"When I first moved back out to school, it felt like moving to a new area. I continued to pray for missionary experiences daily. Often times my experiences were seemed so quick and simple that I didn't recognize them as missionary experiences at all. I prayed to be able to share things from my personal study with those around me. Somehow, it always happened. Whether it was through a text message, an email, or with a class mate. Nothing seemingly huge, but ANYTHING that would help turn people's thoughts to the Savior and gave me a better idea as to what their backgrounds were. Since I don't wear a name tag, I have a little more time to find out that kind of information. One day I was headed to a small study group when one of the girls in the group called me and told me that she would be late because it was raining and she was waiting for the bus. I offered to go and pick her up and she accepted. While we were in the car, I learned that she was a linguistics major (I found it odd that she was in my GENETICS class as a linguistics major). While she was talking I listened and prayed for an opportunity for SOMETHING she was saying to "highlight a truth of the gospel about which I could bear testimony" (PMG "Listening"). I asked her why she chose her particular major and she told me that she liked learning about different languages and cultures. I saw this as my opportunity:
"Are you interested in ancient languages?"
* Yes, I love them *
"Things such as translations?"
* Oh yes, I have all kinds of books about that *
"OH! You like reading too?? Well. Have I got a book for you!! I think that you will really like it. It was written in reformed Egyptian from around 600 BC-400 AD. Then it was translated by the power of God"
I reached over to my passenger seat pocket and gave her a copy of the Book of Mormon. I opened it up to the introduction and showed her where she could read about how the record was obtained and translated. I still need to follow up with her and IDEALLY, ask for referrals. "What other stories do you have sharing The Book of Mormon?
"Commitment is doing the thing you said you would do, long after the mood you said it in has left you." George R. Zalucki
Sunday, June 14, 2009
Are you interested in Ancient Languages?
This one's from Steff Warren:
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When I was 14 or 15, I had a teacher that prided himself on being a thinker. We had some enlightening discussions in his classroom. He helped me ask some great questions that led to tremendous answers that still guide me today. We agreed on many things, but were at odds on a few. One of them was religion. I had a lot of respect for this man, but it amazed me that someone who claimed to be open minded was blind to just how closed minded he was when it came to God. He was always challenging my faith. He considered my beliefs to be a sign of my weakness. His claim was that unless it could be acknowledged by the 5 senses, there was no proof that God existed. I struggled as a young person to help him understand that he was limiting his understanding to what he had personally experienced, cutting himself off from other possibilities. The best that I could do was to try and help him understand how I knew; that things of the spirit could only be understood and perceived by the spirit. Years later, I still don't have a better answer to this one fundamental question, but I face the same dilemma. This blog is dedicated to preserving stories and experiences of missionaries in the Arizona Mesa Mission both during and after their formal missions. Some stories are fun and light hearted, but others are of a spiritual nature. The blog forum is so convenient, yet the format is limiting. There is more to these words than letters on a page. To truly understand the messages requires not only an open mind, but a soft heart.
After all, "A man's reach should exceed his grasp, else what's a Heaven for?- Robert Browning"
After all, "A man's reach should exceed his grasp, else what's a Heaven for?- Robert Browning"
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