Sunday, April 12, 2015

Just Some Short Stories

12 April 2015  Just Some Short Stories

As usual we have been busy!  It is pretty much the same routine every 6 weeks.  So I thought I would just share a few missionary stories.

The Sister who taught Relief Society is a convert.  Her conversion was unique.  As a youth she lived next door to members and there were several members at her school.  She liked them well enough.  She remembers them as being good people, great at school and sports.  But she also remembered them as getting up early, going to Seminary at 6:00 in the morning, going to long church meetings on Sunday and having all kinds of church activities during the week and many service projects.  She was actually grateful she was not a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  Missionaries tracted them out one day and her parents and siblings listened to the lessons taught  She on the other hand had a very contentious attitude toward everything they taught and fought with the missionaries at each meeting.  At one point, the parents told her she did not need to attend anymore lessons .  Her family was baptized.  Years later, one of her parents asked her to give it one more try.  She did it out of respect for her parents.  She said she decided to not open her mouth once to criticize.  She remembers being sick to her stomach, but the spirit in the room was peaceful.  When she was asked if she would be baptized she said yes, which surprised even her.  After she agreed, she said the contentious feelings left and she felt a peace she had never known before.  Today, she and  her husband are the Ward Mission Leaders and love their callings and take great care of the missionaries.  She said this was a testimony to her that the Lord knows each of us personally and does all He can to bring us back to Him. 

One young Sister Missionary in her departing testimony told of the time she and her companion were going door to door to talk about the Book of Mormon.  One person let them in that evening.  Upon first meeting him she disliked him.  He had been drinking, using rough language and talking disrespectfully to them.  She immediately decided that she never wanted to go back.  But, he was agreeable to having them return and teach him more.  They had several lessons with him and she found that she started to look forward to their visits.  Then one day they dropped by and he told them he never wanted to see them again and to not ever come back.  They were disappointed!  What surprised her the most was how much she had grown to truly love this man.  For several weeks she prayed for him and hoped they might hear from him.  They never did and she was soon transferred.  Her testimony was how much Heavenly Father loves each of his children no matter their current circumstance and He will bless us  to love them as He does when we are obedient and pray for  His help.

We have a Senior Couple who were Record Preservationist Missionaries.  They went to Courthouses in Iowa and asked to photograph and digitalize their records.  Most places are happy to let them do it because they leave them a digital copy of everything we do.  It can be quite expensive and we do it for free.  One condition is that they let us combine it with all our records world-wide that we use for genealogy/family history.  Their first area, the people were not very friendly to them.  No one really talked to the much.  They had to remove their Missionary Name Tags as they entered the building.  They were only allowed to go into the building on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays .  Well this couple made friends easily and soon the community  was inviting them to all their social events.  This couple were asked lots of questions about our church.  Soon, the administrators of the courthouse allowed them to have keys to the building so they could go in anytime they wanted.  When they left the area the community threw a big potluck to say good-bye and it was the best attended of their potlucks in a long time.  Their testimony is that they were there to preserve records and also to soften the peoples' hearts towards the Mormons.  So many people  in the Midwest have a negative attitude based on the traditions of their parents, their parents' parents and etc.  The Mormons are sometimes preached against in some churches.  Once they meet us they see that we are (for the most part) nice citizens and neighbors and Christians. 

I still have some memory issues, but I have done things so many times that I am starting to remember things better.   I have this little post from Facebook, where Amy Stringham tagged me that makes me chuckle.  





Well, it is time to get ready for a big day tomorrow!  We are honored to be a part of the work to bring souls unto Christ.  We love you all!

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