She sent us away, telling us she only believed in the Bible to be the word of God, knowing for a surety that though we were nice girls, and we did good things, we had nothing to offer her except maybe some warm and fuzzy feelings for a minute, before we started talking about The Book of Mormon and a modern day prophet.
Not by chance, 2 weeks ago we got a referral from the Assistants, who work our area but in English, leading us towards "Elsa and Vicente. Guatemalan. She's fiesty- Sister Millward should get along well with her."
Not by chance, we ended up contacting that referral. As we searched for the given address, our jaws dropped as we came up to the same house as the little Guatemalan lady we had seen so many weeks ago. We knocked; she laughed, and invited us in.
Her hair had grown some- she was going through chemo when we met her first- and she had just gotten a mastectomy. Tears filled her eyes as she spoke of the pain that she felt, and the sadness at not feeling very beautiful anymore. We listened, knowing that God had directed us to her, and then the Elders to her, not by chance. Still though, she would not accept the Book of Mormon.
I have never prayed for anyone before the way I have prayed for her. We had several appointments, all filled with hardly any success, it seemed. We became better friends, and she began to confide more in us as we strove to listen to the spirit and know what she needed. This month in our mission the focus is the Book of Mormon- not by chance, that was what every single one of our lessons was focused on. As she learned about our intentions, and the reasons we were there were all for her benefit, she slowly seemed to soften. It was interesting when she asked, "If I don't read this, will you stop coming?" We knew we had to respond honestly, that our purpose as missionaries was to bring people closer to Christ as we taught them about the Book of Mormon, and that there were more people out there that needed the message we share if they would not accept it. The next appointment, she finally said she would read.
We arrived at 7:45 pm a few nights later, with all the faith we had that they had read and prayed. She had read- and she had liked it. And then her husband stepped in, and asked about the Plan of Salvation pamphlet we had left a few visits ago. We began to teach about where we came from, why we are here, and where we are going- and as we did, their daughter in law and son and grandchildren walked in. It surprised us to learn that the 5 year old girl who runs away from us knows our names, and that they seemed to be talking about us when we weren't there.
Then Elsa began to cry. She had been confiding in us more and more, and she suddenly said, "I know God sent you to me. I thought nothing of you that day on the street when we met for the first time. But as I have gone through surgery, and my daughter in law has been in and out of the hospital, the pastor from my church has never called. We have received no visits from members of my church. But you two have never stopped coming, and you always bring us the word of God when you come. I know God has sent you."
I know that it is not by chance that God opened a way for her to accept us. Although she and her husband are still learning and have not said yes to baptism yet, we know that God needs them to lead their family as we help them follow the example of Jesus Christ and be baptized by someone holding the Priesthood Authority of God.
God's hand is in this work; God guides this work. Of that I have no doubt. I am happy, but more importantly I am so grateful and honored to be the Lord's servant, bring others to him in this beautiful area of Morristown New Jersey. Ain't no place bettah!
Love,
Hermana Millward
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| We put on these clothes by accident... didn't leave the house like that, no worries :) |
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