Borneo: Adventure for senior missionaries
E-mail story
It's easy. Send a link to the story you were just reading to a friend. Just fill out the form on this page and we'll send it along.
Your name and e-mail address are transmitted to the recipient. Otherwise, it is considered private information; see Privacy policy.
MIRI, BORNEO
The very name evokes visions of mystery and the tropical unknown.
Eight time zones and 10,000 miles from Salt Lake City, Borneo is anchored in the South China Sea. A land of lush tropical rain forests, waterfalls and great rivers, it is also rich and productive in Church converts.
Sabah and Sarawak, major areas within Malaysian Borneo, are home to the indigenous tribes of Borneo. These peoples, relatively recently emerged from the interior jungles, have found great joy in the teachings of the gospel.
The Church was introduced to the island of Borneo in 1998. Since then, the number of Church members has risen quickly.
Who has prepared this people for this day? Scores of missionaries over the past dozen years. Young elders and sisters, and many senior couples, have labored, taught, served and testified.
"This is one of the latter-day frontiers of the Church, responding in great numbers to the message of Jesus Christ," said Singapore Mission President Terrence Clark. "It can be likened to missionary experiences of the early days of the Church in England and Europe."
The Iban people are the largest and best-known ethnic group in Borneo.
The indigenous tribal people have lived in Borneo for generations without a knowledge of Jesus Christ. Fierce warriors, they were widely feared in the past for their headhunting exploits. That practice has long been abandoned, and they are a peaceful and kind people.
Serving in this land of mystery and intrigue are about 40 young elders and sisters along with around 12 senior couples.
Prior to their arrival, recent senior couples had never been to Borneo. Some had never traveled outside the United States. The senior missionaries' average age is 69. The oldest is 76. What are they doing in Borneo? What is it like for them? Would they do it again? Here, some share their feelings about their mission call.
Elder Barry Douglas and Sister Linda Douglas:
"Every day when we get up we say, 'What kind of an adventure will we have today?' Eighteen months seemed like a long time, but time is fast flying by. We are still anticipating, what kind of an adventure will we have tomorrow?"
Elder Russell Morrey and Sister Janell Morrey:
"We have walked to members' and investigators' homes over rickety bridges built on stilts above the ocean water. We sing, 'I'll Go Where You Want Me to Go' every step of the way. We are singing and praying that the bridge won't collapse! We have been caught in rainstorms that completely drenched our clothes and filled our shoes in a matter of seconds. But where else in the world could you go and enjoy such beautiful scenery, unusual cloud formations and indescribable sunsets?"
Senior missionaries answered the question: What have you done on this mission that you never dreamed you would do? These are the responses from the senior couples:
Eat wild boar and python.
Walk on the authentic jungle floor, dwarfed by the giant Tapung trees.
Ride an elephant.
Participate in the most important and oldest Iban celebration — Gawai.
Have a picture taken with a snake around my neck.
Eat chicken feet.
See the stunning sunset on the South China Sea.
Teach people whose ancestors were "head hunters" the gospel.
Watch sisters use giant cleavers as deftly as a paring knife.
All seniors admitted to concerns of a wide variety prior to their call, none of them among those listed above. Instead, their concerns involved family, grandchildren, health, finances and proselytizing. Each found answers as concerns faded into the rewards of service.
"We would not trade any of our experiences for any amount of money. We have been blessed to labor among these choice people whom we learned to love the moment that we met them," said Elder and Sister Morrey.
Elder Larry Hansen and Sister Lillian Hansen said that they highly recommend a mission to all who can possibly go. "Expense is not an excuse not to go. It has cost us less than if we had lived at home. We have used our Social Security and have not even touched our retirement funds. We have more money in the bank now than when we left home. That doesn't sound like much of a sacrifice, does it?"
Collectively, the senior missionaries in the Singapore Mission count more than 220 grandchildren and 16 great-grandchildren.
Among the health issues that senior couples have had or are dealing with are diabetes, triple bypass heart surgery, anxiety disorder, high blood pressure, back surgery, double knee replacement and acute arthritis. Yet most would assure you that their health has not been a problem and that, in some cases, it has actually improved.
Of greater concern to the senior couples than questions of finance and health is, "What if I had not come?"
Each bears testimony that they cannot imagine having missed this opportunity and experience of a lifetime.
"When I return home from my mission, I won't ever have to sing, 'A Little White Duck Swimming in the Water' again," said Sister Norma Smith, who is serving with her husband, Elder Richard Smith. "However, I will remember what the song meant to so many good, humble people who put aside things such as eating lunch to afford the bus fare, traveling an hour each way, to come to English class. I can never say, 'I just taught English,' for I realize that I was helping in a small way to change lives, increase horizons and self worth. I was helping to give others a true knowledge of God and what He really wants them to be."
Senior couples have baked cakes and taught sisters to sew, made costumes, danced and sang, taught piano and repaired bikes. They have trained branch presidencies, auxiliary leaders and music directors, visited converts as well as members both active and less active, taught lessons, planned programs, comforted the sick and dying, taught children and adults to read, comforted, rescued and nourished.
All have discovered that there is no perfect set of qualifications for a senior missionary. The essential ones are to have a sure testimony of Jesus Christ and His Atonement and a willingness to love and to serve the people. What other talents and experiences they brought with them were customized with the aid of the Holy Ghost to bless many lives.
