Love Our Missionaries: The Lord Puts His Servants Where He Needs Them, When He Needs Them

Written by Elder Jacob Avery, currently serving in the Peru Lima West Mission of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, speaking Spanish.

Hello everyone! Well, this week has definitely been an improvement. Elder China and I were able to baptize Keila and Jabier (yes, Jabier, he's been an investigator since March and nobody knew his name was with a ''b'' not a ''v''). It's exciting to see our investigators progress. Jabier was my very first appointment in the field, and he did NOT believe in the Book of Mormon or Joseph Smith, and now look at him! Keila is Paul's 17 year old sister, and because of their example, their parents want to learn more about the Gospel. We taught them about the Plan of Salvation last night.

I want to talk a bit about the M*** (omitted for privacy) family. This is a family that we met two weeks ago, with a mom who's 42 and a daughter who just had her first kid a few months ago. They are one of the most amazing families I've seen. Hermana Roxana (the mom) has always been religious. She prays desperately for her kids, especially her son in Santiago, Chile, and also to know the truth about the gospel. She kind of shrugged us off at first. We met, talked, and taught a lesson, then nothing really. We were hoping to teach a second lesson, but she didn't really want one. Then one night as we were walking home, we stopped by her house, and I'm not sure how the subject came up, but we offered to do service for her.

When the morning arrived, Elder China was sick and in no mood to do service. We almost didn't go, but we thought together about it carefully and went to help her out. That day was probably the hardest I've ever worked in my life. We leveled out her back yard so she can extend her house. We chiseled and dug out the hill, moving the dirt to the front yard for a future patio. We worked hard! We filled five gallon buckets with dirt and rocks, and we took back countless loads. We were able to do a considerable amount of work for her. She made us lunch and let us come over a few hours later to teach about the Restoration of the Gospel. Long story short, both of them accepted the invitation to be baptized, and we're working toward a baptism date of October 12th. They came to church, they're reading their scriptures, and are coming to watch General Conference this weekend. It's really a dream come true.

I learned two things from this experience. First, the Lord puts his servants where he needs them, when he needs them. If you're following the Spirit or simply just doing what you're supposed to, you'll find the people who are ready to come to Christ. You'll find the people that are honestly looking for the truth. Second, you need to really love someone to be an effective servant/disciple of the Lord. Those missionaries just looking for numbers of baptisms don't have the capacity to help CONVERT someone to Christ.

My thought of the week is about the Spirit. We got to hear a different Christian group yell, sing, and preach for a good two days straight. They happened to be about 50 yards from my house, and continued into the late hours of the night. So let's just say, I had the opportunity to observe them a great deal, haha! They're great people who really get excited about God, but they don't understand the nature of the Holy Ghost.

When Christ spoke to His Apostles about the role of the Holy Ghost, He said that it would be a comforter and speak of truth. Nowhere in the scriptures does it say that the Spirit invokes loud laughter, shouting, or reckless dancing. The Spirit is soft and still. Joseph Smith taught that the Spirit edifies, enlightens, and inspires. It speaks of peace and love. It speaks of change and repentance. It's a gentle, yet stern, companion for members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, so long as they are true to their covenants. It can lead us and prompt us where to go.

But this doesn't mean we will be lead in ALL things. God has also given us the ability to think, and reason, and choose what is best, according to our beliefs and the doctrine of the Gospel. We can feel the Spirit in moments when it is present, but we cannot "command" the Spirit to prompt us when it's convenient for us. We walk by faith, not sight. Remember Christ, as he was being tempted, told Satan, ''It is written...'' He didn't say, ''No, Satan, the Holy Ghost has appeared before me and said I shouldn't do it.'' Rather, Christ used the gentle promptings of the Spirit and the teachings He knew from the scriptures to guide his actions.

I'm so happy to hear that everyone is doing well. I hope you all have a fantastic week, and I pray for you daily. Thanks for all the love and support. - Elder Avery

Teaching People to Pray in Peru (September 23, 2013)

The Lord's Ways are Simple (October 7, 2013)

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