“In the end… We only regret the chances we didn’t take, the relationships we were afraid to have, and the decisions we waited too long to make”
--- Lewis Carroll (English author, poet, & illustrator; 1832 - 1898)
This is the story of one of my favorite people that I met during my time in Mexico as a missionary of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. It's a story of service and obedience to the promptings of the still, small voice of the Holy Ghost both of which without, things may have been very different, and not for the better.
**NOTE: If you wish to get in contact with missionaries of the Church to learn more, you can do so at https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/comeuntochrist/requests/missionary-visit
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DOORS
I was on intercambios with the Zone Leaders at the chapel, waiting for their Ward Council to start. A member from another Ward invited us over to watch a video on their phone. It was called, “Hello - Adele (Mormon Missionary Parody)”. It was put together by a couple of returned missionaries for their BYU film class and what made it so hilarious was how relatable it was.
Two missionaries are knocking on doors but are turned away repeatedly. One Elder sings everything while his companion just stands there and smiles the whole time. You don't understand just how much that hits home! They try different approaches which are anything but tempting, each failing after the other. Just as the sun is going down and they're obviously desperate, they offer to mow a lady's lawn and she takes them up on that offer. Afterward, they are at last welcomed inside her gorgeous home and given pie. It’s obvious to see why they are rejected with their first verses because most people don’t like to be preached to. Sings the first chorus: “Hello from the other side! We must have knocked a thousand times To tell you about everything our church does but when we knock you never seem to be home. Hello from the outside! At least we can say that we tried, to ask you if you want to meet with us next week. And it don’t matter if you don’t want to see us again, anymore.”
We couldn’t stop laughing. It was gold! In the following weeks, whenever I knocked on a door that no one answered, I would sing to myself, “Hello from the other side! We must have knocked a thousand times!” and so forth and moved on to the next house and continued with the next verse. It helped ease the blow of frustration. It made light of the matter and gave me the subtle amusement I needed to move on. I couldn’t wait for the one house that would get us to the last verse. Maybe, like the video, someone would let us teach them if we offered to help with their yard?
GO BACK & HELP!
Elder Downey was now training Elder Barrera. Like all new missionaries, he was always positive and full of fresh hope. I was on intercambios one day with him even though we both lived together in Bugambilias. We were working with the people Elder Z, and I planned on visiting for the day.
On our way to an appointment, we passed an older woman by the wayside in the process of breaking down large tree branches that had fallen off a tree in her front yard. We initially passed by her without saying a word but the spirit prompted me to stop a few yards out and repent. I turned around and asked her if we could help cut the branches. She seemed surprised but accepting, “If you really want to”, and after we reassured her of the seriousness of our offer, we took her blunt machete and saw and went to work hacking at the leafy scraps of fallen wood. Elder Barrera went at it with the blade as I helped hold the branch steady but as we’re letting this woman rest a bit, she starts asking questions. She said her name was Aurelia (Ow-ray-lee-ah). I subtly threw segues into the conversation starting with “We’re missionaries of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints but most people know us as the Mormons. That’s because we believe in a book of scripture called The Book of Mormon: Another Testament of Jesus Christ. Have you ever heard of it?” Questions relating to the Restoration kept coming up like the woman who lived in the house on the corner in San José. The conversation was very fluid, fueled and steered by her inquiries. It felt so much more natural and casual than a door approach which is why I always preferred walking up to people on the street. Our service was definitely a plus but it was her curiosity that invited us back.
We invited Aurelia to church although she wasn’t sure if she could make it because of a bad knee, likely due to old age, but that same disability meant we could find her at home in order to teach her at almost any time of the day.
Nevertheless, we were hopeful and happy. She told us we could come back. Elder Barrera asked if we could get a picture of the two of us cutting the branches and she was more than happy to oblige.
We were just about to leave for our next appointment when the spirit whispered to me, “Don’t leave yet. She’s interested. Tell her about baptism. Let her know that you want to help her receive the blessings of baptism”. So before walking away, I stopped and looked her in the eyes and told her that our messages had a direction, a goal, a purpose. Again, the spirit put bold words into my mouth and I told her, “I promise that if you do your part starting now by praying, you will know without a doubt that this is true within three weeks. We are so confident of this that we want to set a baptismal date with you right now, what do you think?” She paused to check the sureness in my eyes and said, “If you’re so confident, I want to know why. Yes. If I know it's true.”
Aurelia didn’t come to church that first Sunday. I called her up and admittedly expressed my genuine disappointment. My disappointment must have troubled her too because she started coming to church after that. We visited her frequently. Her heart was prepared to soak in what we taught her. We helped tidy her yard even more once—lay some brick, move some branches, the usual labor. She fed us a few times. We helped her gain the faith to overcome challenges and adapt to life changes such as giving up coffee.
Once we saw she had a Santa Muerte sticker in her house and we had an interesting discussion to have her get rid of it and anything linked to it. For some reason, she seemed pretty attached to it but the Holy Ghost moved our hearts and discussion. I told her about the blessings of the temple and the promise that the gospel of Jesus Christ gives that we will be with loved ones forever (See "Temples -- Holy Houses of the Lord" and "The Plan of Salvation and Happiness") and that death is nothing but a temporary state, not a personage. Through tears, I expressed my dismay at the thought of focusing on, let alone worshiping, death but the completely opposite joy that comes when we are focused on He who broke the chains of death forever, the Living Christ. I felt a little embarrassed to be so emotional but she committed to looking to Christ from thereon. Allow me to talk a bit more about the blessings that came into her life in a future post as she looked to Christ. (See "The Way")
I’m glad we made time to talk to her. We could have kept walking to our appointment, convincing ourselves that we didn’t have time to help her, but we would have missed out on a lot. But more importantly, Aurelia would have missed out on the gospel. We must never forget the things that matter most. May we always make time away from our busy lives to make time for those around us, those who are placed in our path by the way.
Now that I look back on our experience with Aurelia, I can't help but see the similarities with the Hello Parody. Sometimes actions speak louder than words. You never know the difference a simple "Hello" can do in someone's life.
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