This week has been an adventure; from completing the task of
moving apartments to English lessons with the refugee family in the ward.
A beautiful shot of the apartment exterior from the
courtyard
Elder Tippetts and I are excited to report the "most
receptive family" from last week is progressing as well as could be. The
name of this family is McDonald-Saunstaire (sauna - stair). Billy is the
father, Amie is the mother. They have three children: Anna (15), Lily (13), and
Vaida (10). They also have a dog named Roxie! Tuesday Elder Tippetts and I
taught the Plan of Salvation as we had covered the Restoration last week. Amie
was so excited to share she read the Book of Mormon and felt it was true!
Throughout the lesson, Lily was glued to the Plan of Salvation pamphlet, Anna
remarked how it felt her heart was getting a hug, and Vaida offered insight to
be a part of the conversation. A tour of the church was set in order for Thursday.
On Wednesday Elder Tippetts and I carefully planned for the
church tour in the afternoon. Come evening, the Cox family invited us to dinner
and allowed Kay Fralin to join us. Sister Cox made the very best imitation Cafe
Rio sweet pork I have ever tasted. It was so good, I wanted to cry. When dinner
was finished, we began a lesson about Joseph Smith being called of God to be a
prophet and restore Jesus Christ's church to the Earth. As it turns out, a
forefather of Brother Cox was very close with Joseph Smith, and journaled about
Joseph's character. The same great grandfather also recorded his own great
lamentation following Joseph Smith's martyrdom at Carthage Jail.
Thursday brought the time for zone conference once again.
The most powerful message to my heart was a story from Elder Jeffrey R. Holland
addressed to new mission presidents and their wives. I will include it at the
conclusion of this message in addition to my observations and thoughts. Elder
Holland shared too a perspective on the Prophet Moses in chapter thirty-three
of Exodus.
"The Lord said unto Moses, Depart, and go up hence,
thou and the people which thou hast brought up out of the land of Egypt, unto
the land ... flowing with milk and honey: for I will not go up in the midst of
thee; for thou art a stiffnecked people: lest I consume thee in the
way." [v. 1,3]
"That can't have been a message received
enthusiastically," remarked Elder Holland.
Verses twelve and thirteen tell of Moses' pleading to the
Lord to lead His people. The Lord's response is this, verse fourteen: "And
he said, My presence shall go with thee, and I will give thee rest."
Elder Holland continues, "Moses then said, 'Good!
Because if you won't be leading us, I don't want to go!'" and jests,
"Actually, he said, 'If thy presence go not with me, carry us not up
hence,' but I prefer the looser Elder Holland translation."
Elder Holland concludes with the story highlighting the
importance of the divine companionship of the Holy Ghost he parallels to Exodus
33. You won't regret reading it, that's a promise.
After zone conference finally came, the opportunity to tour
the church with Billy, Amie, and Vaida arrived! We showed them to the chapel
and the classrooms explaining what they will be doing for three hours on a
Sunday. All of them were so happy and excited!
The baptism of Ramona Jarvis, a day anticipated by so many,
arrived. Brother Cashman, Ramona's son, has been waiting for her to make this
decision for thirty long year! Brother Cashman performed the ordinance. It was
such a happy thing to see and certainly such a privilege to be there.
The following day Ramona was confirmed. Elder Tippetts and I
were invited to stand in the circle and what an honor that was to be so close
to the powers of Heaven reaching to Ramona allowing her the constant divine
companionship of the Holy Ghost, the third member of the Godhead. Billy, Amie,
Anna, and Vaida were there to see it! As well, Elder Tippetts and I were
surprised to see Brother Crockett again provided Brandon Williams a ride to
church again. Happy day!
Sunday brought the unique experience of dinner with the
Evan's family. After a wonderful meal of Enchiladas a watermelon-eating contest
ensued between Elder Tippetts and one of their adorable young daughters.
Check out link below for the video!
Elder Tippetts and I are having a great time. After all
Elder Tippetts has until the 27th of this month and he is going home! We are
living it up!
A message I received last night from Elder Tippetts. He
claims it reads, 'Help'. It is strikingly similar to the scene of a shipwrecked
distraught lion on the coast of Madagascar seeking rescue in vain. Name that
movie anyone?
I sure love all of you. Thank you a million times for
prayers, love, and support. Miracles are happening in Wi-Chee-Tuh!
