If you are an elderly couple with no more children at home, you may be considering serving a mission. You may be worried about what you will do when you leave home, or you may be worried about leaving your children and grandchildren behind. Many senior missionaries have the opportunity to serve from home. If you are nervous about serving outside of the United States, you can simply state that on your application.
Senior missionaries completely support themselves while on their missions. When you are filling out the application for your mission you will be asked to list the monthly living expense that you can afford during your mission. You will be assigned to a mission that you can afford to live and serve in.
Senior missionaries also have more flexibility in the amount of time that they choose to serve. If you are serving in the United States you can serve twelve months, eighteen months or twenty-three months. If you serve outside of the United States you can serve for eighteen months or twenty-three months. This allows greater flexibility when you are planning your mission.
Most senior missionaries will serve for at least thirty-two hours a week, while they are serving as missionaries. If this seems too much to you, you can choose to serve a part-time mission from home. Part-time missionaries serve between eight and thirty-two hours a week.
Most senior missionaries are service missionaries. You can list areas that you would prefer to serve, but there is not guarantee that you would be assigned to serve in the area. You can serve humanitarian missions, church education missions, office missions (you would perform office work such as auditing, accounting or data entry), temple missions, tour guide missions, and family history library missions.
You can find out more about these opportunities and find one that suits you. A mission is a personal choice for each senior couple. I know that senior missionaries are blessed for their service. Many enjoy their missions so much that they opt to go on a second one. If you decide to serve a mission, you should talk to your bishop who will guide you through the application process.