A Veteran and a Blue-collared Baptist
Hello Friends and Family!
What another incredible week here in LaGrange! I hope and pray
all of you had a fantastic week as well, and that you are enjoying this fun
Christmas season. I wanted to take a second and thank my awesome family for
their written letters to me, and cannot even begin to express how much they all
meant. I have never felt more blessed with the knowledge that I will live with
you all forever. I love being a missionary for every reason, but I especially
love the reason that I get to tell others that they, too, can live with their
families forever.
This past week Elder Sieverts and I were scouting out places to
knock doors, and we came around a corner, and we found a whole new apartment
complex! We couldn’t help but feel how Heavenly Father, through the Holy Ghost,
truly does lead us where we need to be. We started knocking here, and within
about 20 minutes, we ran into a younger lady that seemed really interested.
When we met her, she looked at our nametags and said, “So, I just moved here
from another part of Georgia a few weeks ago. Where is your Church at? I’ve
been looking for a ‘new’ one!” We laughed, and told her, and then something
happened that was really amazing. I felt the Spirit impress so strongly on me
to ask her where she worked! I said, “If you don’t mind me asking, where do you
work?” She looked at me for a second, then said, “I just got a job being an
assistant surgeon at the hospital here in LaGrange. Why?” All of the sudden I
realized why the Spirit had prompted me to ask her this question. We have
another younger member of our branch who also works at the hospital, named
Edger, and he is an assistant surgeon as well. I then said, “Do you know
Edger?” She just started freaking out and saying how much she loves Edger, and
how they work together all of the time! I then was able to say, “Well he is a
member of our Church, and he would love to have you come with him to Church I’d
bet!” Come to find out (when we talked to Edger at Church on Sunday) she had called him on FaceTime, and now she is really interested in coming to Church,
and possibly in ‘joining’! That was just a really cool miracle, and it amazed
me how the Spirit can always direct our paths, even in conversation with
someone.
Elder Sieverts and I were also able to go and visit with Russell again (the older gentleman,
On Thursday, Elder Sieverts and I were able to go to Hogansville
for our coordination meeting with our Branch Mission Leader. When we were
trying to get to his home, they were doing construction, and we had to take a
long way around and the backroads somewhat, to get to his home. In doing this,
we parked in a different way then we usually do. After coordination meeting,
Elder Sieverts and I got in the car, and we started driving down a different
road, then we usually go. We came to a stop sign, and I looked at the house on
my left, and right there was Robert! If you don’t remember, Robert was an
investigator that Elder Sorensen and I had been teaching for some time, and
then we simply lost contact with him. We waved at him, and pulled up. He smiled
and said, “Hey, long time, no see! Come up here I gotta talk to ya!” We went
up, and began telling us the most amazing thing. He said that about three weeks
ago, he was at home, by himself, and he started reading the Book of Mormon. In
his own words (at least something close to this), he said, “Guys I saw that
Book of Mormon on my counter, and something just came over me. I remember y’all
told me to just read and pray about it. So, I picked it up, and since then,
I’ve been reading it every single day and praying about it. It is so powerful!
I know that feeling in here [pointing to his heart], and it doesn’t come from
here [pointing to his head]. The Spirit just touched me so deeply. He told us
he has been thinking a lot about baptism since starting the Book of Mormon, and
wants to keep meeting with us. It was such an amazing moment, and it was
amazing to me to find someone who was ready to keep learning about the fullness
of the Gospel, after we thought he wasn’t interested in learning about it
anymore. Then, even thinking back, I can understand how Heavenly Father allowed
for that construction equipment to be in our way, which made us park down a
different street, and made us see him. If it wasn’t for that, we wouldn’t have
been able to get in contact with him, and hear of his amazing experience with
the Book of Mormon. I do know that Heavenly Father is aware of all of us, and
that he will use whatever is necessary to answer our prayers, concerns, and
deepest desires. I also know that the Book of Mormon is Another Testament of
Jesus Christ, and it only takes someone to read it, and pray about it, to know
that this is Christ’s true Church still on the Earth today.
This week Elder Sieverts and I were also blessed to have
an amazing experience. Last week, like I mentioned, we got our very first
member referral! On Sunday, we were able to sit down with him, and discuss with
him the Gospel. As we started visiting with him, he said, “I’ve never been a
part of a Church, so I guess I would call myself a Baptist, because this is the
Bible Belt and all! But, I’m ready for my family and I to find a Church we fit
into, and more importantly, one that we can grow closer in. Does your Church
care about families?” I got so excited; I didn’t even know where to start! It
was such an incredible lesson. It made such a difference, being with a member
in their home, talking with an investigator who was their neighbor that they
referred to us! The individual’s name is DJ, and he is as cool as his name
sounds. When we were explaining to him Joseph Smith, and the Restoration, he
said, “You know, I tried going to the Catholic Church. I tried different
Baptist Church’s, and I’ve tried almost every other church, I just always leave
feeling that the church was more about the pastor, and preacher, than it was
about Christ and Salvation. Does that make sense? I guess I just haven’t found
the right one yet…” The Spirit just touched me deeply, seeing how prepared this
man was for the Gospel, and for the message of the Restoration. I wish I could
describe in words how much it meant to me, knowing that a member had taken the
time to do some missionary work, and allow us to be a part of this man
conversion. I have great faith that DJ will continue to progress, and we also
found out that he’s already finished up all of 1 Nephi! I couldn’t have asked
for a better, and more spiritual, lesson to end our week.
In closing, I just want to leave my testimony with all of
you. I know that Jesus Christ is the Savior and the Messiah. I do know that He
loves me beyond mortal comprehension, and that His Love is constant and
enduring beyond all belief. I do know that Heavenly Father is my Father, and
that He, too, loves me more than anything or anyone else ever can. I do know
that Jesus Christ is our Mediator and Advocate with the Father, and that
someday we will stand before Him to be judged of our works, desires, and our
ultimate Faith in Him. I know that the commandments are set to help us live a
happy life, and are not burdens. I love being a missionary and I love being
able to share the Message of the Restoration every single day, to the
individuals here in LaGrange. Thank you again for all of your support, and for
loving me always! Nothing makes missionary work easier than knowing you have a
strong support system back home. Keep #LightingtheWorld!
Until Next Week-
Elder Robb
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