Planting seeds

Monday, May 25, 2015

I love missionary work so much, you guys. So much. It's so hard to summarize everything that happens in a week, but my companion and I have been truly blessed by our obedience, faith, and diligent study of the scriptures.

My companion is a rock and I'm learning so much every day! I'm so grateful that this is a work that the Lord promises to guide us through. I could not do this without his help. It's been amazing to see the miracles that faith and obedience can help us accomplish! I'm also so grateful for the way that the Spirit bears witness of truth. How could people possibly know the truth of what we share if the Spirit didn't bear witness of it? It would be so impossible. So impossible.

I'm also really grateful to see his hand in the work every day. I came on my mission and really anticipated being able to meet someone, teach them, and then be able to teach them through to their baptism. I was convinced that would mean I was a successful missionary. Though nothing is impossible with the Lord, and that could very well happen, I've learned to be satisfied with whatever opportunities the Lord has given me. In reference to the seed analogy in Alma 32, many of the missionaries I talk to talk about how the Lord calls some of us to be "planters," others to help nourish the seed, and others of us to be "harvesters." A planter, of course, plants the seed. A lot of missionary work is to plant the seed. Haha. Discouraging as it is sometimes, seed planting is the most valuable thing you can do. Nothing can grow if you don't plant the seed! Others of us are called to nourish the seed, or to help it grow, and that's also crucial. The seed will never grow if it isn't nourished. Again, much of missionary work, in my experience, is to nourish and to plant. But when the seed has grown, it needs to be harvested... but only when it's ready. And sometimes the Lord, in his great mercy, lets missionaries see when a seed is ready to be harvested.

We've been teaching someone named Paulena. She's been a member her whole life, but has recently made the church a priority after a long time of not doing so. When I first got to this area, we went over a few times to teach her the returning member lessons. They were also such great lessons because Paulena has been prepared! She is so ready to be back and doing these things she was raised to do. Unbeknownst to me at first, she's married to a guy named Earnado, or "E", who is not a member and had been taking the lessons from the missionaries. The first couple of lessons Sister Moetala and I had with Paulena, we briefly saw E, and either he was randomly (it was random to me because I didn't know he had taken the lessons) telling us that he'd been reading the Book of Mormon, or he was in the worst mood ever and stayed downstairs or made brief and awkward appearances just to storm out of the room and upset Paulena. PTSD is a real struggle, y'all. A real struggle. Paulena had talked about asking E if he wanted a blessing, but he wasn't really open to it at first. Then, you know, you get busy with other missionary pursuits, and people just kind of fall off the radar.

But then one day at church, just a few weeks ago, I see Paulena there (which wasn't unusual) with this guy. I had no idea who he was. Completely unfamiliar to me. I went to ask Paulena about it, but I didn't figure out it was her husband until I see them holding hands and taking care of their kids together. I didn't even recognize E! He had shaved his beard, wasn't wearing a beanie, and his whole countenance had changed! He was answering questions in Gospel Principles like he'd been a member his whole life! Shortly afterward, we got in with Paulena again and started teaching E. Apparently he finally got that blessing from his home teachers and he turned his whole life around. Teaching him is such a tender mercy for us because he is so ready and so prepared and he is so ready to change his life for the better. His faith has been so inspiring for us!

The Lord truly prepares his children to receive the gospel. I wish you could see Earnado's dedication to getting baptized on June 6, y'all. It is an amazing thing to watch him put everything behind to follow Christ. "I would leave anyone to follow Christ," he says. It's amazing. (Please keep him in your prayers. We just realized that he can't get baptized if he's using nicotine patches.)

This work is so great. It's so good to be a missionary!
Love you all!

Sister Nielsen

Note from Lisa: She included this attachment with the email, but didn't explain why it's significant.