Val Mansfield: Prepress printing manager. Served the Finland Helsinki Mission, 1976-78

Were you ever invited to engage in un-missionary-like activities?

In my first city in Finland, I was not yet understanding much of the conversation. We were on a city street when a man practically ran towards us from across the street. We thought “golden prospect” and set up an appointment. We pulled out our flip charts and began the first discussion. He pulled out a centerfold of a nude woman and solicited sex. We left quickly. I was both naïve and language-challenged, so I wasn’t aware of why the guy had shown us the picture. Apparently, he said that he knew missionaries engaged in that sort of thing all the time'an idea he got from porn stories or word of mouth.