COMPANION: ELDER COLLETT
Truths, The Taming of the Floridians, and Much Ado About Eternity. But this one fit best because...
We had a miracle yesterday!! This week we worked HARD. Very hard.
humidity, and there was just no one to talk to! It took us both aback.
We worked desperately to find new investigators to replenish our teaching pool, and Sunday morning came with the prospect of one person who MIGHT come to church. Sigh. So we walked over to church and who should walk in but the Bailey family, who no one had ever seen before. It turns out Brother and Sister Bailey were baptized more than 10 years ago in Ohio, went less-active under the burden of enormous trials, but have recently moved to Starke, have decided to once again become active in the church, and want us to teach the gospel to two of their unbaptized sons. As we taught, a thunderstorm of unprecedented power tore through the little town we were in, and lightening filled the sky. The rain came down so thick looking out the door was like looking through a pond. Sister Bailey commented that it seemed almost as if something did not want us to be there, which gave us the opportunity to bear testimony of Jesus Christ, the Master of storm and sky, and communicate our confidence in His power.
Hehehehee the poor Baileys. We met them at church, then ate dinner
with them that night and taught the first lesson, the sister missionaries are going there tonight, on Tuesday they will play basketball with us, on Wednesday they will be going to young men's, and on Thursday we will be going back out to their house for another lesson. Give the missionaries an inch and they will take MILES. Sweet Brother Bailey went to the bishop and requested a tithing slip, trying to pay right there so a debit card, the first time at church in a decade. That is what faith looks like.
I would like to tell a story on a similar subject. Years ago I was an
Aaronic priesthood holder collecting fast-offerings from a new addition to our ward. The first time I was there, I said hello and was invited in, I announced that I was there to pick up his fast offering and he IMMEDIATELY pulled out his wallet and began writing in the slip. He brought out his children and encouraged them to contribute as well, testifying to their simple ears of the importance of obedience. After closing up the slip and handing it to me, he asked, "By the way, what is fast offerings?" He had either learned the phrase long ago or not at all, and had no idea why this was being asked of him or what purpose he served. He knew only that Jesus Christ had spoken, and he was anxious to obey. This man is one of my heroes and I am thrilled that he now serves in the bishopric of my home ward. That is faith. When you have faith, you act, and the entire universe is there to be acted upon. No paper or coin was master of the human spirit that day. If only it were always so.
Oh! Also this week, I tried something new on Pday! My darling mother sent me CDs with the most absolutely gorgeous classical music on them, and I was anxious to give them the attention they deserve. So I pulled the car into the garage (so that I would still be technically in the house and my companion wouldn't have to be within sight and sound. He does not have as much of a taste for this particular brand of music as I do) and sat in the car and played the CDs for hours. It was about 90 degrees with a similar humidity percentage, and I was HOT, but it was worth it. Like having my own sauna! Anyway, I got out, as wet as if I had just been in a pool, showered, and we went out to work. However, when we got in the car, we became aware of an exceedingly distinct odor that I had left behind. It was... significant. I, of course,
absolutely panicked. So we bout three air fresheners, fabric cleaner,
and some other scented things, and turned that car into the greatest
cacophony of scent you can imagine. Luckily it is all clean and faded
by now, but for a while there it was so potent that I was hesitant to
roll down the window as we drove for fear it would knock birds out of
the sky or incapacitate the casual passerby. Adventures adventures.
I got a ridiculous amount of things done this week, but still have more to do today than I did a week ago! One night I accidentally consumed an enormous amount of caffeine (those little MiO water flavoring things? No idea they had caffeine. I had a whole one right before bed) and was up all night long. Missionaries are plenty exhausted as it is, I did NOT need that in my life. But I made the most of it and it turned out to be the best night ever! I cleaned the entire house, and the car, and organized everything we own, and rearranged all the furniture, and created huge whiteboards to record our goals, investigators, to-do lists and other things (it sounds odd but it is very impressive) and in he copies of the Book of Mormon that we give away I wrote out our testimonies, contact information, and the 15 "questions of the soul" listed in Preach my Gospel with where to find the answers to them in the Book of Mormon. I also exercised (which I needed for sure. Freshmen 15? Try the missionary million.), wrote in my journal, cooked breakfast for my companion, and got to have some alone time with Father. Definitely worth the bags under my eyes.
There is wildlife everywhere here in the thriving metropolis of Starke. I usually see more squirrels in a day than I do people. We see one poor morbidly obese beagle being walked every Sunday. That is the fat dog. We also saw what we call the bear dog recently. This dog is about my size and weight and will leap in the air barking as loud as he can, straining at the fence and lurch as we walk by. It takes some faith to go finding on THAT street! Probably the best wildlife story of the week, though, happened as we were walking down the street and saw (STOP! This story is not for the faint of heart. I told it in Sunday School and the members did NOT appreciate it. The sensitive spirit may wish to skip to the next paragraph) a baby bird trying to learn how to fly in the middle of the road! It was chirping and hopping about adorably, fluttering off the ground a couple inches at a time. We, of course, stopped to bathe in the cuteness. After a couple moments, as we were commenting on how sweet this experience was, a hawk swooped down with a screech, snatched up the baby bird in its claws, and flew away. Our faces were of absolute horror, and we were left breathless and wide-eyed for several seconds, until suddenly we burst out laughing hysterically, and got ourselves the heck out of there before a hawk came and swooped US away. Just a taste of the adventures had on a daily basis in Starke.
Okay, emotionally traumatizing segment over. I still love the Book of
Mormon. I am still enthralled by its teachings and precepts. The parallels and wisdom of 2 Nephi 2 and Alma 42 alone deserve half a lifetime of study at least. But today, I want to highlight this verse:
"And then shall it come to pass, that the spirits of those who are righteous are received into a state of happiness, which is called paradise, a state of rest, a state of peace, where they shall rest from all their troubles and from all care, and sorrow."
This is what my sleep-deprived body and restless human soul is starving for. Elsewhere in the sermon of which this verse is a part, the next life is referred to a place where we can enter in (poignant
to a missionary who sees so many slammed doors), sit down (a welcome phrase to the legs held up by shoes beginning to show their wear) and experience BLISS. I cannot imagine what it will be like. I catch glimpses within the walls of the temple, the pages of the scriptures, or the embrace of sincere prayer, but I am ignorant of the true scope and meaning of that destiny awaiting us. I am just fine with that. For now, my hope is enough. My hope is in Jesus Christ and His Atonement, and I know that soon, so soon, there will be a rest for us all, if only we endure, and partake.
But not yet! The very next verse after this particular segment, it is said of the author that "[he], himself, could not rest, and he also went forth" ("to declare the word unto them"). There is work to do! There are miracles to happen! There are miles to walk and bike and doors begging to be knocked. Most of all, there are souls to save. Restless souls. Souls so much like mine.
I hope you had an amazing week! I hope the storms were impotent and
the days were full of rest. And happy Memorial Day! I love you.
~Elder Jorgensen