Be Careful Out There

So, I’m in the temple, and a guy I don’t really know brings a young man up to me, and says, “this young man is going on a mission to London--you’ll have to give him some tips!’

My first thought is “Oh my poor child, they will eat you alive,” just because I think London would be a TOUGH mission. But I couldn’t say that, and unfortunately my actual response wasn’t more helpful: “Tips? Well, I don’t suppose giving you a list of the best nightclubs is such a good idea, ha ha.” (must...not...make...flippant remarks...to baby missionaries...in the temple).

So then the guy sort of gave me prompts, like “I hear the Indian food in London is amazing,” and I’d say “yes, definitely, eat Indian food. Yummy.” But the trouble is, I'm a) in the temple and not really in tourist information centre mode, and b) I’m a bit vague on what missionaries are allowed and are not allowed to do, other than be alone with women (I remember in Italy one of the missionaries teaching Sunday school walked out of the room for a minute and the other one got all panicky--I thought for a second he must be really shy, and then realised...).

So of course all the things that come to mind involve pubs (can they go in pubs? Americans sometimes get confused about what pubs are. I remember later they CAN go in pubs), or musical theatre (can they go to the theatre?), or visiting other spots in Britain (can they travel?) and wanting to warn him about going out late at night in Soho, or the East End, or...(or actually anywhere, as he looks about my niece’s age), or remind him not to read the Sun. It is only afterwards that I remember nice safe, touristy and interesting things like the Tower of London and the British Museum, and the National Gallery (except they have nudes--can they look upon nudes? Actually, if they can’t they’re out of luck because they're bound to run into a starkers statue at some point).

I am so full of admiration for these young men and women who have the guts to give up their time and youthful frivolities to go wherever they’re sent to share their faith, believing that faith is something pretty exciting and important that other people might want to hear about. Especially when you know they are highly likely to be mocked or disrespected or door-slammed in the process.

I hope my people are nice to him. I hope someone out there is looking for what he has to share. I hope he finds his own way to the British Museum.