Week 31: My Miracle at Liberty Jail
Dear Loved Ones,
I am drafting this on my phone from the lobby at Liberty Jail, Fia beside me. A miracle just happened and I need to get this down.
Fia spent some time in the Witness Protection Program. She met with missionaries back in her old life and her original sisters introduced her to an elderly couple who would drive her to church. When I put Fia on date for the 31st of this month, she said she wanted the husband of that elderly couple to be the one to baptize her, but she couldn't remember his name and had no way to get in touch with him.
Our mission holds a special devotional every fast Sunday where recent converts share their testimonies on why they decided to join and all of us missionaries bring the people we're teaching to listen. The location switches off every month. It's either in Independence or at the Liberty Jail (I can't get over how often we pop by church history sites here). My companion previously served at the jail, the location for this month's devotional, and insisted Fia come. I fought her on it a little. Coordinating transportation would be hard, the jail will always be there, there's a devotional next month, this wasn't a once in a lifetime opportunity, etc. But she swayed me. I ended up texting every person I know in the state of Kansas until I got someone to get us there.
Meanwhile, behind the scenes, Fia has been praying that her mystery man would be at the jail devotional so she could get him to baptize her. We don't know this. Also behind the scenes, a lady in our ward prayed over dinner for an opportunity to help someone tonight. Then our text came in (she was the thirteenth person we asked) and she signed on to road trip us out to Liberty. We got there late and there wasn't much seating, so I sat a row away from Fia, turning my body to face her and watch as she listened to the speakers. i sat there smiling and crying and feeling the Spirit.
I thought about when I first came to Liberty Jail in 2016 as a miserable nineteen year old crushed by being barred from serving. Now I'm back with another nineteen year old who has endured so many harder things than I have in my life. I thought that wonderful experience was the highlight of my evening.
Nope. Turns out, the devotional was the boring part. Afterwards, people were mingling and my mission president's brother, one of the senior elders serving there, came up to Fia and me. I thought, "Oh, isn't that nice. He and his wife are making the rounds, saying hi to strangers, and making them feel welcome."
Nope. His wife asked Fia, "Do you remember me?"
Those are her old people! We found them! And they're going home in two weeks, so Fia baptism has to happen ASAP. I have six days to put this all together. SIX DAYS!
After all this unfolded, we were sitting in the lobby of Liberty Jail, planning out the logistics while Fia did Come Follow Me and waited for her private tour to start, when our mission president waltzed up.
Him: Is this the lady you told me about?
Me: She's getting baptized on Saturday and your brother's doing it.
Him: My brother?
Me: Long story. I'll explain later.
We're teaching Fia her penultimate lesson today, even though it's p-day, so we can get everything she needs done before the baptism. we'll be discussing prophets and the priesthood and our lesson plan includes scriptures from Doctrine and Covenants 121, which was revealed in Liberty Jail.
I have the best mission. Because church history is here. Because church future is here. Because Fia is here. She has the most stalwart testimony and I can see her raising up generations to strengthen the land of Zion for the Second Coming. A neighbor back home, Brother Taylor, told me missionaries don't convert people, people convert themselves. I am so privileged to be a part of Fia's self-conversion process. I had expected Fia to get baptized in a few weeks after i get transferred away and I'd been praying that I'd be allowed to come back to visit. Little did I know.
Now, time to make this impromptu baptism happen!
Sincerely,
Sister Smith
I am drafting this on my phone from the lobby at Liberty Jail, Fia beside me. A miracle just happened and I need to get this down.
Fia spent some time in the Witness Protection Program. She met with missionaries back in her old life and her original sisters introduced her to an elderly couple who would drive her to church. When I put Fia on date for the 31st of this month, she said she wanted the husband of that elderly couple to be the one to baptize her, but she couldn't remember his name and had no way to get in touch with him.
Our mission holds a special devotional every fast Sunday where recent converts share their testimonies on why they decided to join and all of us missionaries bring the people we're teaching to listen. The location switches off every month. It's either in Independence or at the Liberty Jail (I can't get over how often we pop by church history sites here). My companion previously served at the jail, the location for this month's devotional, and insisted Fia come. I fought her on it a little. Coordinating transportation would be hard, the jail will always be there, there's a devotional next month, this wasn't a once in a lifetime opportunity, etc. But she swayed me. I ended up texting every person I know in the state of Kansas until I got someone to get us there.
Meanwhile, behind the scenes, Fia has been praying that her mystery man would be at the jail devotional so she could get him to baptize her. We don't know this. Also behind the scenes, a lady in our ward prayed over dinner for an opportunity to help someone tonight. Then our text came in (she was the thirteenth person we asked) and she signed on to road trip us out to Liberty. We got there late and there wasn't much seating, so I sat a row away from Fia, turning my body to face her and watch as she listened to the speakers. i sat there smiling and crying and feeling the Spirit.
I thought about when I first came to Liberty Jail in 2016 as a miserable nineteen year old crushed by being barred from serving. Now I'm back with another nineteen year old who has endured so many harder things than I have in my life. I thought that wonderful experience was the highlight of my evening.
Nope. Turns out, the devotional was the boring part. Afterwards, people were mingling and my mission president's brother, one of the senior elders serving there, came up to Fia and me. I thought, "Oh, isn't that nice. He and his wife are making the rounds, saying hi to strangers, and making them feel welcome."
Nope. His wife asked Fia, "Do you remember me?"
Those are her old people! We found them! And they're going home in two weeks, so Fia baptism has to happen ASAP. I have six days to put this all together. SIX DAYS!
After all this unfolded, we were sitting in the lobby of Liberty Jail, planning out the logistics while Fia did Come Follow Me and waited for her private tour to start, when our mission president waltzed up.
Him: Is this the lady you told me about?
Me: She's getting baptized on Saturday and your brother's doing it.
Him: My brother?
Me: Long story. I'll explain later.
We're teaching Fia her penultimate lesson today, even though it's p-day, so we can get everything she needs done before the baptism. we'll be discussing prophets and the priesthood and our lesson plan includes scriptures from Doctrine and Covenants 121, which was revealed in Liberty Jail.
I have the best mission. Because church history is here. Because church future is here. Because Fia is here. She has the most stalwart testimony and I can see her raising up generations to strengthen the land of Zion for the Second Coming. A neighbor back home, Brother Taylor, told me missionaries don't convert people, people convert themselves. I am so privileged to be a part of Fia's self-conversion process. I had expected Fia to get baptized in a few weeks after i get transferred away and I'd been praying that I'd be allowed to come back to visit. Little did I know.
Now, time to make this impromptu baptism happen!
Sincerely,
Sister Smith
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