Unsolicited Mission Story - Sylvia

After I spent a whopping 12 days in the MTC, I was greeted by my mission president, President Lewis, and his wife.  Shortly thereafter, I was introduced to my trainer, Elder Kafton.  He was a good guy, but he had never been a senior companion and the Elder who was in the area previously hadn't left it in the best of shape.  Let's just say that my first few days in the area were interesting as both Elder Kafton and I were struggling to acclimate to the change that had taken place in our lives.

Luckily, the Lord plants some tender mercies in the lives of his children who seek to serve him.  On like my 6th day in California, we had a dinner appointment with two of the members of our ward who were kind of on the fringe and who were renting a house together.  Unknown to us was that they actually had a third roommate named Sylvia.  She was the kind of person who had avoided missionaries up to that point and had enjoyed activities forbidden by the church.  Nevertheless, she had been prepared to receive the message.

Despite our weaknesses, when Elder Kafton and I walked in, we brought the Spirit, and helped Sylvia, in that moment, to realize that that's what she wanted in her life.  We immediately began to teach her and she began to learn of and to accept the principles and teachings of the gospel.

Possibly the best part of Sylvia's conversion experience was the miracle(s) that attended her as she began to learn and grow.  Sylvia asked God to show her in a way that she couldn't misunderstand that this was true and that this is what He wanted for her.  The result was that the Psoriasis that Sylvia had had for years was miraculously cured within just a couple days.  She herself said that there was nothing short of the power of God that could account for such a complete and rapid recovery of a condition that had persisted for so long.  She had had her sign.

Unfortunately, Sylvia's story didn't have the fairy tale ending of Elder Kafton and I baptizing her before the backdrop of a golden sunset.  Though she made fantastic strides and learned so much about the gospel, she ended up falling away to a certain degree and going back to the lifestyle that she had previously embraced.

However, I didn't say that the story didn't have a happy ending.  About a year after I first met Sylvia, I was transferred back to the same zone where I had begun my mission, right next to my first area.  Literally the week before I was transferred back into that zone, Sylvia was baptized after being re-taught by Elder Johnson and Elder Lamositele.  Inasmuch as I had just been transferred back into the zone, and had just been assigned to be a district leader, I was able to meet with Sylvia and teach her some of the new member lessons on exchanges and see how she had come full circle.  It was fantastic to see the fruits of my labors from more than a year earlier.

Sylvia and me a few months after she was baptized.  On a side note, Sylvia's dog, Bella, and I got along fantastically.  When I came back and starting teaching Sylvia again, Bella totally remembered me.  She's actually licking my thumb in this picture.  :)

My favorite part of the story is that, during her second conversion experience, Sylvia experienced a similar miracle as the first time.  The reappeared Psoriasis disappeared again after her reconversion, but it was much slower than it had been the first time around.  The Lord will always hear our cries, and His hand is always outstretched toward us, but depending on the choices we make, sometimes He's slow to hear us.  Despite the delay in her conversion process, I rejoice that Sylvia had the opportunity to be baptized and that I had the opportunity to teach her along the way.  There's nothing quite like it.  :)

Unsolicited Mission Story - 12/4/13

In my first area, there was a member family that my concurrent companion, Elder Stevens, and I had been planning to see for a couple weeks.  We'd frequently plan them in, but it just hadn't happened for a couple weeks.  As far as we could tell, they were doing alright and didn't desperately need our help, but we thought it would be nice to visit and get to know them/uplift and encourage them.

On the evening of the 4th, we were in the area and figured that that would be about as good a time to stop by as any.  When we knocked on the door, it was quickly opened and they let us in and were a little blown away.  Apparently, just a few minutes earlier, they'd been talking about calling the missionaries to see if they could get a blessing for the father of the family.  He'd been feeling significantly ill and he was the only Melchizedek Priesthood holder in his family.  Elder Stevens and I busted out the consecrated oil and anointed and blessed that man in the name of Christ on the spot.

We were talking with the whole family for a few minutes afterward when the sister-in-law, who'd witnessed it all, needed to make her exit.  As she was walking out of the house, she turned to the two of us and said, "Thanks for listening to the Spirit."

Throughout my mission, I was often astounded by the intricacy of God's work.  He prompted a pair of missionaries to think about this particular family two weeks ahead of time, knowing that they really wouldn't be able to visit them in the next couple weeks, so that those missionaries would be thinking of that family right in the moment that they needed a pair of worthy priesthood holders to administer to the patriarch of the family.  And to think that things like that happen at least millions of times each day, all over the world, is mind-boggling.  God truly loves his children.