Tender Mercies

 This week past week Luke was struggling a bit and said nothing was working.  They were trying to contact people and no one seemed interested.  He decided to kneel down and pray and to go on faith.  They were finishing up their day around 8:30 pm and were on their way home.  They were walking through a very sketchy neighborhood and as they were passing by a house they remembered that they had contacted someone a month or so ago that seemed a little bit interested and they just hadn't had the chance to go back to them so they thought they would stop by.  They knocked and a guy told them to come in.  It was a very humble house.  There was a man there and he said his wife was busy putting the kids to bed.  Soon she came out and joined them so they started to share a message on faith.  The couple seemed tuned in and the discussion was going well.  Then they shared about the Book of Mormon with them and soon the wife asked "How do you get baptized?"  Wow!  Luke was so excited that they Spirit was so strong and that she was pondering such great questions like this!  So they showed them a video of Christ being baptized and again the Spirit was there testifying to them.

After the video they got talking and the husband, Ceasar, opened up and started sharing that he has felt lost and emotionless.  Years ago, when he was 16 years old, he lost his family in a house fire. (He is 29 years old now) He lost both his mom and dad and a couple of siblings.  He still has a couple of brothers left, but that horrible incident has left him struggling all these years.  He has felt responsible for the accident.  Luke shared with him that he had a message for him and his family.  One of the plan that God has for us, and he testified that he knew it would bring him comfort.  He also told him that if he felt like the things that he was sharing were true then would he be baptized?  Then he asked them how they felt about the things that they shared.  The wife responded that she felt relief, like a weight had bee lifted off her back.  She said she was not knowledgeable about God and wanted to learn.  Ceasar thanked them so much for coming to their house and said he felt like God had sent them.  He asked them to please come back.

Luke and his companion tried to go back on Friday.  He called and called them and realized they had given them the wrong number.  So Saturday they decided to stop by.  They weren't home so they talked to a neighbor and he ended up being interested too!  Then they went back Sunday and again they weren't home.  Again they talked to the neighbor who ended up being Ceasar's brother named Sergio.  He told them Ceasar was not home but was just down the street at their aunts house.  He sent his kids to go and get him.  Instead Luke said he could go too and so Sergio went with them and they went to the aunt's house.  When they got there Ceasar asked why they didn't contact him.  He was going to go to church with them and was disappointed he didn't hear from them.  It ends up that Luke and his companion wrote the phone number down wrong. :(  Such a bummer, but they were relieved that Ceasar was indeed interested and hadn't given them a wrong number to avoid them :)

They found out that Ceasar had read everything they had left him to read.  He read 3 Nephi 11, and the whole pamphlet they had given him on the Plan of Salvation!  They were so excited!  He said he was busy right now and couldn't meet with them but wanted to again soon.  So they walked back with Sergio and decided to teach him a lesson instead.  But soon Ceasar showed up too!  So they got to teach both of them.

They asked Ceasar what his favorite parts were from all the things he had read.  He told them he liked the part when Christ gave the authority to baptize!  Wow!  They weren't expecting that answer!   Ceasar told them he read it twice so he could remember what he read, and he said he felt like it was true!  They started talking about the Plan of Salvation and shared a video about the temple.  The Spirit was so powerful and Ceasar loved learning that he could do temple work for his ancestors and that his family could be together forever!  He shared that for years he has had this anger and sadness bottled up inside and it has made him feel hate.  He has been so depressed that he has not celebrated his birthday since his family all passed away.  He said he feels constant pain and has never shared it with anyone.  Luke bore his testimony and told Ceasar that is why they were here.  They were sent by God so share about the Plan of Salvation.  He testified that the gospel is a sure foundation and that he had confidence in the plan and that Ceasar would see his family again.  Both he and Sergio said they wanted to be baptized and are shooting for Aug. 20th!!!  What an amazing experience!  Luke has struggled for that past 2 weeks and has felt like no one was progressing and then to have this amazing experience is such a tender mercy!

After I got off the phone with Luke today I just knelt down and prayed and cried!  What a blessing it is go be a member of the church and realize that God is in the details of our lives.  This gospel is a very personal gospel.   Christ is aware of each of us individually.  He is worried about the "one."  God has set up his church so that it caters to the "one."  He sends missionaries out one by one to individuals, to meet in their homes and hear the message from his servants.  Then in the church there is ministering to the "one."  He loves us all individually and wants us to feel him there.  

I also loved hearing Luke talk about one of the missionaries that has been struggling.  Luke was in tears as he shared that this elder wants to go home.  Some how it ended up that Luke had to stay at this Elder's apartment after their zone conference and he and Luke stayed up talking.  They bonded and Luke gave him a heartfelt pep talk.  Later there was a mission zoom call and Luke cried when he saw this Elder on the call and realized he hadn't gone home.  To see Luke crying for this sweet Elder made me cry.  I'm so grateful that he is learning compassion and Christlike love for those around him.  I always think about how amazing it is for these missionaries to go out and learn to think so much about those around them that they come in contact with.  This is the time of life when usually boys their age are so concerned with themselves and their own lives.  But these boys are out there learning to forget themselves and serve, and love complete strangers as they share God's plan for them.  What an amazing experience!  

Sergio and Ceasar