Mark and the Miracle
Hello Friends and Family!
This week has been awesome! As always, it has been full of
miracles. Truly, we do have a
First, just an awesome miracle. One day, Elder Sorensen and I were
praying about where we needed to be. We both felt strongly that we should try
an area fairly close to our apartment, that has most likely been knocked
several times in the past. However, we headed out, and began to walk down the
street where we felt that we should be. Elder Sorensen and I felt that a
particular apartment with a light on would be a good residence to start at. As we were approaching the door (actually, it
was just the screen door, because the actually door had been opened to let some
air in), the individual in the home saw us coming towards the apartment, and he
stood up, looked right at us, and as we started to say hello he slammed the
door right in our face. This is not the miracle! In fact, this is quite a
common occurrence in missionary work haha! However, we looked at the door just
right across from this one, and figured we might as well knock it since we were
already there. We knocked, and a woman by the name of Maiumy answered. She smiled super big at us, and in broken
English said, “I’m a Mormon too! Come
in!” Somewhat shocked, we just smiled and entered her home and sat down with
her. Shortly, we found out that she had
immigrated to this country from Micronesia, and had been baptized there almost
20 years prior. She said that she used to attend Church heavily, but recently
she moved from Alabama, and has gotten a job which requires her to work every
single Sunday. As she explained the
situation, she just was so sad and so concerned, and then she said, “I just
need prayers. I just need God again.” We prayed with her, gave her the Church
address (she wasn’t even aware of where it was located), and encouraged her to
ask her employer for Sunday’s off to be able to attend Church. Reflecting back on this experience, I can more
fully realize how Heavenly Father often works in mysterious (and often times
unknown) ways, to bring about His purposes. Although Elder Sorensen and I both
felt prompted to knock the door with the light on, it quickly turned out that
this was not the reason why we were supposed to be there. Heavenly Father knew
that to get us, as a companionship, to the door we needed to be at, He needed
to get us to a door that we would feel more naturally drawn too in that moment.
Heavenly Father never forgets, and never
is made unaware of any situation we may be in. Being able to see, and find
someone, that is a member of the Church, but now not attending, just shows how
merciful our Heavenly Father is to all of His children. Through the Spirit, and through His Will for
us at that time, we were lead exactly where we needed to be too find and pray
with one of His daughters. What an honor it is to be a part of miracles like
this every single week. I think this miracle is also a great reminder of one
thing: if we ever feel we need God once again in our lives, it is never too
late.
The second miracle I wanted to share is short, but beautiful.
Elder Sorensen and I, again, had been praying about where we should be knocking
on doors. We felt to try knocking a wealthy side of town, and a street that
often times seems unpromising for any missionary. However, we felt that we
needed to be there, and the Spirit always makes known to us where we need to be
and when, even though we might not understand why. We started knocking doors,
and as expected, we made almost zero progress with any door or any individual
we tried to talk too. Finally, we came to the very last house on the street. If
you are familiar with my other experiences about trying the last door, you
could probably guess how this moment went. We knocked, and a younger man
answered. We explained who we were, and how we believe that Jesus Christ’s one
true Church has been Restored to the Earth again with a Prophet and Apostles at
its head. The man stood there a moment,
then said, “I’ve been looking into which Church is true. I can’t seem to find
it. Why do you think that yours is the true one?” How amazing is that? Heavenly
Father is so real! We were able to set up a return appointment with him, give
him a Book of Mormon (which he was very excited about), and leave our
testimonies of the Restored Gospel with him. Walking away, we both just smiled
as we realized how God’s Plan for all of His Children has been known from the beginning,
and the idea that He allowed us to cross paths with that man, just softened our
heart towards the Will of God. I know that this miracle taught me, on a deeper
level, of how God is willing to lead us to those who need us and the Gospel
most, at the time we are supposed to be there. Simply, there are NO such things
as coincidences.
The third thing I wanted to talk about isn’t so much of a
‘miracle’, by definition, but more of a spiritual experience. This past week we
were also able to have Zone Conference in Macon with Elder Klebingat of the
Seventy. There was something he said that I really liked. He said, “Many go
through the mission, but almost no one lets the mission go through them.” I’ve
been reflecting on these words for the past few days, and figured that the same
phrase could be used, but instead, have it say, “Many go through the Gospel,
but almost no one lets the Gospel go through them.” He also said how repentance
is, simply, just becoming more Christlike. Along these lines, I would hope that
we can reflect this week on if we are letting the Gospel go through us, and
letting it change us by the Power of the Atonement of Jesus Christ. I have felt the mission slowly changing me,
and allowing me to more fully live and love the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I know
that Faith is key, and that as we strive to live our life with Faith, that we
will draw closer to our Lord and Savior every day.
To close my letter, I wanted to share with you all the most
amazing, and humbling, part of my week. This past Saturday, Elder Sorensen and
I had allotted most of the afternoon to contacting and finding time. However,
we may not have planned the best day to go finding, because we had walked about
five miles away from our apartment, and it started to pour rain on us! It was
only about 40 degrees before it started raining, and the temperature quickly
dropped in the 30’s. Did I mention we
were both in short sleeve white shirts? We got so cold that our hands and arms
began to change color, and the muscles in our neck and arms began to twitch. I
don’t get cold often, but I was freezing. The wet rain just stuck to us, and we
decided to say a prayer. Actually, we said several. As we began to walk down the street
(literally, less than ten seconds after one of our prayers), a car pulled up
next to us, stopped, and rolled down the window. Being a missionary in the
South, this usually isn’t a good thing, to say the least. However, I looked at
who it was, and IT WAS MARK! Mark is an individual that we ran into about two
weeks ago, and we helped to clean his yard for almost five hours. Nothing much,
in the moment, came from helping him. He
was super nice towards us, and gave us water while we cleaned, but stated he
wasn’t too interested in the Gospel or our message. However, here was Mark,
pulling right alongside us! He said, “Y’all need a ride? Get in!” We hurried
and got in the car, and explained to him how he was a literal answer to our
prayers. He laughed and said, “You know, it's funny. I was going to a meeting in town, and I just
happened to be thirty minutes early, and thought I would just drive around for
a little bit. Then I saw y’all walking down the road!” After we got his number,
and he agreed to let us come back and do more service at his house sometime
this week, and hear our message, he dropped us off. Elder Sorensen and I just looked at each
other, while soaking wet and shivering, and said, “God is so real.” This may
sound like a small experience, but it strengthened my testimony so much in the
power and need to pray. Heavenly Father lets the rain pour down on all of us,
but our decision to pray, and to ask for help from Him, is purely up to us and
our agency. I realized how Heavenly
Father is preparing to answer our prayers of tomorrow, by putting people in our
path today. I know that Heavenly Father’s Will and divine design is perfect,
and has been created for the benefit and blessing of all involved. I do know
that Jesus Christ is my personal Savior, and that he died for my sins and weaknesses
and failings. I love my Father in Heaven, and feel so
I love each and every one of you, and I thank you for your
continued prayers and support.
Until Next Week-
Elder Robb
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