Missionaries

We have an amazing pair of missionaries currently serving in our ward.  They have been with us for several months so we've seen them struggle to find a balance between their very different personalities and learn to work together and appreciate one another.  They have been to our house for dinner a number of times and they now feel comfortable enough to just drop by when they're in the neighborhood.  And we love that.

Tonight they scheduled an appointment to come over and practice teaching a lesson with us for Family Night.  I've always wondered if they really need the practice, or if they're encouraged to do this because it strengthens the members so much.  Either way, it was a lovely lesson and a wonderful way to spend a Family Home Evening.  

The Elders taught a very simple concept of building the Church on a solid foundation of Jesus Christ and his teachings.  They used Dixie cups stacked in various configurations to illustrate this and testified of the Savior's divine plan and organization of His Church as well as the importance of baptism, repentance and faith.  

A few times there were cups that didn't stay upright or one of the missionaries would forget a piece of the lesson.  It wasn't perfect, but I had an overwhelming feeling as they were teaching, that the details and imperfections didn't matter nearly as much as the truthfulness of their message and the Spirit that was helping them deliver it.  And I had an overwhelming feeling of love and gratitude for these two boys.

In Conference earlier this month, Elder Rusell M. Ballard spoke about missionaries and said, "The Light of Christ radiates in their faces, and they are eager to move the work forward - to find and teach, to baptize, to activate, and to strengthen and to build the kingdom of God.  Meeting with them, one quickly comes to know, however, that they cannot do this work alone.  There is an urgency for each one of us to be engaged in sharing the gospel."

I love these missionaries as I have loved all of the missionaries who have served in our ward.  That Light of Christ that Elder Ballard talked about is definitely apparent in these two boys.  Their excitement about the gospel is contagious.  And their enthusiasm has helped us to be a little more willing to share what we know and to invite people to listen to their message.  

Transfers are coming up this week, which means that one or both of them will be relocated to a different area within the mission and we won't get to interact with them as much, which makes all of us sad.  Change is hard but necessary.  The next companionship will be great, I'm sure, and we will come to love them as much as we have loved Elder Christensen and Elder Wilbur.  I am amazed at how much they've changed in just the short 6 or 7 months that they've been in Allen.  And I am amazed at the impact they have had on the families in the ward and the people in the area.  

I love the missionary program.  I love the young men and women who leave behind the things they know and the families they love to go to parts of the world they've sometimes never even heard of to teach the gospel in languages they've sometimes never spoken.  And I love the families who support them.  I hope the Christensens and Wilburs know how amazing these two boys are and how grateful we are that we've gotten to know them.