“Mini Missionaries,” Friend, July 2016, 4–5
Mini Missionaries
What’s it like to be a missionary? Sam and Lindsay are about to find out!
“I want to be a missionary now. I don’t want to wait until I’m grown” (Children’s Songbook, 168).
Early one morning, Sam and Lindsay climbed out of their beds and walked to the kitchen. They saw a sign with bright blue letters hanging over the doorway.
“Mini MTC,” Lindsay read.
“What’s MTC?” Sam asked.
Just then, Mom walked into the kitchen. “Good morning and welcome to the Missionary Training Center!” she said. “You get to be missionaries today!” She handed Lindsay a piece of paper. “Here is your schedule.”
Lindsay read the first line. “Prayer and scripture study.”
Sam and Lindsay got their scriptures and sat with Mom. Sam said a prayer. Then they read Mark 16:15 together. “And [Jesus] said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.”
“What do you think that means?” Mom asked.
“Jesus wants us to share the gospel with everyone,” Lindsay said.
After scripture study Lindsay read the next line on their schedule. “Language study.”
Mom handed them some sticky notes. “Sometimes missionaries learn new languages. Let’s write Spanish words on sticky notes and label things we see.”
Sam looked around the kitchen. “How do you say ‘milk’ in Spanish?”
“Leche,” Mom said. She wrote it on a sticky note and handed it to Sam. Sam stuck it onto the milk carton.
“Leche,” he repeated.
Soon Spanish words dotted the kitchen. For breakfast, they ate panqueques (pancakes) and fresas (strawberries).
Next on their schedule was “Get ready for the day.”
“We should wear missionary clothes!” Sam said. He ran to put on a white shirt and tie, and Lindsay picked out a purple dress.
Sam smiled proudly as Mom pinned a homemade black nametag to his shirt. “Now what?” he asked.
“Missionary service.”
Lindsay frowned. “Who can we serve?”
“Well, Mrs. Mason just had surgery,” Mom said. “How do you think we could serve her?”
“Let’s take her lunch and see what we can do to help,” Sam said.
As they walked to Mrs. Mason’s house, Lindsay saw the drooping flowers in her yard. “I can water her plants!”
“I can feed her cat,” said Sam.
Lindsay and Sam watered the plants and fed the cat while Mom chatted with Mrs. Mason. When they finished, Sam and Lindsay shook Mrs. Mason’s hand.
“Is there anything else we can do?” Lindsay asked.
“Well,” Mrs. Mason said, “I could use some cheering up. Do you know any happy songs?”
Sam and Lindsay sang their favorite Primary song. “I am a child of God, and He has sent me here. …”
When they finished, Sam and Lindsay saw tears in Mrs. Mason’s eyes.
“I’ve never heard that song,” Mrs. Mason said. “It was beautiful. Thank you for everything, especially the song.”
Sam and Lindsay were quiet as they walked home.
“You’ve been real missionaries today,” Mom said. “You prepared yourselves, you served, and you taught the gospel, just like missionaries.”
“When did we teach the gospel?” Sam asked.
“When you sang, you shared your testimony that we are children of God,” Mom said. “I think that’s just what Mrs. Mason needed to hear.”
“Do missionaries always feel this good?” Lindsay said. “If they do, I’m going to be a missionary every day.”