Updates and More

I have some super cool news. I graduate in May (not the cool news, but still good), so I decided that I was going to move back to Orlando so that I could teach RS in my old singles ward (the RS presidency wanted me to, and I LOVE teaching RS!). I had been thinking about this decision for a while, and made the decision to do it for sure on saturday. Well, the next day was the sunday before conference so I fasted (mistakingly thinking it was fast sunday). I fasted to know that my decision to move was right, and that I would be in the place where I could help the Lord most effectively. After Sacrament, a member of the stake called me into the office and issued a calling to be an Institute Instructor teaching Mission Prep. I just stared at him blankly, in silence. Had he REALLY just offered me my DREAM calling when I had just decided to move?!?! HOW DOES THIS HAPPEN!!! In the awkward, staring silence- he said "did you ever think you would be an institute teacher?" I didn't know what to do! I felt good about moving to Orlando! I thought about it during gospel doctrine and decided that it was the answer to my fast. I am going to have to commute every week (1.5 hours) to teach this class... but I am SO stinking excited!!! I am under the direction of the CES Institute Director and I will have a key to the building and everything (SO official)! I LOVE missionary work! I can't wait to share that love with prospective missionaries. I really hope that I can help those who are bordering on "not going" to fall on the side of "I CAN'T WAIT TO GO!" I've been home 18 months. Do you know how long the stake counselor thought I had been home? TEN (because of my behavior)! Now THAT'S a complement if I've ever heard one! I found out that two of my friends who took the first lesson a month ago (see my other post of "Two Birds with One Invite"), were each approached by a family member who angrily interrogated them about their visits with the Mormons. They each told me of their responses and I was AMAZED at the nearly perfect first lesson each of them taught to their accusers. Even though they didn't want to proceed with the lessons, each of them shared what they knew with others. They defended the LDS church with all that they had learned. What a sweet experience. Currently, I have been talking with one of my friends who is going through a "spiritual rehab". She is very in tune with "the universe" and very gay. I have a deep personal love for those who struggle with same gender attraction, but I am always very careful and hesitant when I want to share the gospel with them, knowing what they would have to sacrifice. However, I KNOW that they need these blessings, and I KNOW that it is my responsibility to share it with them. Today I was able to share a little bit about the church with her as we had lunch. Before we ate, I said "excuse me, I need to bless my food". I bowed my head and said a silent prayer. Afterwords, she smiled and said "I need to do that! What did you say?" I was able to share with her how to pray, and to tell her some of the things that I prayed for. She responded "I like that!". I don't know how far this will go, but I DO know that she needs to see the life of a Latter-day Saint who actually lives the gospel. Homosexuals rarely get to see "the good" aspects of the church, so I'm glad that I can be there. We had a very spiritually uplifting conversation. Did I tell you about the Jew I met while I was donating platelets and plasma? She has become my favorite phlebotomist! She is a jew who actually practices her religion! She speaks fluent Hebrew and everything. We talked about temples and some other gospel topics. I told her that I wanted to learn more about Judaism and she told me that she wants to learn more about the LDS church. I'm going to go to the synagogue with her on some friday. How could anyone NOT love missionary work!

Put the Lord First

I have a friend that has been trying to come to a temple tour for about a year now, but due to different interferences she has not been able to attend. This last weekend she told me that she was really going to go this time so I packed up and drove an hour and a half to Orlando on Friday night so I could attend the tour with her on Saturday. Little did I know that our horses had torn down a portion of the fencing and my father and I would be spending all day saturday and some of sunday getting the "ox [out of] the mire". When it came time to leave for the temple tour I had been working on the fence all morning; I was freezing, exhausted, stinky, and there still was a lot of work to be done and I felt horrible at the idea of leaving my dad there to do it by himself. I teetered back and forth to decide if I should stay and help my dad, or go to the tour with Emma. I decided that I would choose to build up the Lord's Kingdom first. Even though I felt guilty about leaving my father, I knew that he would continue to work regardless and progress would be made. I went to the tour a little ashamed of my appearance, but trying to focus on my friend and the words being spoken by the "tour-guide". After the tour, the missionaries invited us into the foyer of the temple and began to talk to us about the tour. Because I had chosen to put the Lord first, I was able to witness my friend accepting to be baptized into Christ's true church.

