Training Wheels

So the last couple weeks I've had the awesome privilege of becoming a trainer to a greenie missionary. If that doesn't qualify me for greenie graduation I don't know what does.

I was a little apprehensive when I received a phone call from President Andersen that I was leaving my area to go whitewash with a greenie. Greenies by definition are naive and judgmental, and I was already fairly burned out from my last companion. I wasn't looking forward to the constant scrutiny and questions. Basically I didn't want some tenderfoot telling me I was a crappy missionary.

Thankfully all my worst fears didn't come true and President Anderson hooked up me with a young man named Austin Heaps, from Orem, Utah. Heaps and I have hit it off amazingly well and everyday is an absolute blast. I don't think I would be able to knock doors and talk to ornery Ukrainians all day if it wasn't for his unquenchable optimism and hilarious comments. We just roll on the same wavelength, and we can joke with each other basically every minute of the day.

And I think I've figured out the perfect formula for raising a greenie. First you need to love them, which includes keeping them well fed and flooding them with confidence. It also includes listening to them, because they are quite wise and innocent and haven't been corrupted or beaten down by the unpleasantries of mission life and the bad habits of other missionaries. They really do have all the answers, even if they don't know how to order in Russian and McDonalds. Second you need to work them to death so they are exhausted every single night. And third, you need to give them every possible headstart you wish your trainer had bestowed on you, and that means help them learn the language.

All in all I love training, I love Elder Heaps and I love my mission.