Lemmie wrote:I'm sure there's a very rational reason for that last part, and maybe it's because I never experienced a Mormon mission first hand, but I have to tell you, it reads like the start of a Tom Clancy novel! What exactly were you doing down there?!!
I was the travel and statistics secretary in the mission office. When someone arrived in the country, you had to go to various government offices, fill out forms, and pay fees (and often bribes) to get the missionary a "carnet de identidad" (or national ID card that proved they were in the country legally). When they left the country, you had to go through a similar process. When I started that position, my predecessor was heading home, so he gave me a crash course in the entry/exit process, and I took notes. I had long ago forgotten where I had put them, but as I mentioned, the notes were behind my missionary certificate in the little folder with the white Bible. As I recall, we were required to carry it at all times, so I usually kept a small reserve of cash hidden there as well, as I figured if we got robbed, they would take our wallets but not the white Bible. Sure enough, when I found my missionary stuff a few months ago, there was cash right where it should have been.
So, no real Tom Clancy stuff, but as I recount in my book, sometimes it was an adventure getting people in and out of the country.