Stories: Keep a Journal - Mike Nicholes
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| Wayne: I sometimes feel 'on the fringe' of your wonderfully organized efforts, but I did serve for one month, on my way to Korea, with Merle Hult, in Tokyo West Branch. I wanted to share something with you that applies to you well timed admonition:
As a missionary, my journal was, unfortunately, too often a B******G board that I only wrote in when I had an axe to grind; there were some nuggets of experiences, but not enough. When President Hinckley set me apart to go to the Korea Seoul Mission in 1991 (and I remember the words like they were tatooed on my arm), he commanded me; not counciled me, mind you, he commanded me to keep a journal. Here is what he said regarding the journal; "write in it daily; write what YOU see, what YOU think and what YOUR impressions were of the day AND do not pander to your posterity". I thought that last phrase was a bit strange, maybe even harsh, but I understand it now more than I did then. I did exactly that. I bought an early laptop from a starving student in the LDS branch on our first visit to Tokyo for the mission presidents seminar. I lost a couple of days out of sheer ignorance about how the computer worked but I've forgiven myself for that.
Every mission president had left their journal, or a copy of it, in the Mission office and I was able to read what had happened to them. I was most anxious to read what Gail Carr had to say about me as a missionary for I was somewhat trying to him at times; he was kind and the condemnation I expected was not there. One of the past presidents wrote only ten pages, mine, at the time was the largest. On one of my visits to Korea last year I noticed the journals were still in the same place on the shelf in the president's office, with a couple added, and didn't look like they had been touched since 1994.
When I got home my son had one of our most trusted secretaries, edit the thing for spelling and grammar only and I had 50 of them printed in soft cover (that had pictures of Korea on it) for future gifts to missionaries after they were married and over 30. some of the experiences required a bit of maturity to understand and some of them included the missionaries, except for the highly confidential entries (in a different record). I had ten hard bound, one for each of our seven children, one the church asked for, and two stayed in our home.
Lynne and I often take it with us on road trips and read aloud from it to each other. It is amazing how much we forget until we read it; and then we are taken back to the day and time the various experiences happened. I will add my vote "to keep a journal". Every one of the missionaries I have sent out in the past two and a half years have had to 'covenant' with me that they would keep a journal. In this day of email letters to parents I told the parents to save a printed copy and an electronic copy, just in case their son or daughter didn't say the same thing in the letters as in the journal. That has already paid off in one case.
Thanks for your timely advice and thanks for keeping me in the loop; although I don't know what the Japanese part of the loop really looks like; the countries were so separate and apart.
Mike Nicholes
Northern Far East Mission 1961-1963
Korea Seoul Mission 1991-1994
Mike Nicholes Capital Management Inc.
9721 SE Clatsop St
Portland, OR 97266
Office 503-788-9973; Cell 503-705-7490
Fax: 503-788-9974
miknik@aol.com and www.partsconsulting.com |
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