Ch. 71: The Missionary Soap Opera

Chapter 71: The Missionary Soap Opera

 

“If he doesn´t want to be part of your family, he needs to be kicked out on the street!”·Not the words that I was necessarily expecting to come out of my companion to a crying investigator. I was just trying to take in the whole situation. I felt  like my role as a missionary this week has taken the Hollywood direction, and my role is now the lead missionary in the newest LDS soap opera.  

CUT.

Let me explain a little more. Every ward has their “eternal investigators”. These are the people who for some reason or another won´t get baptized, but are practically members. They come to church, they go to activities, some of them even have visiting teaching responsibilities. Well, we have been working with a family that seemed to be under this criteria, and we were determined to shake things up a little bit. We went into the house and gave a lesson on the blessings of baptism when the mom calmly explained to us that she couldn´t get baptized since she wasn´t married, and they couldn´t get married because her “partner” had a problema with cheating on her with this other girl (what??), and that she wasn´t going to get married to him until he could prove himself loyal. We thought the whole situation was bizarre, and the poor kids have had to watch their parents go through that. We are especially working with their son, Manel. Manel is a recent convert that was baptized just over a year ago, and has been through sort of a roller coaster ride since his baptism. Essentially, he was baptized to please his mother, but soon after had a very strong spiritual experience and knew this really was true and that he needed to truly change. That change has been kind of hard for him, but he´s getting there.  He´s been coming and helping us with our citas and really has a strong testimony. Well, the other night right after we had walked into our piso after a long day, we heard the timbre ring (In Spain there is a timbre at all the apartment buildings. You ring it, and you can talk through it to the piso you want to talk to so they can let you into the building). We were wondering who on earth would be ringing out piso timbre at 10 o clock at night, and then we heard Manel´s voice come over the phone.

“Hermanas?”

“Yes Manel?”

“Can you read me a scripture.  Any scripture. Just read me a scripture.” We could tell he had been crying and so we grabbed out our scriptures with haste and starting reading scriptures that we had previously found comfort in. He explained to us that one of his best friends had been killed in an accident and with all his family issues, well needless to say he was going through a rough time. We shared our testimonies with him, and tried to give him the most comfort that we could. After about 45 minutes, he left for home feeling a little better. Every time I open the scriptures, I am more and more convinced of the love of God that we can find on every page, and I am so grateful that this recent convert has also learned of their power. But, the story doesn´t end there. On Sunday, his Mom comes into Relief Society and just collapses on my companion bawling. Obviously alarmed, we took her outside and she explained to us that her partner wanted nothing to do with her, but was still going to live in the same piso.  And she doesn´t have a job to pay for the bills or food or anything, so she can´t really tell him to hit the road. That is where my companion cut in and told her that her “partner” needed to take a hike. I just told her that she was a Daughter of God, deserved better than that, and that she should talk to the bishop. Well, later that evening we returned to the church for an activity, and she comes up, practically skipping no less, and informs us that they had worked out their problems and are getting married next week. I just sat there and stared at her. She was more excited because that meant she could get baptized. Again, I just stared at her. We didn´t want to give any advice, or get involved with the situation more than necessary, but this family could use all the prayers they can get.  Hermana Vaziri and I both looked at each other with concerned faces. Yes she could be baptized….but why on earth was she marrying this man that has been cheating on her for eight years?? This part of the soap opera is to be continued…

However, our drama unfortunately doesn´t stop there this week.  Last week, I talked a little bit about our runaway investigator, and she had a really sad experience. There we were working in the ward garden with her brother actually, when he received the call that we all needed to run to the train station. We all ran there to see his mother their just bawling (I think I have seen enough tears this week to feel our next baptismal font!) This part might be kind of graphic for young audiences, but I thought it had a good moral to the story. (and it has an ok ending). We have been teaching this 17 year old girl, she just ran away, and a few days later she called her mom crying that her boyfriend had tried to strangle her, she was alone, and pretty badly beaten up. We convinced her to come to church with her brother and her mom, and she told us that she felt so loved. I was so grateful she was able to find the love and attention she was looking for in a healthy way…but I can´t help but wonder why she keeps going back to these situations. This is the third or fourth time. It´s absolutely incredible to see the difference in people´s happiness after coming to church. Luckily, this week is youth conference, and so she along with all the youth in the ward are off to Barcelona for the week, and I think it will be a healthy distraction for everyone.

