And now to you mature brothers and sisters: we need many, many more senior couples. To the faithful couples now serving or who have served in the past, we thank you for your faith and devotion to the gospel of Jesus Christ. You serve willingly and well and accomplish great good.
To those of you who are not yet to the season of life when you might serve a couples mission, I urge you to prepare now for the day when you and your spouse might do so. As your circumstances allow, as you are eligible for retirement, and as your health permits, make yourselves available to leave home and give full-time missionary service. There are few times in your lives when you will enjoy the sweet spirit and satisfaction that come from giving full-time service together in the work of the Master.
Considering those words, the following announcement isn't surprising, but is definitely welcome:
http://lds.org/church/news/changes-in-senior-missionary-rules?lang=eng
Two potential barriers to serving a mission are 1) the length of the time commitment, and 2) the cost. The church is addressing both of these with the new policies. Couple missionaries can now serve 6, 12, 18, or 23 month missions. In the past, if you were serving in a foreign country, missions were at least 18 months. Now, as long as the couple pays transportation to and from the foreign country, the mission can be as short as 6 months. In addition, there's a cap on housing costs. Couples now will never pay more than $1400 US for rent/utilities. If couples are from outside these regions: United States, Canada, western Europe, Japan, and Australia they will be expected to pay only up to their ability to pay and never more than $1400. If from those regions, they are asked to pay up to $1400.
I look forward to going on missions with Jamie. I'm excited that more couples will be able to go as a result of this change. In addition, more couples will be able to serve wherever most needed rather than where they are able to afford.
Have a great day.
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