Go behind the scenes with female Mormon missionaries

The image of two young men in suits walking down the street may be a common visual of Mormon missionaries, but it's not a complete picture. There is growing population of young female missionaries.

Living that out are four young women who now reside in a plain, humble two-bedroom apartment between Lancaster and Cordon Road in Salem. Two desks dominate their living room. No TV or stereo is in sight. Instead, the home is decorated with a map of Salem marked up with highlighters, pictures that look like they were ripped out of a magazine depicting stories from the Bible and The Book of Mormon, and whiteboards that display goals, prayer reminders and schedules.

The four women, all 19 or 20, have come from Utah, Arizona and as far as the Pacific island of Tonga to bring their message and service to their mission field: Salem.

But if it wasn't for a recent change in rules, they wouldn't be here.

In the fall of 2012, the age minimum was lowered for Mormon missionaries by The Church of Latter-day Saints, allowing women to serve at 19 instead of 21 and men at 18 instead of 19.

"In LDS culture, girls tend to get married earlier than the normal world, so that age gap is huge because a lot of them might be married at 21," said Michael Samuelian, mission president of the Salem region.

Since the age change, female missionaries have more than doubled nationally from 8,100 in 2012 to 19,500 in 2013. Comparable numbers aren't available for the Salem area because the Oregon Salem Mission was formed in July of 2013 after the age adjustment, meaning that only recently have missionaries received callings reading "Oregon Salem Mission." Before that, local Mormon missionaries were part of the Eugene and Portland missions. Today, young women make up about a third of the 50-something missionaries in Salem and Keizer, which join McMinnville, Forest Grove, Monmouth, Lebanon, Bend and Redmond in making up the Oregon Salem Mission.

"A lot more females are going on missions," said Salem sister missionary Courtney Kinneard, 19, of Mesa, Ariz. "More are thinking about it in high school before making plans. A lot of girls will say, 'Oh, I'll go if I don't get married.' It used to be more what the guys did. (Women) used to think, 'I want to marry someone who did a full-time mission.' "

Kinneard and the three sister missionaries she lives with in southeast Salem have been in Salem anywhere from two weeks to six months. Female missionaries serve for 18 months (vs. boys' 24 months), but it's not always in the same place or with the same companions, what The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints calls the pairs of missionaries. Callings from the mission president based on prayer can change. But for now, the women are in Salem.

Callings also don't just shape where missionaries serve but also whom they focus on. Companions Ashley Alvey and Ma'ata Palanite are serving families, while Emily Wirick and Courtney Kinneard are focusing on young adults, including students at Chemeketa Community College.

"College-age students are more open to us and what we're doing," Kinneard said. "They are seeking direction, finding out what they want to do with their lives."

Still, they say, it's not always easy. "Doors slam in our face," Palanite said. "It will happen everywhere we go. They can do that, but we still love them."

It's that love, the sisters say, that drives them. It's why they have each raised $7,200 to be here and why they have set aside 18 months of their life while their peers are going off to college, dating and going into the workforce.

"Sharing the Gospel really does bring a joy," Kinneard said. "There are so many ways to help people, but this truth is the longest lasting gift I can give somebody."

She and her companion, Wirick, said they are amazed how God puts them in the right place at the right time, whether it's meeting someone jogging by or at a brief stop at a gas station or at a seemingly empty Bush's Pasture Park.

She and Wirick recently felt led to visit the latter after dinner one night. The park seemed desolate except for one woman on a bench who looked distraught.

"We explained that we were missionaries, and she burst into tears. She didn't have hope, wondered if she should live any longer, wanted to drown herself. She felt God had turned his back on her, and she had been praying. By the time we left, she was just beaming. It's amazing to know we were prompted to go to the park. ... She said, 'You saved my life and answered my prayer.' It was really, really sweet."

"It's amazing the people you run into that you know aren't coincidences, people that are ready to hear what you have to say," Wirick said. "If the GPS gets us lost (yes, they have a car, as do many male missionaries), we say, 'We're here for a reason,' so we go talk to people."

