When we were about to jump back into the car Sister Weaver looks at me and says "We need to invite him." We have like 10 minutes before we are suppose to be back at our house so I just start running to find the guy. He had walked a little farther, still taking pictures. His back was towards us, as we approached Sister Weaver whipped out the Book of Mormon and we got his attention. He was so nice, apparently he was from St. Louis, has a family, and was just here for work all by himself.
Sister Weaver asked if he had ever seen missionaries "No." and if he had ever read the Book of Mormon "No." She explained to him what it was and then I showed him the two last paragraphs in the introduction. He said he would love to read it and gave us his phone number so we could call him this week when he would be back in St. Louis to see how his reading was doing.
While we were driving back to our place I was thinking about how this guy had a family, he has a job that takes him away from work, really friendly, and has an open heart. I just thought about how my own dad has to leave for work a lot and how much I love him and how grateful I am that missionaries taught him and the difference it's made in not only his life but in the life of his family.
I thought about how this guys whole life could be changed, the lives of his kids, and so on..and it would have all started with just an "invite".
Yesterday we got a text from Davida telling us to come over to meet her new husband! We swung by and finally got to meet the man she has been telling us so much about all these months, turns out he has already read the Book of Mormon and the Pearl of Great Price. I started to share a scripture in 1 Nephi about when he is commanded to build a ship. Before I can even start giving background on the scripture Carl (Davidas husband) starts telling me about it LOL When we asked when we could come back to start teaching him the lessons Davida looked at us with this "What do you think?!) face and said "Tomorrow!".
Getting to come back to Park City and see this all come full circle..with Davida's daughter in law getting baptized, Davida getting married, now we are teaching her husband.
I know I talk about Davida all the time, but she blows me away. Her influence has bless the lives of so many, including mine.
When missionaries who had a short amount of time left to serve would start freaking out, to be honest, it irritated me. It felt like when you get down to a month or a week there was this expected response from missionaries. Like if you didn't hyperventilate then that means you didn't love your mission..Well..it still irritates me LOL But I have had a couple experiences that have kind of hit me in the face about the reality of things. Like when we went and talked to that guy from St. Louis, or when I finally got to meet Carl..Yes, I'll still be a missionary and I'll share the gospel after I am released, but it won't be the same.
There is just something so special, something so personal, when you are set apart and getting to devote all your time and attention..just every fiber of your being, to His work.
I can feel it inside, but I can't describe it. The feeling of gratitude that I have for being able to come out on a mission and serve is something I will feel for the rest of my life. Heavenly Father is very aware of the needs of His children and their potential, I am so grateful He saw more in me in times when I saw nothing..
Sister Efnor
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