                And just when you think the drama couldn´t get worse—it does. Ok, actually this is more fun drama. African drama! Yes, our cute little Alberta is just about to pop; I´ve never seen anyone more pregnant in my entire life. She was told that she still has about a month to go, but I just don´t see how that is possible. Well, she had a doctor´s appointment to go to this week, and her husband usually goes and translates for her, but he got called into work…So, she called the only other English speakers she knew. We´re here to serve, so why not! I told her that we would all go to the hospital with her and translate. The doctor´s appointment was a presentation about the epidural and the actual birth. I was a little worried about the vocabulary that I was going to need, and then my fear tripled when I soon realized the presentation wasn´t in Spanish. It was in Catalan. I leaned over to Albertha, “Albertha, you told me this was in Spanish. This is is CATALAN.” She just looked at me with wide eyes and replied, “But Hermana Hopkins. You’re a missionary. I know you can do it.” Ok, what am I supposed to say to that!! So, I tried to do the best I can. Catalan has a lot of Spanish influence, so I was able to make out most of it…I hope I explained to good enough for her. Halfway through, they did a presentation of how they do the epidural… I looked over at my companion and her face was just green, and she was rubbing her temples. I was trying not to laugh when I realized I was getting kind of queezy too… That was a really big needle….. The best part of the whole presentation was when they were trying to calm down a couple of almost-mother´s that were also in the room by saying, “We want your birth to be comfortable and a pleasurable experience.” My companion and I looked at the needle, and the picture of the woman giving labor on the board and tried to hold in our laugh. Comfortable and pleasurable is not how I would describe child birth. It was a very different experience compared to most of our usual missionary service. We also are helping Albertha clean her piso this week….We asked her how to clean her carpets, and she handed us a little brush that I would normally use to clean potatoes.  My arms were practically shaking after we had sufficiently brushed the crumbs out of the carpet. Vacuums—God bless the USA. Haha  As we cleaned, Albertha told us, “I don´t care if my little baby plays soccer or is good at school…I just want him to be the next prophet!”  We told her that you never know….and she said, “Ok, well at least a bishop.”  She´s so cute.

                The only “normal” missionary news I think I have is when we had a really sweet experience with Marta this week. She is just getting a long great with all the single adults in the ward, and is just growing so strong in the gospel. We decided to take her to a visit with another investigator her age, and she just bore such a strong testimony. We told her that she just seemed like a missionary! Well, later that night at the family home evening we were at, she announced that she felt the impression that she needed to serve a mission, and that she was going to spend this next year preparing to go. I almost started crying right there, but instead I jumped up and down with her and gave her a big hug. She is honestly so prepared, it´s been such an exciting conversion process. It was funny too because in the activity on Sunday we had a testimony meeting, and she went up and bore her testimony, and two ward members came up to her and said, “We just feel like you are going to go on a mission!” She broke out into to tears and said that it was exactly in her plans to do that.  It´s like she has been a member for years. She´s so great! Although I feel like this week was very long, and full of drama, I think the things I have been learning the most is just how important the gospel is in my life. I am so grateful that I have always had that anchor. That´s not saying I haven´t had problems or won´t have problems, but I know that there are some problems that you can avoid by living the gospel daily. I am so grateful for parents who raised me in the gospel and taught me correct principles. This week has been a very humbling week to say the least. I am so grateful for the people I have in my life!!

Les Quiero a todos!!

Hermana Hopkins 

Ch. 70 El Dia Blanco

Chapter 70: El Día Blanco

The Día Blanco (The day of white)  was an idea instituted by our district leader a couple weeks ago. The challenge is that we would all fast and work for one day so that we would see a baptism. Marta was able to fall in our hands, and we worked and worked so that she would be prepared to be baptized on July 19--El día blanco. It was honestly a very easy process. It was as if God had been preparing her all her life, and we just reminded her of the things she had already known before. She was more worried about the outfit she was going to wear to her baptism than the actual doctrine that we were teaching her. It was just like everything clicked. She went to school to be a wine tester, and she said, "Ok, I won´t ever drink coffee, tea, alcohol, or smoke.... Next?" haha Now, if only all of our investigators could be like that. Tithing--makes sense. Chastity? Has always lived it. It was honestly so incredible to see how angels really are preparing the hearts of these people. I was especially excited for this baptism as well because my whole mission I have wanted to have a Spaniard convert...I have loved dearly all the cultures here, but everyone thought I was sent to Spain to teach the immigrants. It was nice to see my first Spaniard--Catalan no less-- baptism here. The ward was all there to support her and it was a wonderful service. The only problem was the water got cut off for our entire building half way through filling the font, so we were panicked when all that was coming out were little drips....we were able to get it about 3/4 of the way filled, but it made it really hard for the baptism, and they had to do it three times to get her all the way under. Oh well, what can you do.... I really will never have the perfect baptismal service. haha We were so excited with the baptism that we really didn´t notice how hard the rest of the week really was. We have been working with the family of one of recent converts a ton, and they all came to church last week, and we were SO excited. Especially since the dad hasn´t been to church in over 20 years. However, their daughter (who was the closest to baptism) ran away this week. What?? And so the whole family was in shambles when we passed by, and it was just so sad. I couldn´t help but look at all that Marta was sacrificing this past week and how happy she was and then looking at this family that just can´t get their feet in the water, and wonder, "why not?" The gospel doesn´t bring instant answers to all of our problems, but it brings long-lasting happiness for eternity. I am so grateful that Marta was able to recognize that. After her confirmation this Sunday, she sat down during sacrament meeting and during one of the talks about the temple, she just had tears rolling down her cheeks. I asked her what was wrong, and after the meeting, she came over and told me she just felt so impressed that her grandma who passed away was waiting for her, and she just felt so much responsibility in getting these names done. I am so excited to start down this road with her of teaching her about genealogy and the temple. I feel like God prepared her just for us so that she could start doing this work for her ancestors, and He trusted her to do it. It was a beautiful day all in white, but I know that  there is a day to come where she will be all in white in the temple, and that day will be far more rewarding to her as she opens the door to her own exaltation and that of her ancestors. I love the beautiful plan of salvation that our loving Father in Heaven has prepared. It just makes sense--it has all the answers that will give us happiness in white. All in all, I know the Lord is watching over the work here, and we will see many more "dias blancos"!  