But being a Mormon missionary is more than just going door to door or talking to people on the street. These women leave their home, move in with strangers and adhere to a strict set of rules, such as modest, nice dress, no TV or movies, only a select few spiritual books, 6:30 a.m. wake up, 10:30 p.m. bedtime, no boyfriends and limited contact with family while being a missionary.

Kinneard said the purpose of the rules is so they can focus on why they are here.

"We forget our lives, ourselves and our needs. We focus on the Lord to receive knowledge to care about people," Palanite said.

The women's schedule is just as planned out: wake up and exercise, get ready, personal studies and companionship studies all before lunch. Afternoons and evenings are spent teaching about their faith, talking to people and doing service work.

"We're here to help people and love and care for people, not just preach the Gospel," Palanite said.

They work morning to night Tuesdays through Sundays with Mondays a preparation day to clean, shop, relax, maybe see a bit of Oregon and the only time they can email families. Calls home are only allowed on Christmas and Mother's Day.

"It's really amazing to spend our time seeing how we can help people all day every day," Kinneard said. "It's showed me how selfish I've been."

The other women agree. They say besides helping others, their missions also are preparing them for life, school, marriage.

"I've learned how to work with somebody, be a team member," Kinneard said. "It's marriage prep. You learn to compromise and to be obedient. ... It sharpens us and helps us overcome our flaws."

The relationships they form with their sister companions will last a lifetime they say. While assigned to that person, they are together constantly. They share a room, go everywhere with that person and even have to be in their presence when making phone calls.

"You're not just out on your own," Alvey said. "It's like walking around with your best friend. It's like we are sisters. We experience the joys and difficulties together and encourage each other."

They talk about how the experience is teaching them to work in unity, get over fears, grow in humility and work hard. And they say they are growing in their faith through studies and watching others grow closer to God.

Palanite, one could say, had the toughest path to Oregon of the four woman. From the island Tonga, which is near Australia, Palanite has had to work hard on her English and travel half way across the world. But the experience with English especially, she said, will help her when she goes to college. She is considering BYU Hawaii and now the University of Oregon.

In fact, all four women want to go to college after their mission, and all of them say they have fallen in love with Oregon and could see living here at some point.

Palanite said she knew she was called to America for a reason. "If I can do this, I can do anything," she said. "If I can endure work for a year and a half, I can do anything."

Heather Rayhorn writes feature stories including faith features. Contact her at hrayhorn@StatesmanJournal.com, (503) 399-6720 or follow her at @hrayhorn.

'Meet the Mormons' film

What: A feature-length documentary film showing the diverse collection of people from around the world who make up the church. Said to not be about doctrine or a proselytizing effort.

When: Oct. 10-11; time TBA

Where: Regal Santiam Stadium 11

Movie trailer:MeetTheMormons.com

Mormon misconceptions

The sister missionaries had the following to say about common things people misunderstand about them and their faith:

Sister missionaries are like nuns. Sister is a term of respect in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It is used with a missionary's last name, such as Sister Brown; first names are not used. In fact, the sister missionaries interviewed were surprised to learn of the other's first names. But they were not raised in a Mormon version of a nunnery. And they only serve as an official missionary for 18 months. Most missionaries are young adults, though some also serve in their senior years.

Mormons discount the Bible. Though it's the Book of Mormon that they carry around and will hand out, the sister missionaries said they read and believe in the Bible, too. They say the two books complement each other, both written by humans influenced by the Holy Ghost. They explain that they believe the Book of Mormon was written at the time of the Bible but is set in the Americas.

Mormons worship Joseph Smith. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was organized in 1830 in New York under the leadership of 24-year-old Joseph Smith, who they believe received spiritual instruction since age 14 and translated the Book of Mormon. Mormons honor him as a prophet but accept Jesus Christ as the head, savior and the son of God.