Two Birds with One Invite

Today I had a great missionary experience. I took one of my friends to Steak and Shake after our test, and she told me about how the guys on campus were handing out bibles again (lots of churches do that at UF). She told me that she almost asked one of them if they had a Book of Mormon! She wanted to know more about the Book of Mormon. I reached around behind her and grabbed a copy of the Book of Mormon that I keep in my car seat for such occasions. I put it on her lap and said "here ya go". Then I grabbed a "Purpose of Life" pass-along card from my console and said "and here's our website so you can learn more". We talked a little more in the drive through and I told her that she should meet with the missionaries to learn more. She said that she didn't want to "become a mormon or anything" she just wanted to LEARN about it. I then told her that one of our mutual friends wanted to learn too! And that they should just do it together! I had asked that mutual friend (Linda) to listen to the missionaries before Christmas. She wanted to, but we never were able to set anything up and I have been PRAYING for opportunities to reinvite her. I called Linda up and put her on speaker phone right then and told her that Kasey wanted to learn about the Mormon church too and that we should all do it together! They loved the idea and figured out what day of the week is usually best for the both of them. Now all we need is an actual date!! I'm SO excited!!

Beautiful Awkwardness

I went to the distribution center yesterday to get some garments. As I approached the glass doors I saw a HUGE arm! And I thought "wow, that huge arm must be attached to a HUGE man!!". Sure enough, it was indeed attached to a huge man inside. He was about my age and was with a woman who looked like his mom. He was wearing a thin white shirt, so i could tell that he was not endowed. It APPEARED to be a mother who was lugging her inactive son with her to the distribution center just so she could get him on Temple grounds. I heard them talking and realized that he was a football player for the Florida Gators (where I attend school). I spoke to him for a moment, bought my garments, then left. About 15 ft outside of the door, I stopped and thought "if he's inactive at UF, I need to invite him to church." I tromped back inside in all my glory, got out a sticky note and wrote my name and number on it (PURELY for missionary reasons, seriously, not interested). I then said "John. What's your number". All of the old distribution worker ladies started going "ooOOOOOooOOOOOoo". And the mother-figure said "are you going to convert him"? My initial defensive reaction was "no" which was immediately followed by "well, maybe" as soon as I realized what she had said... and that he was not a member. He said "I'm already there". I gave him my number and said "John, you should come to our ward. It starts at 10 at the institute building". He replied "oh yeah? We go to Gainesville 5th ward". I persisted "you should really come check out the singles ward. We could use you and it's really good". Once again very nicely and sheepishly:"we go to gainesville 5th ward". We parted ways because I had to work at the temple that night. As I left the Dist. Center it finally clicked that he had said "we". Then I vaguely remembered hearing the mother-figure talking about people receiving their endowments. That's when it hit me... I think he was engaged to a member. That's why "WE" attended a family ward, and why he was "already there" in terms of conversion. So, basically it looks like I just totally hit on a football star who was already engaged. Not only that, when I got out of the temple that night I had a message on my phone from the Dist. women telling me that I forgot my bag of garments!! HAHAHA! I had left them, and they used the sticky note I gave that guy to call me. The note was in my bag when i went to pick them up today. hahahaha. Oh man. Good times. At least the Lord knows He can trust me!!!

One of the Best Nights of My Mission

Hey Sister Bassett,
I read your comment about RM's telling about Christmas lights.
It isn't an over the top one, but it is special to me.
At first, I wasn't looking forward to the Christmas lights, but I eventually got into the mood. And early into the evening, I stopped a group of three people. After talking to them for awhile, I soon found out that they had passed a ton of missionaries, and I was the first to talk to them. And one of them was not a member and seemed kind of interested. So, I made a resolution to talk to everyone that I could. I did my best and the more I talked with people, the happier I became. And that old Christmas spirit that we all talk about, entered into my heart. It was such an amazing night. I will always remember it as one of the best nights of my mission. And the funny thing is, I didn't even receive one referral. It really does come down to how much YOU serve, rather than HOW MANY you receive. I just wish I would have known that during my first Christmas lights in the mission.
Hopefully this story helps.
And by the way, Merry Christmas to you and your family.
Tony AKA Elder Combe
photo by Richard Webb

Is it a revelation? Or just me!?

