of peace, love and redemption, I try to help those that stumble along the way get back up and keep going.
So as a missionary myself, I spend almost all my time helping those on the front lines of the battle, to heal and return to the front. Our callings are different but we all have a role in trying our best to prepare the world for the second coming of our Savior Jesus Christ. It is an honor to serve here and I hope this helps the readers of our blog understand more of what I do, besides being an occasional tourist.
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