August 5, 2013
Missionary Slim thinks, What a powerful sermon in the words, "Thank You, Lord, for boys like these." (Week 78 in Pennsylvania, Week 2 in Dover, PA)
As I expected, the area split has been dramatic, in
every way possible. When transfer calls were all said and done, I made
sure to get the phone number of the sisters coming to take over West
York and to give them a heads up about the area. I caught them as they
were driving along the lengthy turnpike from Pittsburgh to the east,
gave them a quick briefing, and then welcomed them to the area.
I'm sure that somewhere a church clock tower was ringing 12:00 midnight
at the same time our phone was ringing. Sleep was distant for me, so I
immediately answered. On the other end was the brand new missionary
coming into our area, Hermana Law. The poor girl was only in PA for two
days, and she had this to tell me: "We just barely got to our apartment
and the door was locked! We don't have a key and can't get in. What
should we do?" I couldn't help but laugh - it reminded me of when I was
only a few days in the mission. Fortunately, some very friendly members
live just around the corner, so we were able to arrange for them to stay
the night there.
Since then, though, they've been able to get the hang
of things much better. We introduced them to all of the people that we
are teaching - their enthusiasm was hysterical. Because both of them are
still very new on the mission, they are still learning Spanish. So
pretty much every Spanish person we talked to was greeted with "Hola!
Como Estas? Oh, muy bien! Y tu?" etc. etc. you know, the basics. Nothing
much beyond that though. But their excitement was obvious.
As for us up in Dover, things are moving. Not as fast,
but they are going well. We visited an older lady this week who has been
visited before, but not in a long time. Her name is Ferne. When we
stopped by, she was more than happy to see us and sit us down for a
chat. She told us of an upcoming corneal transplant that she was going
to have. We talked a bit about the restoration, prophets, and
priesthood, and then offered a blessing to her. "Sure!" she said, "I
would love one!"
The blessing went well. More importantly, the surgery
went well. When we stopped by yesterday, she bounded out of her chair
and said "Hello, boys!" It hardly looked like anything had happened to
her. In fact, she looked more energetic than usual.
We had a little lesson with her after chatting for a
bit, and then invited her to say the prayer. It was very special when
she said what most people sometimes say: "Thank you for having these
boys come over to visit me." Then she paused. I heard a sob. Then
she spoke through tears. "Thank you Lord for boys like these." The words
were simple, but the meaning was intense. It was incredible. I don't
know if it's possible to even relate what she was trying to say in
words. But it was good.
It's those kinds of moments that make it all worth it.
Take care all!
Love,
Elder Alex Anderson, AKA Missionary Slim
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