BIG j

I am LDS and served a two year mission in the Patagonia Argentina area. Although my religion is known for knocking doors and preaching the Book of Mormon and Joseph Smith, I have to say I loved getting to know the people of the Patagonia.
My favorite thing became construction. People were always building and adding onto houses. I had the wonderful experience to help build bathrooms, additional rooms, yards, fences, paint, and move furniture. The best feeling was to see the true gratitude. It really showed me how I should avoid pride as much as I can, and even though it is difficult I can remember my experience and the examples of humility shown to me.
It is truely amazing to see the gospel go to so many parts of the world. Just being a good example, no cursing, drinking, smoking, but being respectful and full of love really shows people the right path.
In a country dominated by Catholisism but then pushing it aside and not paying any importance to church we encouraged people to have faith, follow it and bring the practice of attending church into their lives. This is rather general, but Latins really embraced the Lord so strongly and realized the importance of family.
My two years were spent in San Martin de Los Andes in the Andes mtns, Ushuaia Tierra del Fuego, Catriel in the Pampa, and Comodoro Rivadavia. Many remote locations but beautiful to see God's creation.

eastwest

When I lived in Jakarta, Indonesia I became acquainted with an older (60's, I'd guess) couple who were serving a Mormon "service" mission. They didn't teach anyone about religion but they instead taught pediatric dentistry at a local college and also did service work providing free dental care in the area.

He was a professor of pediatric dentistry at a school in Chicago, if I am not mistaken and he and his wife had taken 18 months off and were paying their own way to do all this.

I found it commendable.

BIG j

[QUOTE=eastwest]They didn't teach anyone about religion but they instead taught pediatric dentistry at a local college and also did service work providing free dental care in the area.QUOTE]

I saw on Oprah the other day a very inspiring story about a lady doctor in Africa providing a new life through surgical operations to women of a particular culture. Those who came needed the operation to survive in their culture or they would be viewed as an outcast. She did this service and provided them with so much more. When she first appeared on Oprah a UCLA med student saw the show and when the doctor came back on the show a little time later, the med student too came and stood up and announced the inspiration she felt by this doctor and was going to make it her "mission" to do the same. I thought it was very touching.

docmonkey

Paid their own way? That is commendable.

zrudeboyz

I do not know about LDS Missionaries, but quite often Protestant Missionaries pay their own way on trips ranging from 1 week to 18 months; however, every mission organization I have worked with has encouraged prospective missionaries to raise support. I never understood this if one was able to pay their own way; but recently have seen the merit in it. When one raises support for their trip, they are recruiting people to pray for their ministry while they are in the mission field in addition to raising financial support (though not always the case).

So "raising support" for missionaries doesn't just mean getting money for your service, it is about have a family of believers that can pray for your ministry and then you can report back to them (good to have accountability here on earth).

On my last stint in Spain, I only raised prayer support (only financial support I received was a combo graduation gift/Spain money from my father's boss).

Skyman65

Here's the "411" on LDS missionaries:

Most LDS missionaries do pay their own way. All "worthy" young men are encouraged to volunteer for two years of service between the ages of 19-26. They are also encouraged to begin at a young age to prepare for their mission, both spiritually and financially. If the young man has not saved enough money by the time he is ready to go, his family is asked to support him. If they are not able to do so, the local Ward (congregation) will ask for donations to support the missionary.

Women can begin serving their missions at age 21.

When young men or women volunteer for service, they submit their application to the church. They do not get to choose where they want to serve. Within a few weeks after submitting the application, they will receive a letter from the president of the church informing them of the location of the mission where they are to serve.

If they are called to a mission where a foreign language is spoken, the missionary will first go to a training center for eight weeks of intensive language training. Those who do not need to learn a foreign language will go to the training center for 2-3 weeks of orientation.

Missionary service is difficult and rewarding work. LDS missionaries spend at least 60-65 hours per week teaching people about our faith and providing humanitarian service in the areas in which they are called to serve.

Retired couples may also volunteer for missionary service. This may be a proselyting mission or a humanitarian service mission. Retired couples also pay their own expenses. Typically they are able to select the location and type of mission they will serve.

Each mission is lead by a mission president. Mission presidents typically range in age from 40-75 and are called to serve for three years. You don't volunteer for this position. You get called by the church. The church does pay basic living expenses for mission presidents and their families.

My father served as a missionary in Louisiana & Mississippi as a young man. My grandparents served in Georgia when in their 80s. I served my mission in Taiwan.

amanuensis

I served an LDS mission in Australia from 1986-1988. It was one of the key events in my life. One of the Church members there was a professional genealogist. In my pre-mission undergraduate classes at BYU, I had taken some genealogy classes, but had not thought seriously about doing that as a living. After meeting her, I changed my major after returning to BYU post-mission and I am now a professional genealogist working for a large corporation offering online subscriptions to genealogical databases. It is a job I absolutely LOVE.

jbn8

Hey this is great...I served in Belem, Brazil (the Amazon region) from 2000-2002. I was not stateside during 9/11. Graduated from BYU and am working on my masters in Marriage and Family Therapy at Auburn Univ., AL.

Irelandflyer

Re the first post on this thread...Latin America is not dominated by the Catholic Church, its predominantly Catholic.

In the interest of respect, let's pay attention to language, particularly when it implies judgements about other peoples' faiths.

amanuensis

The OP did not say that the Catholic Church (per se) dominates Latin America. Instead, he said that it was Catholicism that does so, which I understand to mean the philosophies promulgated by the Roman Catholic Church. I think it is an important distinction.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catholicism

Similarly, in Utah, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints DOES NOT dominate the state, but its philosophies could arguably be thought of as so doing. For example, the Church does not tell the state legislature what to do, but the worldview of the legislature members is nonetheless enormously influenced by the philosophies of the Church. (Personally, I think that is usually a good thing because that worldview is also my worldview. YMMV)

Dovster

Sorry, I just couldn't help combining these two parts of your post and smiling.

Skyman65