That's right, another story from my first area of my mission. I learned a lot in that first area. It was a hard area and my first experience as a missionary. It was one of the smallest areas in the mission, and we had little to no work as my first transfer came to a close. The last week of each transfer, we had deep cleaning day. This is where the story begins as I was stuck in the apartment cleaning.
My mind slowly turned to my family as I was alone and didn’t have any source of communication for a while and wasn’t reading.
‘I miss them so much. I wonder what they are doing right now,’ I thought. My mind began coming up with scenarios of what we would be doing all together if I was there. I was beginning to get homesick, but I couldn’t stop myself.
‘What about the work here?’ I thought,trying to focus my mind onto the work we had in Alençon. ‘Who am I kidding, we have nothing here. The branch is tiny, there hasn’t been a baptism in over a year. The most recently scheduled one went down in terrible flames.’
Tears formed in my eyes and I couldn’t help but return to what my family was doing and how I missed them so much. I held the tears back as best I could, but slowly couldn’t see well, so I washed my hands and wiped my tears away. I walked out into the main room and grabbed my scriptures.
I went into the bedroom and opened my scriptures which seemed to fall open to Alma 26. It was a chapter about the sons of Mosiah and their work among the Lamanites. Ammon glories in God in having the opportunity to convert so many.
One of my favorite scriptures. I just threw this graphic together.
“3 Behold, I answer for you; for our brethren, the Lamanites, were in darkness, yea, even in the darkest abyss, but behold, how many of them are brought to behold the marvelous light of God! And this is the blessing which hath been bestowed upon us, that we have been made instruments in the hands of God to bring about this great work.
4 Behold, thousands of them do rejoice, and have been brought into the fold of God.
5 Behold, the field was ripe, and blessed are ye, for ye did thrust in the sickle, and did reap with your might, yea, all the day long did ye labor; and behold the number of your sheaves! And they shall be gathered into the garners, that they are not wasted...
12 Yea, I know that I am nothing; as to my strength I am weak; therefore I will not boast of myself, but I will boast of my God, for in His strength I can do all things; yea, behold, many mighty miracles we have wrought in this land for which we will praise his name forever.
13 Behold, how many thousands of our brethren has he loosed from the pains of hell; and they are brought to sing redeeming love, and this because of the power of his word which is in us, therefore have we not great reason to rejoice?”
I looked up from my scriptures and out into the hallway. Just outside on the wall, a painting of Jesus Christ hung on the wall. It was the painting with him like it was a portrait in the red robe and white clothing underneath.
This is the painting that was hanging outside in the hallway. I love this painting of Christ.
‘He was away from His Father for 33 years, and I’m whining about two years,’ I thought to myself. My tears were now gone. ‘He and His Father knew that He was going to His death, but still both agreed to let the process be done. I can do this. I will see my parents in two years, it isn’t that long. “For in His strength, I can do all things.”’
This proves to me that the Lord is always aware of us individually again. I also found that Christ did everything in His life because of and for us. He lived for us; He died for us. He is the example that everyone should be striving to become.
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