Phone Call with Luke 11/29/21
We had a great time talking to Luke this morning. This time he called around 6:15 am - right when we were rushing to get off to school and seminary, but it was nice that he got to see everyone. He seemed like he was in good spirits and I loved that he shared so many "miracles" that he had seen this week. I love when missionaries recognize that they are little miracles and tender mercies that happen when you are involved in the work of the Lord!!!
Here's some of the stories that he shared...
Well first of all the poor kid has another sty in his eye! He got one a year ago and it was so bad that his eye swelled up and was completely closed! YIKES! When he felt it coming on he saw his President at the zone conference and a tender mercy is that he is a Optometrist! So his president gave him some pointers and told him a medicine to go and get at the pharmacy. So already it is looking better and didn't completely close up (THANK GOODNESS!) Poor kid! He looked like he got in a fight!
He told us there was a member family that had a teenage son who was struggling and the mom really wanted to missionaries to come visit him. The only problem was that there was always family around and so they didn't ever get much time to visit with him. Well they randomly went to see the family and it just so happened that he was home alone! A little miracle! So they got to visit with him and they noticed that he was constantly on his phone and distracted. They finally asked him whey he has been sad and he shared that there was a girl at school that he kind of liked and she didn't like him, and that he was just down. Luke said that watching him spend so much time on his phone and sharing videos with them that were less than uplifting, he felt like he was watching himself and how he used to be so addicted to his phone. So he shared with him that just like our bodies need food, our spirits need nourishment. They promised him that if he spent time in the Book of Mormon everyday, even if it was just 5 minutes to start, he would feel a difference and he would be happier. I loved hearing Luke teach this doctrine about how it can affect us when we are spiritually hungry!
There was another family that they visited and they wanted a blessing on their house. The parents have been struggling and Luke said at times they feel like they are marriage counselors. They asked Luke to give the blessing on the home and he was little nervous at first but his companion pulled up on his phone how you start it and Luke was able to read from that and then give the blessing. But right before he was about to start all of a sudden the mom let out a little scream and they looked up and there were mosquitos ALL OVER THE CEILING!!! They were COVERING it!!! He said that after the storm they had it's like it stirred up all the mosquitos and they have been constantly battling them! He said they suck their blood so fiercely that they will land on them and when they smack them to kill them their blood just gets splattered! So the missionaries have little blood marks all over their white shirts! So crazy! Now he understands how important it was to get the vaccine for malaria!
He and his companion Elder Ramos have been leading their zone in Facebook contacts. The other day his companion had 18 contacts and 3 new people to teach from the contacts. And then while we were on the phone with him his companion came in and said he found 18 more contacts!!! He is so great at using Facebook as a tool!
Speaking of his companion.... he came in and talked to us for a minute and I absolutely LOVE seeing the love and respect that he and Luke have for each other. As he was telling us again how awesome Luke is and what a great missionary he is I could see Luke tear up, which of course made me tear up! I love that he is such a great trainer for Luke. Luke shared that his companion is a zone leader and they had to go talk to a companionship that is struggling and Elder Ramos shared with them how crucial it is that they get up on time at 7:00 am and that they make sure they go to bed by 11:00 pm. This was really drilled into Elder Ramos by his trainer and he has made sure he has been obedient to that rule and it has blessed him. I was so excited to hear this. This was one of the things I was worried about with Luke. He has had a tendency in the past to sleep in and he struggled with it in the MTC. To hear Luke learn from his companion's example how important it is brought me such joy and peace! What an amazing companion! What a huge blessing. I told Luke to remember all the things he was learning from him because he is going to have hard companions and also he is going to be a leader and needs to remember these lessons.
Another awesome experience he shared was that one day they were walking along and they saw a lady with her baby that was having car trouble, I think they had a flat or something. So Luke and his companion asked if they could help. She said that help was coming in 10 minutes or so and so they kept walking home. When they got home Luke got a prompting that maybe they should go back and check on the lady. At first Elder Ramos was not worried and reminded him that help was coming. But then he stopped and said "Elder Rose are you having a prompting??? Maybe we should follow it!" So they decided to go back. It was a 20 minute walk and so Luke was hoping it was a prompting and not them just wasting 40 minutes. As they were walking back they saw a guy sitting out on the porch of a restaurant and they guy yelled to them in English "Hey! Where are you from???" Luke was so surprised to hear English! No one speaks English! So they ran over to talk to him. Luke learned quickly that you don't say you are from America because they get offended because they are also from America, South America! So Luke told him he is from the United States. The guy had lived in New York and worked for the UN! They talked for a bit and then the guy got a call and had to leave. They were bummed and wished they could talk to him more. So they continued on the check on the stranded lady and sure enough the roadside assistance was there. So the Elder Ramos said "Elder Rose I think your prompting was so that we could meet that guy!" So they decided to go back and sure enough he was out sitting on his restaurant porch. They talked to him some more and the guy told them he wanted to work on his English. So the Elders took the opportunity to invite him to come take English class from them. He was excited and accepted the offer! Later Luke sent him a church video to watch and he loved it! So hopefully more comes from this contact! Luke was excited because he felt like it was the first time that he took the lead on the contact! So cool!
The Elders and Sisters got permission to get together and have a little dinner for Thanksgiving. The Sisters were going to bring most of the food. But then it started to rain and the Sisters decided to cancel and so all they had was 10 empanadas for 6 Elders. Ha ha ha, not your average Thanksgiving! :)
There is a guy in their branch named Silvio. Actually Luke's companion's brother taught him years before and baptized him. He is amazing. It seems like he knows everyone in town! He goes out with the missionaries and before they go he prays that they will find someone. More than once they will be out and sure enough he sees someone he knows and tells them to listen to the missionaries! Well he had a nephew that he told them to go and help move. They got there and the nephew was pretty shut off and told them he didn't know Silvio. They helped him anyway and finally at the end Silvio shows up and of course he is the uncle. But then it was the funniest thing because one of the new and very young elders was there and is constantly being immature and trying to wrestle and fight Luke. He is bugged by him and so as they are there helping the Elder starts up again and is trying to wrestle. Luke was just pushing his head down and trying to stop him. Well the nephew thought it was the funniest sight and started to laugh at them! He said "These gringos are funny!" Well it softened him a little and then he let them come to his house to talk to him. Ha ha ha not your typical way of getting a contact! :)
They found another guy on the streets that they started to talk to and they found out he has a drug addiction problem and wants their help. They testified that through Christ change is possible! He has a wife and 2 kids and so they are excited to teach them and help him to overcome his addiction. Can't wait to hear how things go with this family!
Luke enjoyed the Multi Zone Conference they had. It's great to be with the missionaries and to learn so much. He said he said goodbye to one of the AP's that was the first one that greeted Luke when he arrived. Luke looks up to him so much. His name is Elder Stoker and he will be going home this month. Luke gave him a hug and Elder Stoker told him he knows Luke is going to be a great missionary! It's so cool what our words do for people, that really lifted Luke up and made him feel good. I hope he remembers those feelings and the confidence Elder Stoker has in him for the rest of his mission!
Here's some of the pictures Luke shared with me while we were on the call....
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