Guest Author - Terrie Lynn Bittner

Is your daughter preparing for a mission? A book by a returned sister missionary can help her make her decisions and prepare for this spiritually rewarding time.

Book: The Errand of Angels
Author: Amy J. Finnegan
Publisher: Spring Creek

Women don’t have the same mandate for missionary service as do men, so, often the decision to serve is more complicated. Sister Finnegan’s book guides young women through the process of making their decision. She shows them how to recognize whether the decision is in harmony with God’s plans for her and prepare for successful service. The book is based on the results of interviews with more than seventy returned missionaries and mission presidents.

As the author walks a young woman through the missionary preparation stages, each chapter ends with suggestions for study or activities that help the prospective missionary prepare. She is asked, for example, to record favorite testimony-building scriptures, or to record her testimony in her journal.

The chapter on the missionary training center points out that never again will the prospective missionary find herself in a place where there are no worldly influences of any kind for several weeks, and that a missionary should take advantage of the opportunity to enjoy this privilege. The author also shares the experiences of sisters coping with homesickness, the transition to missionary, and the struggles to learn a language. Positive, manageable suggestions emerging from the experiences of the sisters interviewed will help your missionary approach her time in the MTC with confidence.

The book continues with lessons on learning to love and work with your mission president and trainer, and adapting to your first location, with the inevitable culture shock. In addition, the author discusses mission rules and what to do if your companion is not obedient. Additional chapters explain how to work with elders, find people to teach, teach the gospel, and work with the members. Finally, the book guides the sisters through the transition back home and into the secular world.

The Errand of Angels is a surprisingly honest and practical guide to missionary work. The author doesn’t glamorize the work, nor does she sugar-coat the challenges. It’s entirely encouraging and positive while helping young single adult women understand the realities of a unique life experience.

The book has three stated purposes: to help single sisters contemplating a mission to know how to make the choice, to provide a realistic understanding of what missionary work will be like, and to help sisters to serve with their whole heart. I feel this book succeeds entirely in all three goals, and is a valuable resource to young women, whether or not they eventually serve full-time missions.