The following information was sent to us April 15, 1996 from President Jeppson. We paraphrased some of the context to fit into this section.
The main focus for Sister Jeppson and I is strengthening the productivity of this mission, and strengthening our individual missionaries in each of our three years, has been as follows:
First Year
Improve missionary obedience to all aspects of the guidelines within
the Missionary Handbook.Strengthen the Christ-like love and unity, that we felt this mission
needed.Teach our missionaries to "lock their hearts" to this work.Implement leadership training and leadership splits, and a very regular
training cycle with much more emphasis on individual training of
missionaries, in order to enhance the success of baptisms and reactivation,
across every single ward and branch throughout the seven stakes.Implement a four-week interview cycle that has allowed us to get very
close to and thoroughly know each individual missionary on a personal
confidential basis.Preserve the wonderful strength and work ethics that the Mission was
enjoying when President and Sister Winstanley left in mid 1993.Raise the mission standards, relative to the number of discussions
taught and broaden the focus to include the entire balanced-effort with
new converts, lost sheep and reclaiming less-active members of the Church.Continuing to work on, and improve, obedience and spirituality, and
stress positive attitude and hard work on the part of all missionaries.Implemented a Mission standard where every single missionary
companionship would achieve 140 Golden Questions per week, inviting people, whom they meet in the streets, to hear the Gospel.Implemented a standard of having all six standard discussions memorized
and 140 scriptures, underpinning those discussions memorized, supported by
seven days a week of Book of Mormon individual study, and seven days a
week of Gospel and skill study, by each companion. During Year Two, we saw
the number of discussions continually increase, and at the same time, the
love and unity increase throughout the mission. Also, the individual
problems and challenges the missionaries were facing, were decreasing
rather dramatically.Increase the standard throughout the Mission to ten discussions per
companionship per week. For the regular companions (which would include
no fewer than three of the ten discussions consisting of discussions two
to six) and asking all District Leaders and Zone Leaders to achieve 50
discussions in their companionships per week (five of which were to be
second through sixth discussions).We also raised the Mission's goal to achieving at least 80 convert
baptisms each month and seating no fewer than 200 Less-actives in Church
every single Sacrament meeting, Sunday.The missionaries that are currently serving this mission frequently say they feel there has never been a better time to enter the England Birmingham Mission. There is a terrific spirit in this Mission at present, and virtually every single new missionary is able to achieve a positive baptism experience in the first two or three months with their trainer. Many of the tenured missionaries will often say they've never seen a better time for new missionaries to come into this mission field, because of the work ethic, spirituality, and Christ-like unity, they currently feel here.
To those that we have served with, we send our love and gratitude for our eternal friendship. This has been a wonderful learning and growing experience for Sister Jeppson and myself. It's been particularly satisfying to see Sister Jeppson grow, as she has continued to create wonderful poetry, music (in addition to the mission "Harvest Song", that she wrote during her first year), and her unbelievable capacity to manage her time without any additional domestic help or support. She continues to present a wonderful message and a personally-baked treat at every single interview session that I have with the missionaries. She has set a pretty high standard as a "Mission Mom" and our unity, love, and devotion for each other has never been higher. It's been unbelievable to see Sister Jeppson develop her piano playing skills to the point where she frequently accompanies on the piano at meetings, and also has played and sung solo music numbers at baptismal meetings and other similar events.
Sister Jeppson and I are deeply gratified with the cards and letters (including wedding announcements) that continually flow to us from our returned missionaries. ALready, we have become "Mission Grandparents", many times, as a result of our missionaries moving right ahead with their Eternal marriages and commencing their families, while taking on challenging educational and early-career responsibilties. Words are simply inadequate to describe the love and devotion we have to each and every missionary we've served with, here in the England Birmingham Mission.
One of the wonderful things about the England Birmingham Mission, during 1993-1996, is the variety of the work that's been done here. As many of you know, we've had 30-50 adults working on the 1881 Census Project for the first two and a half years of our mission. That project, which concluded in October 1995, with a net total of 31,400,000 names put into the Family History files of the Church, together with a wonderfully organized, hard copy and computerized file copy of the results, returned to the people of Britain. The missionaries that have served in that phase of work, have done a work that is every bit as precious and important as those that have been involved in proselyting.
We've also continued to be blessed with wonderful missionaries that have manned the Family History Center, which is attached to our office. These have been wonderful hard-working missionaries, that have interfaced with the proselyting missionaries in many, many ways, in wonderful collaboration and mutual support. Of interest, is the fact that this Family History Center is being phased out, as a regional center at the end of our mission, in deference to the Church policy to maintain a single Family History Library, within each stake unit.
We've also been blessed with wonderful and remarkable missionaries, doing specialty work in the Area offices at Solihull, including Welfare, Public Relations, and Lost Sheep Memberships Record work. We've also had missionaries (two or three couple companions) assigned to the large farm that has been purchased recently in the Huntingdon area of our mission. These couples have dedicated their efforts to upgrading forty to fifty homes and outbuildings on these properties and have done a beautiful job.
Our journals are filled relative to important historical and miraculous events, that have occurred here in the mission field. Time simply doesn't permit the opportunity to share that information, which is the most precious of all. Sister Jeppson and I will return to our newly-built home in Toquervill, Utah (which we were able to spend about 12 nights on weekends, prior to coming on our mission), during the winter months, and hopefully sometime in the new home that we built on the ranch (14 miles east of Ashton, Idaho, along the Fall River, coming out of Yellowstone Park) during the summer months. With much Genealogy work to do, six new grandchildren born while we've been in England and additional, wonderful personal plans, we expect to be quite busy and fulfilled, upon our return.
Love,
David H. Jeppson
President of the ENGLAND BIRMINGHAM MISSION
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