The pilgrimage to missionary reunions - an uncharted and unofficial spiritual coming together for former missionaries and their presidents - is a tradition that has been carried out during general conference time for decades.
An excerpt taken from a Deseret News editorial dated March 20, 1913, reads: "Conference is approaching, and arrangements are being made, as usual, for social gatherings of missionaries and Church members from the various conferences. Such reunions have become popular during the last few years. And they deserve encouragement. They give the saints an exceptional opportunity to meet their old friends and neighbors and the missionaries from whose lips they heard the word of life in the Old World, and the memories they call up are always agreeable. They help to make the general conferences pleasant and profitable."LDS Church spokesman Don LeFevre, who served in the Eastern States Mission in the 1950s, called missionary reunions "a wonderful thing."
"It is good to stay in touch . . . to carry on traditions and renew friendships," he said. "As a Church we encourage family reunions and I believe missionary reunions would fall within that same category."
Nearly 900 reunions take place every spring and fall at conference time, each one unique and individual in its scope and focus. Attendance varies, the numbers swell and recede. Faces age and fade and new ones become familiar.
Conference-time missionary reunions celebrate friendships and spiritual growth. They are a look back at what was personally achieved and learned during a time fraught with challenges, self-assessment, individual determination and personal sacrifice.
The missionary moment is like no other experience. The time comes when each one returns home to familiar places and things, but inside, a portion of each is forever retained in the place that they served. The memories of people, places and specific moments in time are forever entrenched.
Following are examples of how to plan and carry out a successful reunion.
Scotland: Local surgeon Dr. Jim Pingree has had bagpipes on his mind since 1965. He has made almost a second career out of organizing and maintaining the list of returned missionaries from Scotland and making sure the annual reunion takes place each April.
Correspondence goes out every year to make certain everyone who served a mission in Scotland is included.
Dr. Pingree, or Elder Pingree as he was known back then, returned from his mission in Scotland in 1965. He applied to finish his hospital residency in Salt Lake City and decided to look up one of the sister missionaries he had served with. He believes that his first date with his wife, Janis, was probably to a Scotland missionary reunion.
Due to their shared experience in Scotland, they were selected as the Scotland missionary reunion gatekeepers. Three decades later - even after the passing of his wife - Brother Pingree is still doing the job.
He believes that consistency has been the reason for success. The reunion in April is set aside for every Scottish missionary. During October, the time is reserved for each individual mission president to conduct a reunion for those who served under him.
Brother Pingree believes the April reunion might be one of the biggest reunions held each year, with more than 1,000 attending. They meet together for a general meeting complete with bagpipers, then divide into individual session with mission presidents.
"You have so much fun, you see different people each time, maybe some that you haven't seen in 30 years," said Brother Pingree. "Meeting together renews the missionary zeal and experiences. It promotes interest and service projects for the mission itself. . . . I feel like I have done this forever, but it has truly been a choice assignment."
Mexican Mission: Twice a year Sister Eileen Drake Harlow issues a newsletter to all the missionaries who served in the Mexican Mission when it encompassed all of Mexico, Guatemala, Belize, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica and Panama. The newsletter, which ran 12 pages this year, brings reunion and personal information to the 440 missionaries who served between 1934-58.
The group meets during spring and fall conference, with a consistent attendance of between 50 and 65 missionaries and their spouses.
"So many of our group have gone on to become General Authorities and mission presidents. Some have served as many as three full time missions and as missionary training center presidents in Guatemala and Mexico," said Sister Harlow. "We'd like to encourage those who served in later years in Mexico to join us."
The group has also been working on the establishment of a $25,000 trust fund to be used to support various projects in Mexico.
Sister Harlow said she stayed involved with the group over the years because of her love for the Mexican people and for her companions. "My companions were truly my sisters. After my mission, I had no family around; my companions were the aunts and uncles to my children."
Samoan Mission: Each year for the past 10 years, Marleen Goodrich assists her husband, Phil Goodrich, in organizing the missionary reunion for those who served in Samoa. Several Samoan wards in the Salt Lake Valley also participate.
During the reunion, speakers share news about members in Samoa and read a letter from the current mission president to the crowd of 300 to 400 former missionaries. After singing and testimonies the group eats dinner - which is used as a fundraising event for charitable projects in Samoa - and participates in a FiaFia (party).
"Everyone gets out and dances, even the little children," said Sister Goodrich. "It is just wonderful."
Zimbabwe Harare Mission: Ken Davidson and his wife served as the missionary office couple during 1995-97 in Zimbabwe and have been organizing reunions since they returned home. This year, they, and at least 80 returned missionaries, will attend a temple session and participate in a dinner and social at the Bountiful Tabernacle on the Friday before general conference.
"The fellowshipping and keeping in contact, . . . the establishment of strong bonds that you develop in the mission field," are among the reasons Brother Davison keeps the reunion going.
He believes it is important to maintain the spiritual relationships that can only be established as missionaries.
The Deseret News, publisher of the Church News, prints a list of reunions that have been submitted to the paper. This year, the list will be printed in Tuesday, Sept. 29, newspaper. The list also will be available on the Deseret News Web site (www.desnews.com). Deadline for submission is Friday, Sept. 25.
