A Hindu and some Humility

Hello Friends and Family!

This week has been another fantastic week in the mission field! It seems that Heavenly Father continues to bless us more and more here in LaGrange, and I am always humbled by the many miracles that I am allowed to witness on a daily basis. After pondering over the past week, I put together a few of the most amazing miracles we experienced and hope that by reading them your testimony can increase in the Power and Love that our Heavenly Father has towards all of His Children.

First off, Cecilia and her whole family came to Church on Sunday!  It was the most amazing thing EVER. Elder Sieverts and I were waiting by the Chapel doors for thirty minutes while everyone piled in, but Cecilia didn’t show up. As the Sacrament Meeting started, we went to the front to help bless the Sacrament. As the Sacrament hymn began, and as we started to break the bread, I had this overwhelming feeling to look up. I paused, looked up, and right as I did so, I saw Cecilia (with her whole family following her) enter our little Chapel.  I was just overcome with humility and joy that she was able to make it! After the Sacrament, I went and sat by Cecilia, and when I sat down, she said, “You know I watched the Restoration video you gave me.” Two days prior, we had given Cecilia the short 20 minute film of the Restoration to watch on her own, and so I was excited to hear this. I asked what she thought and she said, “You know, I just felt really connected to Joseph Smith. He wondered where the truth was, and so did I at one point. I loved it.” I was just so happy.  I got the biggest smile on my face, and she just started laughing and said, “What, you didn’t think I would watch it or something?” We had a good laugh, and the Spirit was strong throughout the rest of the meeting. When she left Church, I asked her, “So, what did you think of Church today Cecilia?” She responded, “It was awesome. I just feel peace here. All the other Churches are just loud and noisy, but this is the real deal.” The whole rest of the day I was just so humbled by the Love that our Father in Heaven has towards all of us, as His children. One of the ways that He shows His Infinite Love towards us, is through Church attendance, and the Spirit that we feel there. What a wonderful and remarkable blessing it was to see such a miracle.

Next, Elder Sieverts and I saw another really awesome miracle this week. When I was with

Elder Sorensen, we were able to do a lot of finding, and knock a lot of doors here in LaGrange.  Now, LaGrange isn’t that big, and so we have been running out of places to go.  If we go too far out from LaGrange (because our Area is massive) it makes having consistent appointments with investigators hard and we must then become reliant on the members to take us to those appointments, and we simply don’t have the member strength to do that. Long story short, we have about a 12 mile radius around LaGrange that is within our ability to contact right now (until the situation in the Branch changes). Elder Sieverts and I were just praying and praying to find a new place or neighborhood that Elder Sorensen and I had missed, that we could go contacting to. Early this week, we found one tiny street I had never done before, and then, over the trees, Elder Sieverts saw the roof of a large apartment complex. Confused, I told him that I had never seen those apartments before! We found our way over there, and sure enough, there ended up being three very large apartment complexes right next to each other. It may sound funny, but this was such a miracle: to find a new place to contact.

One of the most amazing miracles of the week happened at this apartment complex.  We were knocking doors, when we knocked into a Hindu man named Raj.  Because we are in the Bible Belt (which, I’ve found it really is named that way for a reason) it is very rare to find someone that doesn’t know who Jesus Christ is, or what Christianity is in general. Then there was Raj. When he opened up the door, he said, “I’m Hindu, and I don’t know who Jesus is . Could you come back on Sunday and explain it to me?” We agreed, of course, and when we came on Sunday, he let us in, and we sat down with him and his family and explained who the Savior Jesus Christ is, and what his suffering means for all of us. The Spirit was so strong there, and then we taught him the basics of the Restoration and how his family could be together in the next life. When we finished, he sat there, looking at the Book of Mormon in his hands. Then he said, “You know, I wasn’t actually planning on meeting with you today. I had a meeting this afternoon, and when I told you to come back today, I was planning on being gone so I wouldn’t have to talk to you guys.” We all laughed, and I was somewhat caught off guard with his extreme honesty haha! Then it got quiet again, and he said, “I work for Duracell out here, and we always have training meeting on Sunday. This is the first time that they have EVER cancelled our Sunday training.  So, I guess your God might just be real?” I quickly felt beyond humbled again, and realized more fully everything that God had done to allow Elder Sieverts and I the opportunity for Raj and his family to hear the message of the Restored Gospel. We bore our strong testimony to him that God is real, that Jesus Christ is real, and that there is only the One true and Living God. We explained to him the importance of reading the Book of Mormon, we taught him how to pray, and then we asked him, “Raj, if you feel peace (which is the Spirit) when you read the Book of Mormon with your family, and when you pray about it, and when you know these things are true, would you follow Jesus Christ as your Savior?” There was barely any silence and he responded, “Yes. No doubt I would. I will read and pray about it every day, when can we meet again?” It was such an amazing experience. When he explained to us his story from moving from India in 2013, I realized even more all the miracles that had to take place to allow us to find him, and teach him the Restoration.  I would encourage all of us to be more grateful for the little coincidences that happen to us every day, and to more deeply ponder all the many UNSEEN miracles that had to have taken place for that miracle to happen. I have gained such a strong testimony on my mission of the power of prayer, the power of fasting, and of the power of being grateful for the little things.

This week I’ve been reflecting a lot on the words of Joseph F. Smith. He said, “You need never fear, my brethren and sisters, if you do not receive any very great or marvelous manifestation, or if you do not receive any very wonderful revelations from heaven, if you will only live so that God can reveal Himself to you if He will. You will be all right, you will have nothing to fear, you will have nothing lacking, so far as you are concerned, if you are in a position to receive the will of God whenever He is ready or desires to make it manifest to you. That is enough. And then God will only reveal to you that which is necessary for your development, for your growth and advancement in the knowledge of the truth.” I know this is true. I do know that every single experience, every single moment, and every single decision is for our growth.  I do believe that every pain we have, any trial we face, or any unexpected loss we are troubled with, is all for our Eternal benefit. I have seen how shortly and quickly I forget the tender mercies of God, and realize more every single day how patient He is with me through all of my imperfections and struggles. I do believe in the power of Christ’s Atonement, and in the Miracle of Forgiveness.  I feel beyond blessed to be a missionary, to be in the field, and to be in LaGrange. I have seen nothing but blessings, miracles, and God’s Hand touching my own life every single day.  I pray for all of you every night, and I feel your prayers as well. Thank you for all your support, and for your added testimonies!

Until Next Week-

Elder Robb