Trials and Faith in Lingsat
This week we were so surprised and so happy about the amount
of opportunities that have been given to us to help those in need. I have been
really so happy sharing the gospel every day and loving the people we teach.
I'm learning a lifestyle that I want to continue for the rest of my life, being
happy and serving and loving the people around me.
First of all, we were so grateful for the idea to get a
stroller for Harvey. We are so grateful for my mission president’s help and the
help of the Seymours to show an act of pure love to the S family. Seeing
all the members show so much love to this family has been so inspiring to me
because it lifted me up to a higher plane of thinking -- striving more and more
to think less about myself and looking more and more for the needs of those
around me and then filling that need. Harvey's condition has been incredibly
difficult for this family. In February Harvey came home from school with
internal bleeding in his head, that grew bigger and bigger until they took him
to the hospital, but it was too late; he was diagnosed with viral meningitis--
that has quickly affected most of his brain. He was in a coma for a month, and
then when he finally woke up, he couldn't move; he couldn't feel; he couldn't digest
his own food ( he has a tube that runs from his nose to his intestines where he
can only have liquids); he has a seizure about once a week. He can only lay
there on a tiny wooden bed and look around the room and sometimes cry. His
parents are so loving and are so so concerned for him; they've spent everything
they have taking him to the hospital. Brother has to take time off work, and
they really don't have money to eat or anything. What's more they have 5 kids,
one of them being a 5 month -old baby. Despite all these hardships, we were
incredibly humbled by Sister's firm faith in the gospel of Jesus Christ. When
the missionaries first started teaching her mother, she would always hide in
another room. But it turned out she had been listening to every discussion, and
finally she joined a lesson and expressed that she had felt the Spirit and knew
everything they taught was true. She loves our reading assignments from the
Book of Mormon. She told us this week that no matter what happened to Harvey,
she trusted God and would NEVER ever give up hope and she has felt the
Atonement of Jesus Christ strengthen her to bear all her burdens without
complaining. When the Seymours showed up with the stroller on Thursday, it was
such a sweet and tender experience because Sister Seymour shared her experience
with her children and grandchildren and the two women just wept and comforted
and prayed for each other. What amazing women of faith! What's more, Brother
has started joining in on the lessons and admitted to us that he knew it was
true what we are teaching. We taught them the Restoration together on Saturday.
It was wonderful and we are fasting and praying that despite Harvey's serious
condition, we will get a way to get them altogether at church.
Sister V is truly prepared of God to listen to the
missionaries right now. She has a sweet young family and she knows so many
members. She had been going through a rough time a couple weeks ago and prayed
for missionaries to come to her house and not long after she knows we were
impressed to talk to her at her house. We taught with Sister Mendoza last night
and taught the Restoration and shared our testimonies about seeking for the
truth and gave her a baptismal date. We are hoping and praying for her
progress.
KC and Jarwin have been out of town for a little while and
we could tell there was something going on. We got to teach them yesterday and
KC started crying and told us that her mom was working abroad in Turkey but
that she is having some major health problems and is going to have to come back
her to be operated on. The operation is going to take a lot of money and KC is
going to have to take her place working abroad in Hong Kong around September.
They want to get married and said they would be baptized by now if they had
been married already. But she has family members that they want to get
permission from and want to come to the marriage and her family is worried
about their financial future. But I know that we were impressed to share about
prayer in Alma 37:37 and then I know the next things I said didn't come from me
-- because I'm not always so clear-headed. But we told them that since they
knew the gospel was true, but that they didn't think about getting married at
this time, then when they have to go to Hong Kong they won't be able to get
baptized and their temple sealing could get delayed for who knows how long. We
told them that as a couple they needed to get on their knees and counsel with
their God for help to know what to do. We left with a peaceful feeling. We are
fasting and praying that the right decision will be made. But we are open to
any suggestions about what to do.
We taught Sister V last night about family history.
Her mom's birthday is coming up and we told her how she could give her the best
blessing by doing her temple work for her. Sister V is so so converted to
the gospel and wants her whole family to come into the church. She told us this
week she had a dream that she was hugging her mother and she felt it was a
confirmation that we needed to do her work.
We are so excited to have a family history night with them later tonight
with the Seymours.
We have another 18-year old that we are teaching. We met her
because she often stays at the home of a recent convert that we teach. She has
been joining in on the lessons. She loves the feeling of going to church and
being with the missionaries. We learned that her whole family are members and
her grandmother was a very active member of the church 5 years ago before she
died. Her dying wish was that her granddaughter would come to church. But we
learned that she lives in a super abusive situation because her mother had a
young pregnancy, was left alone, and turned to drinking, has no job, and since
her daughter was little has been yelling and abusing her. We heard it happen
one day on the way to teach her. They
have no relatives that want to help, and it's the saddest thing. We aren't
really sure what to do but we plan on telling Bishop right away and letting him
know the situation.
We have been doing lots of little acts of service for our
investigators. We are running every day, and we love missionary work. Of course
there have definitely been things that have not gone the way we planned or
hoped -- some investigators getting some cold feet about moving forward and
showing faith in Jesus Christ. It makes us super sad. Sometimes I'm not always
sure what to do and say, but I will keep striving to listen to the Holy Ghost
and make the right decisions.
In the Book of Mormon I learned that God is mightier than
all the earth and we have been blessed with so many spiritual experiences that
tell us there is a God and that he loves us. My mission president’s interview
with me was such a special blessing to me and I will never forget it. It really
told me that God loves me and knows my heart and my efforts. How can I doubt my
inspired leaders?
1 And it came to pass that I spake unto my brethren, saying:
Let us go up again unto Jerusalem, and let us be faithful in keeping the
commandments of the Lord; for behold he is mightier than all the earth, then
why not mightier than Laban and his fifty, yea, or even than his tens of
thousands?
2 Therefore let us go up; let us be strong like unto Moses;
for he truly spake unto the waters of the Red Sea and they divided hither and
thither, and our fathers came through, out of captivity, on dry ground, and the
armies of Pharaoh did follow and were drowned in the waters of the Red Sea.
3 Now behold ye know that this is true; and ye also know
that an angel hath spoken unto you; wherefore can ye doubt? Let us go up; the
Lord is able to deliver us, even as our fathers, and to destroy Laban, even as
the Egyptians.
I'm so grateful for my wonderful companion and for
everything I am learning in Lingsat.
Sister Porter