I was reminded of this event that happened about a year ago and thought I would share it again.
When the Book of Mormon musical came to Broadway and made such of hit, the Washington Post came to our mission to see what "real missionaries do".
We chose 2 of our finest, Elders Gregg Karren and David Liew and allowed the reporters to spend about 3 days accompanying them as they performed their mission work and to be interviewed at great length.
I must say the elders were wonderful. They were bold and confident and friendly and honest and the reporters were very impressed. They tried to get them "confused and ask them difficult questions", but the elders always brought it back to Jesus Christ, His doctrine and the restoration.
We were really proud of them. Although they had hours of interviews and footage, they only wrote this short article, but had a video attached that followed the elders as they went tracting and teaching.
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Posted at 12:34 PM ET, 07/11/2011 TheWashingtonPost
Mormon missionaries in D.C.
By Elizabeth Tenety and Ben de la Cruz
Actor Andrew Rannells (L) performs a scene from 'Book of Mormon' during the American Theatre Wing's 65th annual Tony Awards ceremony in New York, June 12, 2011. REUTERS/Gary Hershorn (GARY HERSHORN - REUTERS)
There’s a lot of talk about Mormon missionaries these days. With two former missionaries running for the White House and a Tony Award-winning broadway musical bearing the name of the Latter-day Saint’s holy scripture, many have asked, ‘ Is this the Year of the Mormon’?
Mormon missionaries hold a special place in the popular imagination, but On Faith wanted to know about what life is really like for the young Latter-day Saints who evangelize in our neighborhood. Post videographer Ben de la Cruz spent some time with Gregg Karren and David Liew, two fresh-faced missionaries, called ‘elders’ in their church, who are working in the greater D.C. area to spread the Mormon gospel.
Karren grew up in a small farming town in Alberta, Canada. In his two years as a missionary in Northern Virginia, Karren has helped convert about 41 people to the Mormon faith. Karren, now 21, says the number is good for the United States, though small compared to Africa and South America where, he says, people are more open to missionaries.
Liew is originally from Malaysia. He was raised Catholic but converted to Mormonism when two missionaries visited his family home at the invitation of his father. He was 12 at the time and converted along with his brother and three sisters. Liew arrived in the United States to train at the seminary in Utah on June 24, 2010. He is the first in his family to go on a mission.
Young men, typically between the ages of 19 and 25, serve two-year missions. Women can volunteer for an 18-month mission starting at the age of 21. Missionaries pay $400 per month for room and board anywhere in the world. To help them focus on their work – proselytizing door-to-door, meeting with prospective converts in their homes, volunteering in the community, among other activities – they have limited contact with family and friends. According to the missionaries, they are only allowed to call their families twice a year – Mother’s Day and Christmas. Once a week, they can exchange e-mail or a letter with their families and friends.
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