inspiring email.

For the past two years, I have had the blessing to get letters from all around the world from missionaries that I have taught. I have noticed that Heavenly Father answers many of my prayers through these letters.  Funny how that works. If I have a question or doubt in my head, I usually recieve a letter within the next few days from a missionary discussing that very thing I was thinking about. I usually keep the letters to myself (and occasionally let my mom read them...that gets super cute because usually she cries as I read them to her) but this letter was just rad so I thought I'd share. It is from one of my fav's serving down in Mocambique right now.


"...This week, I wanted to share with you all, an experience that I had concerning the Power of Planning. As a missionary, not a day goes by that I cannot see clearly, a powerful opposition to the work. We truly do seem to be stuck in the middle of a war, a Spiritual War. I cannot count how many times our lessons have been interrupted by people who only seem to want to Fight with Words. The Bible says this, the Bible says that. The confusion only seems to grow larger with each passing day. On one occasion, we were sitting with a group of four young men. (One of them was a recent convert who invited more friends to learn) Before we even had the chance to begin our lesson, a man drenched in his daily alcohol came up to us and began telling us why his drinks were good for us. After waiting patiently for him to lose interest, and seeing him walk away, we proceeded to begin our teaching. Not even 10 seconds after we started, the second drunk came by..........Really? hahah. I call them the Tag Team Drunks. His message was very similar to the first man´s. With my new found Patience, I was able to look him in the eyes without speaking one word. He eventually got the hint, and decided to leave.........But, it didn´t end there. Once this man decided he was finished having his fun, a nearby stranger decided it was necessary to throw in his two cents as well. Hahaha. Needless to say, there is a definite opposition to the work we are currently engaged in, and the message we have about Jesus Christ.


These experiences, as well as others, caused me to spend some much needed time in making backup plans. One night, while sitting at my desk, I began to think about what I could do to make best use of all the time we have. I began to think about the list of innactive members we had, and the GPS coordinates for all their homes. At this moment, I guess you could say, my military training kicked in. I thought about creating a map of all the GPS Locations. With a map, regardless of where we were in Marromeu, we would be able to find the closest innactive member to our current location. This proved to be really effective during those times where our appointments seemed to fall through. Instead of standing on the road, wondering who we could visit, we simply pulled out the GPS and map, and went to the house of the closest member. Many would think that my idea was a bit overboard, but I can tell you from this next experience, that the Lord was well aware of my plans and wasted no time putting them into play.

About a month ago, my companion had to escort one of the other Elders here to a Hospital in Beira. He had a very bad tooth infection that needed immediate attention. Well, seeing as missionaries always travel in two, this left me with the opportunity to work with one of the Branch Missionaries. (Barnebé, a really good friend of mine) We immediately got to work visiting all the innactive members we could, and because Moçambicans are accustomed to riding bikes, we definitely "Made Good Time." (Let´s just say that my legs are going to be nice and strong by the time I get home) hahah. I was so excited by the progress we were seeing in just half a day, that I continued pressing forward to do more. My excitement was completely shot down however, when he asked if we could quickly visit his house to put away some clothes he hung up to dry. Because I´m such a nice guy, I decided to give into his request. The only problem was, that his house was 20 minutes away from all the work we were doing. Along the way, I had to think about whether the decision I had just made was in fact, a good decision. When we finally arrived at his small home, I watched as he gathered his clothes and took them inside. It was during this small moment of rest, that I received an idea to look at my GPS Map. "Hmmm, if he lives way out here, someone else has to as well," I thought. Opening up my bag, and taking out the map, I instantly noticed a small dot in the middle of nowhere. This small dot just happened to be right next to his home. I again, became excited! Maybe the trip out to the middle of nowhere wouldn´t be a waste of time. After asking him if he knew the family that was nearby, he quickly replied, "Brother Nchuca, Oh ya, I know where they live." "Well let´s get going." I said. Riding single tracks through banana trees, and along open fields, we finally arrived at the families´ home. To my surprise, we were greeting by an elderly man with a pointy grey goatee. His tears could not be hid behind the small lenses of his glasses. He immediately had us sit down, and explained to us how grateful he was that we visited. He then told us what had happened. His daughter, had become ill and was bed ridden. He knew he needed some sort of help, but didn´t know where to find it. It had been years since the Missionaries had visited him, and in a place where home teaching doesn´t exists, things were looking grim. It was then that he decided to place his trust in the Lord. He fasted and prayed for several nights that he might receive a visit. A visit.....a simple visit.........Well, because of his great faith, the Lord heard his prayers, and honored his sacrifice. Not a day after he put his trust in the Lord, he proclaimed, "The Lord sent me his Angels." Barnebé and I. We all proceeded immediately indoors, were I had the privelege of not only blessing his daughter, but teaching him, a Melchizedek Priesthood Holder, how to give a blessing. The entire experience was something I will never forget.
To know that I was the answer to someones prayers, brought a greater sense of joy and satisfaction than I have ever felt....... And all because of what........A Dot.....A simple dot on a simple piece of paper. There are many who will criticize the things that we do, but I can testify, that when we makes plans to assists the Lord in his work, he will not let them go to waste. If I had not made that map, Brother Nchuca would not have recieved that visit. If I did not agree to follow Bernabé all the way to his distant home, Brother Nchuca´s daughter would not have received that blessing. The Lord is aware of all of our troubles. He knows that there are people who are seeking aid. He knows how to get us to them. We simply have to make a plan; stay 10 stepes ahead of the Adversary; and act when we receive the Whisperings of the Spirit."
 
 
 
 
It's this type of miracle that I know we can see if we pray for them.