week 41

About a month ago we were walking away from a house and this man at the end of the street started waving at us, which NEVER happens. And it wasn't a member we recognized so we quickly went up and talked with him. 

 

Turns out he is a member of the church and hasn't come in almost 5 years. He has a brother on a mission in Texas. He asked us where the local congregation met, and we told him and then he promptly ended the conversation and walked away. I didn't think much of it for whatever reason.

 

As we walked away back down the street I had these sudden prompting of, "You just let that Elder in Texas down! He's praying that his brother will come back to church and you just let him down!!" So I turned to Sister Harper and said, "we're going to go talk to him and set up a return appointment, RIGHT NOW".

 

He was walking pretty fast and he had gotten pretty far so I made Sister Harper run. She kept saying, "What got into you!?" 

 

We approached him and I said, "Look, I'm going to tell you what just happened. We were going to let you go easy, but I had a very strong feeling that your brother loves you and is praying that you will go back to church and we can't let him down!". He looked at me half shocked and said, "I know he's praying for me".

 

Over the next couple minutes I was extremely bold with him but due to trips and school, he didn't have a time that he could meet with us for the next couple weeks. So I told him that if he promised not to ignore our calls that we would set something up later, he agreed. 

 

Well we FINALLY met with him this last week. He's agreed to take the lessons again and figure it out for himself. He's not doing it to please mom and dad anymore, rather he really wants to know for himself. 

 

He told us he promised his brother to wave at missionaries if he ever saw them. He sees the missionaries on USF campus almost every day, but has been too scared to wave, so when he saw us, he felt like he HAD to. And then he was completely taken aback when we chased him down. But he said, "Ever since you came after me, I've started reading and praying again". The lesson ended with him saying, "You have no idea how happy my mom would be if she knew I was meeting with you right now". 

 

I can't even begin to explain what an incredible experience it is to be on this end of helping answer others prayers. The Lord truly leads us to those that need our help.

 

Love you all!

Sister Mal

how close can you get to a gator??

happy november... we made a sandman!

exchange with Sister Foderaro last night... the woman's bathroom was locked, so one of us stood guard and we quickly used the mens. cheers to mission life.