Placentero nos es trabajar

May 3, 2010
The Mission President met us at the airport, along with 3 smiling APs, one old, one new, one in-between. Sister Blackburn is everything you would expect from her picture-- cheerful, funny, kind and sweet. (She has short blond hair that is always worn spiked up all over her head (-: ). President Blackburn is kind and funny-- always teasing the missionaries, but also totally focused on the work.

We piled our luggage (exactly 100lb a piece) into the mission van and pick up truck, and drove to a local stake center to meet our trainers. There they were-- waiting around their cars-- all smiles and white shirts. These were two sisters waiting for me and Hna. Molena, a tall pretty sister with long dark hair, and... Sister Dickson! She nannied for Holly all last summer, while she was on bed rest-- and we have several mutual friends at the Y. I couldn't belive she was training-- she's only been out for 6 months! We were assigned to be companions for the day- and with a bag full of folletas and a couple granola bars, we each took our temporary companion and spread into the neighborhoods for a few hours of tracking.

I love being a missionary. The day was cool, still a mild LA spring, the flowers were beautiful, and the people in this top corner of the mission were so kind. We knocked a lot of doors, and talked about God, and his love for his children the importance of families, some in English, some in Spanish. I chuckled to myself, as I stuttered out my testimony in English. How many times have I shared my beliefs in my own language? And yet, everything seems so much more natural in Spanish now-- haha! even with my limited vocabulary.

With just a few minutes left, we tried one more complex. Loud music was playing as we climbed the stairs. No. 1, I knocked. The music stopped, and a big man in his 20s answers the door.

“Hey-- what can I do for you”

“Hi, we're from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, I'm Sister Dickson”

“And I'm Sister Hales.”

“Ah, hey. 'Marco.'”

“Juan, so nice to meet you. Enjoying your Wednesday morning?”

We exchanged small talk for a little, and then (just like we practiced so many times in the MTC,) we moved the conversation to religion

“So do you believe in God?”

“Well, kinda. I don't know, I mean, I guess I'm kinda waiting for a sign or something. Maybe.”

I smiled. Someone in the MTC once taught us, always ask your investigators questions because, when they answer, they will speak truth.

“A sign?” I answered, “Well, here we are. "Marco," we are servants of Jesus Christ, sent here to talk to you about the Love that God has for you.”

“Yes,” Sister Dickson continued, “I don't think it’s coincidence that we ended up on your door step today. Is there a time that we can come by to talk to you more about this message of Jesus Christ?”

The look in Marco's eyes as we talked about our mission as servants of Christ, I will never forget. We passed on his name and the return appointment to the other missionaries in that area, so I don't know what happened with Marco, but I knew then that he felt something. I could see in his eyes how much he wanted to be found, and I knew that someday, his heart would be softened and he would seek after these things.