"Commitment is doing the thing you said you would do, long after the mood you said it in has left you." George R. Zalucki


Tuesday, February 23, 2010

Sis Bassett
Well I have some amazing miracles, and one of them was the fulfilling of the promise that you made to us in ZLC, about the former investigators. We went through them and found a couple that we wanted to visit. The first one, Alma and Juan accepted us in their house, talked very highly of the missionaries prior, and we were able to teach the first lesson. It was amazing how much easier it was because they were already familiar with it, but also how willing they were to do things, such as read or pray. It looks like with the change in economy, they now don't work on Sunday and will be able to go to church. Also through other experiences they see more of a necessity to be baptised and come closer to God. It was amazing to see how just a few months later, so many changes can come into someone's life to make them more receptive to the gospel. Thanks so much for leaving that commitment with us, I know that we wouldn't have found them again if we weren't looking through the formers of our area book. It's been great to see the excitement in their eyes. 
 But, one of the biggest miracles and one of the best things that I have heard on my entire mission is that the family Parra, who Elder matsunaga and I were teaching back in July/August, now will soon be getting baptised. They were living on the streets, and the bishop found out and put them in a hotel, the relief society provided breakfast, lunch and dinner everyday for 2 weeks, and we passed by just about everyday, and at the end, the mom Margarita had a baptism date. But they had to leave, and lost contact, they got some other apt. and I never heard of them. I kind of felt that those 2 weeks were just wasted. But, then I heard that some sisters in Pioneer zone had found them and were teaching them, and now, the mom and son are getting baptized, and I get to baptize the son! When I heard that it was literally one of the most tender moments of my mission. It put to life the section of Preach My Gospel that says "No effort is wasted"  And I know that it was through the amazing help that they received through the ward relief society/bishop that their hearts were touched, and the spirit was able to enter their hearts, and now, they will be getting baptized. It's amazing. I just can't believe it. It's just really interesting how people get put in the right place at the right time. 
 
Elder Gleaves

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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"

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