August 12, 2013

Missionary Slim has a personal experience with the " Gift of Tongues " (Week 79 in Pennsylvania, Week 3 in Dover, PA)

When the transfer happened a few weeks ago, not only did my area split - my district split as well. All of the elders which I once would have done an exchange with suddenly were no longer in my district and, therefore, no longer under my jurisdiction.

Fortunately, there is a loving Father in Heaven who made a way for exchanges to happen.

As it turned out, one of the missionaries who was placed in the other district is a brand new missionary from Ecuador named Elder Andrade. He's super nice, a little quiet, and doesn't speak a lick of English. Well, that's not true - he's had the six week MTC treatment, but at first glance, it seems like he doesn't know a whole lot.

He actually knows a lot more than anyone gives him credit for.

Anyway, his district leader felt that it would be very much impossible for him to do any kind of exchange, because of a leg injury he's recovering from (requiring a car) and the ability of the other missionaries in the district to drive a car (next to none). Add to that Elder Andrade's 'inability' to speak English, and that pretty much means that he's stuck - he can't exchange.

Well, I figured this was an opportunity. Between the two of us and the Zone Leaders, we figured out a way that we could exchange between the districts. When I suggested the first exchange being with myself and Elder Andrade (so that Elder Ramos could train his fresh-to-the-area companion about the area itself), the scoffed at the idea. "He doesn't speak English, though." I was optimistic. "Well, I speak a little Spanish," I said, "So between my Spanish and his English, we should be able to make it work." So, we were given the go-ahead.

Truthfully, I was a little nervous. I've had struggles communicating with my current companion, and he's mostly fluent in the language. This might turn out to be more than I was bargaining for. Fortunately, as I said, Elder Andrade knows much more than meets the eye when it comes to English.

Elder Andrade's area has been going pretty slow lately, because both missionaries are brand new there. He has had no opportunities to share the gospel in English. I decided that my first priority would be to help him practice teaching in English. So, with absolutely no plans before hand (it was one of those days...) we set off to find someone, anyone to teach.

We ended up at the home of a less active family - very less active. They haven't been to church in many years. We got there, and were given just 5 minutes to share a message "And then I have to get going." So, I turned to Elder Andrade, said "Lesson 3" and away he went.

Now granted, he had to take time to think of the correct words and grammar, and his questions needed to be corrected occasionally, but he taught beautifully. At the end, we helped this man realize the importance of daily prayer and invited him to do so.

Our next visit was with a semi-active member with some health problems. The Bishop specifically asked us to visit and give a message, so we wandered over and found the family at home. Again, I turned to Elder Andrade and said "Lesson 1" and he taught so clearly and simply - I was amazed.

Finally, we went to a returned-missionary's home for dinner. After, Elder Andrade taught lesson 2. At the end, the member asked a really tough question, one which he had gotten many times during his mission. After a few minutes of thinking, he came up with the answer, but didn't know how to say it in English.

I'm not sure if this was possible because I understood his language, or if it was given to me to understand in that moment, but I felt to tell him to say it all in Spanish, and I would translate for him. He gave a beautiful answer, and I listened intently, understanding not every word, but the entire meaning.

So, when all was said and done, we were able to go through every single lesson in Preach My Gospel. I felt good. We didn't really teach any investigators, but we certainly did something possibly better - we taught a missionary.

I'll leave you all that to ponder.

Take care!
Love,
Elder Alex Anderson, AKA Missionary Slim

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