I had a pretty cool missionary experience today. I always carry a blue Book of Mormon with me in my back pack and in my car. When I am waiting for a bus, or whenever I have extra time, I just grab it and start reading it. This has two purposes: 1, It helps me do more scripture study. 2. I want to give it to someone and it is a good conversation starter for that purpose! I got on the "wrong" bus today when trying to go to class. This bus took me ALL OVER! While I was sitting there, I thought "I should take out the Book and start reading. Maybe the girl next to me will want to know more." It seemed silly, since I THOUGHT I was going to be getting off momentarily. I figured it was just a thought, not revelation. But then I thought about all the great talks on receiving revelation at conference and decided it wouldn't hurt to try. I noticed that my bus driver kept reading from her book at every stop light. Every time we were stopped for one reason or another she pulled out that book and started reading. That's when the spirit spoke to me and said "she really enjoys reading and is almost done with that book. You should give her a NEW book to read." As I was getting off of the bus, I told her that I noticed how much she liked reading and that I wanted to give her MY favorite book to read. This poor, sad, crusty copy of the Book of Mormon had survived a rainstorm with me a few weeks ago and has been read a lot... I apologized for the condition of the book and told her that it was very loved! She was TOTALLY excited and asked me a little more about it. I shared a little more, then gave her a pass along card as a book mark. I missed my class (it was a VERY long bus route). But i think I caught the "right" bus according to the Lord, not the "wrong" one that I thought originally. Gotta love it!

All You Have to Do is Ask

I hadn't seen my friend Nicole since before the mission. She had moved to Jacksonville, FL and I hadn't even talked to her since I returned. This Sunday we were able to meet up for about an hour while she was in town. She asked me about the mission and we had a great time, as if I had never left. I had really been praying for missionary experiences that week, and two days after seeing Nicole she popped into my head during my scripture study. I sent her a simple text message that said "I feel like a horrible friend for never giving you the opportunity to learn about why I left for 18 months. It would mean so much to me if you would allow me to send the missionaries by to share with you the most precious thing that I have. Would that be ok?" She replied "That would be fine :-)" Nicole is someone who had boldly enforced the idea that "God is just not for me". But trusting in our friendship, she allowed me to send the missionaries by. I called in the referral (she lives 1.5 hours away from me) and I can't wait to hear how it goes. It just goes to show you that all you have to do is ask. Ask the Lord for the opportunity, then ask the person when the opportunity is presented.

Expanding or Shrinking?

I loved this thought that Steff Warren shared with me about the struggle to continue sharing the gospel after going home.

I knew that missionary work had started to be OUT of my comfort zone within the last two weeks, and I needed to do something drastic to fix that... I pulled over to help someone on the side of the road and gave them a card. No matter how uncomfortable I was. That principle never seems to change: you have to step out of your comfort zone, so the Lord can help your zone increase! What we DON'T emphasize enough, is that if you stay IN your comfort zone... IT SHRINKS! All of that explanation was me saying 'Yes, I will share some experiences because I think it will also help inspire me'. "

Haven't you found that to be true? There's no standing still in the gospel. You're either pressing forward or you're sliding back. No one wants to, or should, let their spirituality slip post-mission. The trick is how do you move forward? Elder LeSueur shared this thought with us, "It is easier to accelerate your efforts than to maintain them." Interesting, huh! The more I think about that, the more it seems to be true. Even though we go home and our focus broadens, we can increase our abilities by finding new ways and opportunities to be 'member-missionaries." What ideas have you found to keep accelerating your progress?

PS Look for past posts with stories from Steff and other RM's for experiences being a member missionary.

Are you interested in Ancient Languages?

This one's from Steff Warren:

"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?