--
"Elder
Holland closed by
relating a story—being
careful to protect
the privacy and anonymity
of the participants—of a
young man from
southern Idaho. One
night the young man
stormed out of
the house and
set off to join an
infamous motorcycle gang. He
succeeded in that
resolve and for
20 years became
immersed in a
culture “of temptations yielded
to and degradations
explored,” never contacting
his parents, who feared
that he was
dead. Eventually ending up
in Southern California,
he one day
was sitting on
the porch of a
rented home when
he saw two
LDS missionaries making
their way up the street. “With
a rush of
memory and guilt,
regret, and rage,
he despised the
very sight of them,”
Elder Holland recounted.
“But he was safe, because he kept all visitors
at bay by employing two
Doberman pinschers, who
viciously charged the
gate every moment that
anyone came near.” The
dogs startled the
missionaries as they
passed by and
continued on, “our
man on the porch
laughing at the
lovely little drama
he had just
witnessed, wishing only that
the gate hadn’t
restrained his two
dogs.” Then, the two
elders stopped, looked
at each other,
conversed a little,
“likely said a silent
prayer,” then turned
around and approached
the gate. “The Dobermans
on cue charged
the gate again,
hit it, snarling,
frothing, and then stopped
in their tracks,”
Elder Holland said.
“They looked at
the missionaries, dropped their
heads, ambled back
to the front
steps, and lay
down.” The man on
the porch was
speechless as the
missionaries opened the
gate, walked up the path, and
greeted him. “One of the elders
said, ‘Are you
from this part
of California?’ “The man
said, ‘No. If
you want to
know, I’m from
Pocatello, Idaho.’ “There was
a pause. ‘That’s
interesting,’ the elder
said. ‘Do you
know the [such-andsuch] family
in Pocatello?’ “With a
stunned look, our
biker paused and
then, in very
measured words said, ‘Yeah,
I know them.
They are my
parents.’ “‘Well, they’re my
parents too,’ the
missionary said. ‘God
has sent me
to invite you to
come home.’” The younger
brother had been
born after the
older boy had
left home. The
elder brother did not
even know of
him. “Mom and Dad
have been praying
for you every
morning and night
for 20 years,” the
younger brother said.
“They were not
sure you were
alive, but they
knew if you were,
that someday you
would come back
to us.” The wayward
son invited the
two in, and
they talked for
the rest of
the day and some
of the night.
He did return
home, returned to
Church activity, and,
in March 2015, was
married and sealed
in the Boise
Idaho Temple. Elder Holland
said the young
elder, without realizing
it, gave the missionary
speech of all time,
when he said
to his brother,
“God has sent
me here to
invite you to come
home.” “We are sent
by God to
invite His children
home,” Elder Holland
concluded. “We do that
through the Holy
Ghost, the Comforter,
the Spirit of
Truth, on the
strength of the Atonement
of Jesus Christ.
Welcome to the
divine companionship"
(Lloyd).
Elder Holland also remarked, concerning the nature of the
love the spouse has for this man, "she loves him not for who he was, but
who he is."
Elder Holland teaches, "This is
a story of the role
of Almighty God, the
Savior of the
World, and the
Holy Ghost involved
in the work
of the ministry to
which we’ve been
called. “The Holy Ghost
prompted those parents
to keep praying,
to keep believing,
to keep trusting. …
The Holy Ghost
inspired that rebellious
boy to come
to himself like
the prodigal he was
and to head
for California. …
The Holy Ghost
influenced that younger son
to serve a
mission and be
willing to accept
a call to
Southern California. … The
Holy Ghost inspired
one of my
brethren in the
Twelve, who was on
the assignment desk
that Friday, to trust his
impression and assign
that young man for
service not a
great distance from
his native-born state.
The Holy Ghost
inspired that mission president
to assign that
young missionary to
that district and
that member unit. The
Holy Ghost led
those missionaries to
that street, that
day, that hour, with
big brother sitting
on the porch
waiting, and, with
Doberman pinschers
notwithstanding, the Holy Ghost prompted
those two elders
to stop, talk,
and in spite of
their fear, to
go back and
present their message.
… “And through the
elders, the Holy
Ghost taught repentance
and brought true conversion to one coming
back into the
fold.”
Amazing, I say. Don't tell me there is no God and this work
isn't inspired.
Fun fact: the motorcycle gang referenced in this article was
declared by Elder Holland to be the Hell's Angels.
Lloyd, R. Scott - Church News staff writer; Elder Holland
Shares Account of “Missionary Speech of All Time” with New Mission Presidents;
30 June
2017;
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