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Training

Before my boys left on missions, I hoped that they would be made Assistants to the President at some point on their missions.  I knew little about missionary life, and that seemed like the pinnacle of success for a missionary.

Fast forward to Ethan serving a mission.  I quickly came to realize that while the assistants certainly get a lot of recognition, they aren't the backbone of a mission.  The glue that holds missionary work together is just that...work...and the missionaries who work the hardest are the most admired in my mind.

For Ethan, training was the best part of the mission, and in fact, the two elders that Ethan trained became his best friends on the mission.  There can be something beautiful between that new trainee and the person who will help him acclimate to his new life.

Today, we received the most surprising news in Mark's email home.  After only being in Russia for two  and a half months (or 12 weeks), he is being made a TRAINER.  As in, he will be training another elder who is arriving in Russia from the Missionary Training Center.  As a reminder, Mark only just arrived in Russia from the MTC on October 2.

Disbelief would be an understatement in regards to our feelings.  At least if we go by Mark's letters, he isn't quite ready for this challenge yet.  In the letter we got this past week, he said that "if I can catch 3-4 words in a sentence, I can usually get the jist of what the person is saying."

However, I know that boy.  He suffers from not believing in himself.  In fact, in his patriarchal blessing, it talks about him letting go of mistakes and such, and moving on.  I have a feeling that he is completely underestimating his abilities.

Today, somebody wrote me about the news, and they said that Mark would be perfect because of three reasons:  he's full of energy, he loves people, and he's willing to do whatever he is asked.

Agreed.

Too, the Lord knows what Mark is capable of.  He knows that Mark can do this.  In my own mind, I think what a lucky elder that trainee is going to be--he's going to have the swagmaster of trainers!  In all honesty, who wouldn't want to be trained by a musical, unicycling, yo-yoing, knitter of a missionary?!

But in the meantime, if you have a moment, please include Mark in your prayers.  Pray for him to believe in himself.  Missions are all about growth, and this will be one of those seasons.

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