LadyHanley93 Posted August 27, 2015 Report Share Posted August 27, 2015 (edited) Hello all! I attend a young singles ward out in Arizona. We are blessed to have trio of elders and a pair of sisters in our ward. One of our missonaries who is new and was transferred to our ward has been here for about two weeks now. Granted if I moved from ward to ward every five weeks I would probably be quite as well. This Sister Missonary well Call her Sister V. Sister V is from a foreign country based on doing research on her last name she is either Spanish or Portuguese. Keep in mind English is not her first language and is still learning the language. Learning and speaking english is not something that comes easy to anyone when you are learning it as a second language. She is quiet a lot and she is not confidenct in her English. I was raised Roman Catholic and served a three month misson in Singapore while I was still in the Catholic church. Not knowing the language but others helped me translate. I can't imagine being thousands of miles away in a different country not knowing anyone. I takes a lot of courage for my fellow brothers and sisters who served missons.Is their anything I can do for this sister to make her feel comfortable and welcomed in our ward? Edited August 27, 2015 by LadyHanley93 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted August 27, 2015 Report Share Posted August 27, 2015 Hello all! I attend a young singles ward out in Arizona. We are blessed to have trio of elders and a pair of sisters in our ward. One of our missonaries who is new and was transferred to our ward has been here for about two weeks now. Granted if I moved from ward to ward every five weeks I would probably be quite as well. This Sister Missonary well Call her Sister V. Sister V is from a foreign country based on doing research on her last name she is either Spanish or Portuguese. Keep in mind English is not her first language and is still learning the language. Learning and speaking english is not something that comes easy to anyone when you are learning it as a second language. She is quiet a lot and she is not confidenct in her English. I was raised Roman Catholic and served a three month misson in Singapore while I was still in the Catholic church. Not knowing the language but others helped me translate. I can't imagine being thousands of miles away in a different country not knowing anyone. I takes a lot of courage for my fellow brothers and sisters who served missons.Is their anything I can do for this sister to make her feel comfortable and welcomed in our ward? Google Translate. But yeah, just do the normal things you do with missionaries - invite them to dinner often, give them opportunities to teach, accompany them when they teach, etc. goes a long way to getting a new missionary immersed in the work. I attended the ward in the Philippines and one of the missionaries that got assigned there was from Utah. She didn't have a good command of the language yet and she couldn't get used to the heat (there's no AC in the ward building except for the RS and Primary rooms). To top it off, she got the stomach flu on her 2nd day in the country (common for foreigners drinking the water). But there were many many many people to teach and her companion was Filipino so she got immersed in the work and was very busy. Her companion was awesome - took the time to help her with the language (she spoke very good English too) and guided her on what to eat/drink and what not eat/drink to try to rest her stomach until she acclimates. She also keeps reminding her not to leave her paper fan. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thoughts Posted August 27, 2015 Report Share Posted August 27, 2015 (edited) Get her a hymnbook in her native language and invite her over with you singing in her native language and her singing in english? Feed her the food of her place of origin. Don't overlook her while you are speaking with her companion. Find some investigators who speak her language (which she will then be able to teach in her native language to her heart's content). Help her find community service opportunities to work with others who speak her native language. Edited August 27, 2015 by thoughts Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NightSG Posted August 27, 2015 Report Share Posted August 27, 2015 Feed her. It seems to work well with missionaries of either gender. Maybe a few local area photo postcards, with prepaid international postage if you can manage it. (Though unfortunately there's no longer a lower postcard rate) If she's a bit homesick, helping her out with a good chance to write to friends or extended family she might otherwise not be spending her postage money and writing time on could help a lot. Postcards have the advantage of a built in excuse for not coming up with a page or two worth of writing time and ideas for those folks you just want to say "Hi; I miss you" to. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David13 Posted August 27, 2015 Report Share Posted August 27, 2015 Talk to her.Ask her questions.Ask theological (church) questions.dc Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LadyHanley93 Posted August 28, 2015 Author Report Share Posted August 28, 2015 Get her a hymnbook in her native language and invite her over with you singing in her native language and her singing in english? Feed her the food of her place of origin. Don't overlook her while you are speaking with her companion. Find some investigators who speak her language (which she will then be able to teach in her native language to her heart's content). Help her find community service opportunities to work with others who speak her native language.I found out today that Sister V is from Portugal! I am going to purchase a hymn book that is in Portuguese and invite the sisters over for a Portuguese meal. Gotta start searching for some recipes. I do not know of any Portugal communities. I know we have a huge Brazilian community their Portuguese might be a different from the Portuguese spoken in Portugal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thoughts Posted August 28, 2015 Report Share Posted August 28, 2015 No one's natiive language is the way all others who speak the same one sound. Find some community service opportunities within your brazillian community and invite them to serve with you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cdowis Posted September 4, 2015 Report Share Posted September 4, 2015 Talk to her.Ask her questions.Ask theological (church) questions. "I was always wondering, which Book of Mormon prophet was a polygamist?" That will make her feel welcome. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NightSG Posted September 4, 2015 Report Share Posted September 4, 2015 I found out today that Sister V is from Portugal! Ok; feed her fish and tax her heavily, then. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.