Hey You Guys!
So the past week has be full of Ups and Downs. I was in sick for two days, I guess with just a cold or fever or maybe both. I'm doing pretty good now, I'm on the incline at this point just a stuffy head. But I was feeling pretty sickly for a couple of days. I was well taken care of by my companion and other missionaries. Its pretty funny actually, a few members got word that I was kinda sick and I was bombarded with medicine, vitamins, and all sorts of unheard of home remedies. I love the members of this ward. We're pretty well taken care of. Luckily though I was feeling well enough to go out Friday night for Mikes lesson. We got there and he was doing good. We talked a lot about the Book of Mormon this time and we covered in good depth the story of Joseph Smith and the events that occurred there. He is Loving the Book of Mormon, he had already read all of 1st Nephi since the last visit. And as we talked and recovered old points of doctrine as well as new, he just absorbed Everything. Mike is a sponge! And even crazier than that, towards the end of the lesson I asked him what it would mean to him if all of this was true. We waited for a response, and he just said "I don't understand", so thinking quick I tried to re-phrase what I said, and before I could say anything he said, "I already know its true". Me and Elder Thorup were just kinda taken back, but really happy and excited! He said he knows the Book of Mormon is true and that like the bible its an ancient record. We were then kinda bringing the lesson to a close again summing everything up and checking for Mikes understanding, and Very Very unexpectedly when Elder Thorup asked if there could be a time we could come back, Mike just paused and simply said, "I don't think so". He then went on to explain that his mother had I guess found out that he was talking to us and she didn't like that at all, so she asked mike to stop it. And out of respect for his mom, mike said he appreciated everything we had done and that he wants to keep reading the Book of Mormon, but that we should come back and teach him anymore. We were so shocked, we didn't really know what to say at first because it was the exact opposite of what we thought would come out of his mouth. So we politely and calmly agreed but bore our testimonies one last time and said that if he wants to continue to feel the spirit and gods love for him that he should keep reading the Book of Mormon and pray to gain assurance and peace. We were both really discouraged and just surprised when we left,
BUT before this gets too sad, let me go on to reveal my thoughts and impressions and the bright side to all of this. Although we wont be officially teaching Mike, he said we could come by every once and a while and drop off things for him to read and study, in addition to his continual reading of the Book of Mormon. So we plan on going by once a week from now on and giving him more of the lesson pamphlets, conference talks, and Mormon messages to watch. Before we left the lesson on Friday I asked if he would watch the new one "refiners fire" so he said he'd do that. He really likes the videos the church puts out.
Also, that night as we were walking home, we were both kinda quiet and all at once I got one impression after another. I first heard the words of President Hinkley saying, "You never know how much good you do." Then I Heard the words of Joseph smith, "You know no more concerning the destiny of this church and kingdom than a babe upon its mothers lap." And finally, I felt the comfort of the savior. We both did. We just felt at peace about it all. We both had the impression that, Everything Would Work Out. So What I got from all these feelings was first that I hadn't realized the good that came from us meeting mike and teaching him the gospel and helping him discover the Book of Mormon in the first place. Although Mike isn't getting baptized next week or maybe even a year down the road, I felt that we did what we could and that we had planted a seed in Mikes heart that Will inevitably grow overtime until one day he will be ready to fully except the gospel. As for the J.S. quote, I realized even more from that I don't know the destiny of Mike, I don't know when he'll be baptized or how, I don't think even today with how far the church has come and the gospel has spread we comprehend how much the lord still has to do. He will continue to work miracles and prepare people to receive him. And Mike is part of that. He has already taken the first steps to one day excepting the gospel. And the last feeling I had, was that everything will be okay, and in a nice way the lord was telling us that basically, "He's Got this". Its okay, everything will work out in the end.
Sorry this has been a really long email, I just wanted to make sure y'all understand that everything is alright, and that although things didn't turn out ideal with mike, I still feel proud and we still love mike and so does the lord and I know that he is being looked out for, and further prepared for the next missionaries or members that will reach out to him. I'll go ahead and finish up cause my fingers are getting tired, But I do love all of y'all so much. I really hope that y'all are doing well and staying safe. Keep doing the good and being the examples you are to me. I'm thankful for examples like the ones I have. I look forward to emailing next week!
But until then, don't forget to pray!
Love, Elder Page
No comments:
Post a Comment