Written by Carter. I exchanged emails with a friend who wondered why he hadn’t received an email from us in several weeks; he (jokingly) wondered if we had taken him off the mailing list? Thank you, friend, for the call to repentance…and here is this week’s letter!
Faye and I feel like we are serving a “member and leader support mission”! Not complaining at all; we love it! We mentioned previously that we were asked to visit an 84-year-old single woman who joined the Church at about age 10 and was very active for many years. Because of hurt feelings, she stopped attending for the past several years. We feel blessed to be a part of her starting to attend regularly again. Several members are reaching out to her, so I hope she will continue to attend when we go home.
We are participating in missionary lessons with a man from Trujillo, Peru (near where my brother, Young, served 45+ years ago) and who is an engineer for the new temple being built in Auckland. His English is pretty good…but I think he appreciates when I translate some complex concepts into Spanish for him. He had not been reading in the Book of Mormon daily, so we invited him to do that and I bore testimony of its influence and power for good in my life. Since then, he has been reading daily. He has accepted a baptism invitation for March 6 and is excited about taking that crucial step on his journey back to Heavenly Father.
We have also been reaching out to a woman in her 40s from Mexico. She joined the Church 6 months ago. Her husband and son were not baptized; I don’t know how interested they are. We had a nice visit with her yesterday. We invited her to fast about a challenge she is facing…and we fasted with her.
We have also been participating in lessons with a 39-year-old single woman. She has had many challenges in her life, but seems to be sincere in her search for the truth. In one lesson, I felt like I should read from a talk by Boyd K. Packer where he quoted Isaiah 1:18. She said, “I randomly opened my Bible this morning…and that is the very verse that I read!” Coincidence? I don’t think so! How humbling it is to be a part of God’s work.
Yesterday a friend (since 4th grade) and I spoke on the phone for over 90 minutes! It was great to get caught up with him and his family. What a priceless treasure is a good friend!
This morning, one of Faye’s high school classmates contacted her on Messenger. She did a DNA test and has found her half brother. Through his DNA test, he is distantly related to me! I called her on Messenger to get more details. Her half brother is also related to the St. David Ward Family History Consultant! I called him and put her in touch with him. What a miracle and blessing are these technologies to help us learn about our roots!