Sister Missionaries: The Respect They Deserve

Now That I've sent my little brother on a mission, I'm thinking of all sorts of things that I wish I told him before he left. Some of them, I'm positive He knows or will figure out quickly. Others will probably take a while. This is one of those things that I'm sure he knows, but that I saw a lot of Elders in my own mission never figure out:
Sister Missionaries are the best. That's right, I said it. They rock. During my first few months as a missionary, I unfortunately heard from several Elders that sister missionaries were basically all out there to vacation. They were lazy, and they all thought that they were more worthy of the priesthood than the Elders. First of all, FALSE. Second of all, numbers do not lie. On my BEST weeks and transfers, I could usually count on the sister missionaries in my district or zone doubling my numbers. All of them. Yes, that includes baptisms. Sister missionaries are machines. They know what they teach, they believe it, and they're dang good at teaching it. These courageous and talented young women are out for the right reasons.
Now lets turn the tables for a moment. I didn't meet a single sister missionary on my mission who was a slacker, or who didn't give it her all. But Elders! I don't know how many of them I met that were vacationing, or who were lazy, and some who had no idea why they were out. The sad part was, these were the missionaries who were complaining about sister missionaries.
Now, I am not saying that ALL sister missionaries are flippin awesome. I'm sure there are exceptions. I just never met one. And only a few elders were out for the wrong reasons, or because they had to be, or because they were "'posed to." It will happen, since there are just more Elders than Sisters. And LDS men have more pressure on them to serve a mission- but this isn't an excuse to slack off.
To all you prospective Sister Missionaries, and to all those currently serving or who have since returned, you are, and ought to be held in the highest regard. For those of you who choose to serve because you want to, and because your testimony is burning bright, I commend you, and hold you in the highest regards. I know that you got or will get push-back for wanting to go, or while you're out, or even after you get back. You don't deserve to be looked down upon. You deserve to be honored.
To all you wonderful women who have NOT served missions, you also should be held in the highest regard. If you choose to start a family, or pursue your education and a career, you will likely receive push-back no matter which path you choose. You are no less strong or grounded than those who have the opportunity to serve a mission, and equally deserving of respect.
So to all you prospective Elders, and to all you who are serving or have served, remember this: Sister Missionaries can do it as well as you can. They work hard, they receive inspiration, and they see miracles, and ARE miracles every day. There are people out there that only THEY can reach. And those people are just as common as the people that only YOU can reach. So give Sister Missionaries some respect. They deserve it.

This post can also be found at my blog about LDS feminism.