Every day on Temple Square you will see pairs of young Sister Missionaries giving tours, giving directions, just being friendly. Each one has a miniature flag of her country attached to her missionary name tag so visitors can tell where she is from. They come here from all over the world and among them, speak 50 different languages.
One day a family of five stopped me to ask for a tour. Only the father spoke English and it was heavily accented. I couldn’t even understand where they were from. In desperation, I stopped several pairs of young Sisters but they were all on their way somewhere and could not help. Oh no! What to do? As we continued on down the sidewalk, suddenly the parents began speaking excitedly in their native tongue. I turned to see another pair of Sisters, one of whom spoke the same language—Farsi. They had recognized her flag.
I have had the opportunity of chatting with girls from many countries: Japan, Brazil, Mexico, Spain, and India, to name a few. I was shocked to speak with one from China recently. She said she joined the Church while in Cambodia. Amazing! These faithful young Latter-day Saint women—180 strong—are called to serve on Temple Square from more than 40 different countries across the world. Sometime during their 18 month mission each one will go “outbound” to a regular mission somewhere in the United States. This not only broadens their experience, but adds depth to the mission they are visiting.
These young women will go back home at the end of their missions. They will add strength and much love to the Church in their home countries and states after their year and a half of greeting the world on Temple Square.
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