Week 62: Who's in Your Circle?
Dear Loved Ones,
One year ago today, my call to Missouri was assigned. I opened it on the 11th. It's been a long journey, but I'm saving my thoughts on things for next week because a lot of has happened.
This week we took a recent convert, Tony, to the temple. He was nervous at first and wanted to just watch, but I volunteered to get baptized as well to peer pressure him into it. I haven't done baptisms since 2017 and it was nice to get back in the water. After I got out, I stood there dripping and prayed that shy Tony would be able to have a good experience. When he got out, I asked him how he felt and he said, "Calm."
Tony's parents were baptized into the church forever ago and had him and his brother blessed as babies, but then they dropped off the face of the earth and didn't take him to church at all. But then Tony got a job as a pizza man, delivered to some elders who gave him a Book of Mormon, called the phone number they'd written inside, and found the number was no longer in service. But then a couple days later, other elders tracted into him. He got baptized two months ago and now he's ours.
That would leave us reactivating his parents so the family can be sealed. But his parents' membership records are nowhere to found. That does. not. happen. The church is good at keeping track of people. After trying absolutely everything to track them down, the bishop told them they'll need to be rebaptized. They were dragging their feet forever, but seeing Tony progress and go to the temple without her made her mom take things more seriously. And his dad showed up to church on Sunday! And his brother will hopefully be able to start taking the lessons next month when his work schedule clears up.
When we first came into this ward, we met with the bishop and asked who we ought to see. He rattled off a list of good people, paused, and said, "If you want someone real interesting to see, you could go see Bella."
Bella is not only homebound but bedbound. She can't get up to turn out a light, microwave food, open a door, or use the bathroom. So she spends all her days sitting in the dark in an adult diaper with the glow of the TV to keep her company. The only people in her social circle are her neighbor and the mail carrier. So she's prepared her neighbor, her neighbor's boyfriend, and the mail carrier to meet with us.
I thanked her profusely. She told me, "There's nothing else I can do. And my patriarchal blessing says I'll be involved with missionary work." She lives in a very miserable condition and says she just wants to die, but God can't take her yet. We need her.
In well over a year of being a missionary, she was the FIRST member to single-handedly prepare someone I could teach. Everyone else says they're afraid, that they don't know anybody, that all their friends aren't interested. But I can't imagine a social circle more limited than hers, and here we are! We had a good lesson with her neighbor and her mail carrier said she'd check with her husband to see if we could make this a family matter.
You, like Bella, have people in your circle, and you, unlike Bella, have a capacity to reach out and meet all kinds of new people and prepare them for the gospel. There are opportunities all around that you can maximize!
Sincerely,
Sister Smith
One year ago today, my call to Missouri was assigned. I opened it on the 11th. It's been a long journey, but I'm saving my thoughts on things for next week because a lot of has happened.
This week we took a recent convert, Tony, to the temple. He was nervous at first and wanted to just watch, but I volunteered to get baptized as well to peer pressure him into it. I haven't done baptisms since 2017 and it was nice to get back in the water. After I got out, I stood there dripping and prayed that shy Tony would be able to have a good experience. When he got out, I asked him how he felt and he said, "Calm."
Tony's parents were baptized into the church forever ago and had him and his brother blessed as babies, but then they dropped off the face of the earth and didn't take him to church at all. But then Tony got a job as a pizza man, delivered to some elders who gave him a Book of Mormon, called the phone number they'd written inside, and found the number was no longer in service. But then a couple days later, other elders tracted into him. He got baptized two months ago and now he's ours.
That would leave us reactivating his parents so the family can be sealed. But his parents' membership records are nowhere to found. That does. not. happen. The church is good at keeping track of people. After trying absolutely everything to track them down, the bishop told them they'll need to be rebaptized. They were dragging their feet forever, but seeing Tony progress and go to the temple without her made her mom take things more seriously. And his dad showed up to church on Sunday! And his brother will hopefully be able to start taking the lessons next month when his work schedule clears up.
When we first came into this ward, we met with the bishop and asked who we ought to see. He rattled off a list of good people, paused, and said, "If you want someone real interesting to see, you could go see Bella."
Bella is not only homebound but bedbound. She can't get up to turn out a light, microwave food, open a door, or use the bathroom. So she spends all her days sitting in the dark in an adult diaper with the glow of the TV to keep her company. The only people in her social circle are her neighbor and the mail carrier. So she's prepared her neighbor, her neighbor's boyfriend, and the mail carrier to meet with us.
I thanked her profusely. She told me, "There's nothing else I can do. And my patriarchal blessing says I'll be involved with missionary work." She lives in a very miserable condition and says she just wants to die, but God can't take her yet. We need her.
In well over a year of being a missionary, she was the FIRST member to single-handedly prepare someone I could teach. Everyone else says they're afraid, that they don't know anybody, that all their friends aren't interested. But I can't imagine a social circle more limited than hers, and here we are! We had a good lesson with her neighbor and her mail carrier said she'd check with her husband to see if we could make this a family matter.
You, like Bella, have people in your circle, and you, unlike Bella, have a capacity to reach out and meet all kinds of new people and prepare them for the gospel. There are opportunities all around that you can maximize!
Sincerely,
Sister Smith
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