Les Quiero!!

Hermana Hopkins

Ch. 69 Miracle With a Cherry On Top

Chapter 69: Miracles with a Cherry on Top

This is the last time I am making a birthday cake on my mission. We always get ourselves into the worst situations. A couples weeks ago, our bishop gave us the assignment to go visit a family that has been less active for the past few years. Most members thought it was impossible, but we were up for the challenge. When we got to their house, we were given a semi-chilly reception, but we ended up warming up to the family fairly fast and easily. We gave them a challenge that if they read the Book of Mormon daily, prayed as a family every night, and came to church on Sunday, they would see a miracle. We also promised them that we would bake for them an American birthday cake for their daughter´s birthday. We were really surprised when they came to church last week, and we knew they were going to receive their miracle....and their birthday cake. Now, I usually love to make cakes. But, we woke up that morning realizing that we had no recipe, and Betty Crocker has only come out with select flavors here in Spain, so we scrimmaged around everywhere and just happened to find a recipe that a member had given us of an apple cinnamon bundt cake. My companion was determined to turn it into a vanilla birthday cake. So thus began the adventure. Really, the cake part went pretty well. It looked...almost normal. Then she wanted to make a butter cream frosting. I left the room, came back, and two minutes later I saw her adding egg whites to a very white runny material. What on earth. I just started laughing and she said that it was too liquidy, so she was going to try to fluff it up with egg whites. Well, I noticed that she had used all of our powdered sugar, so I just laughed and let her to it. When I came back it was even worse, so I decided to try and help out. We were going to make our homemade powderered sugar. It almost worked. After half a bag of sugar through the blender, it was getting better....but not quite. It tasted awful, and it was still too runny.....and my companion adding flour to the concoction sure didn´t help the poor frosting´s cause. Time for Plan B. I asked her what she had added and she said, sugar, milk, eggs, flour....so I though quick, sugar cookies!! So we started adding a ton of flour and salt and put them in the oven, but we still didn´t have any frosting. I noticed my last companion had left one small container of cream in the fridge....it would work. I boiled it, added the last of my precious peanut butter and wah lah! Peanut Butter frosting. Next thing I know, my companion is loading a bunch of vanilla ice cream to the top of our cake, and putting the hot frosting on top. Oh goodness. it looked so awful. hahaha We just sat and laughed and laughed. Then, they called us (they were planning on picking us up) and told us that they couldn´t pick us up, and that we needed to catch the bus that was coming in 5 minutes that was a least a 10 minute walk....with an ice cream cake....in the hot sun. Bring it on. We took off running cake and all (I am sure plenty of people were looking at us wondering what on earth the two Americans were doing) and got to the train station 3 minutes late....or so we thought! The bus ended up coming 10 minutes late. Tender mercies. Well, it was a 25 minute bus ride, and once we got to their house, our ice cream cake was now....I don´t even know what. They kept asking us why we were laughing, and we just replied that we needed to use their freezer. We had a nice lunch, and we shared the message. It was the coolest experience; the entire family had changed. Each member’s countenance was shining, and then they told us this. The mother turned to us with tears in her eyes saying, "I think I have forgotten about the Lord. I have been looking for a job for at least 6 months now since we are really struggling. I stopped going to church years ago because I just didn´t have the time. Now, we did this challenge this week, and the day after we went to church, I got a job offer that pays well. I don´t know why I ever forgot about the Lord." It was such a big testimony to me that missionaries really do have the power to promise blessings, and they really do come true if people do their part as well. The whole family came to church again, and the daughter is now working on going on a mission. It´s just incredible the difference reading, praying, and coming to church makes. Now, the cake comes back into the picture.....we pulled it out of the freezer after having this sweet experience, and it looked like....well awful. So we covered it with sprinkles, put in the candles, and said a prayer.  We brought it in and sang and cut the cake, and watched as everyone put their first bite in their mouths......Hey. It wasn´t that bad. One of the members that was there said, "I am a professional chef (oh gosh) and this is one of the best cakes I have ever tasted. This vanilla sauce is done to perfection (melted ice cream) and this peanut butter cream cuts the sweetness (thank you)." So it was a miracle right down to the cake we ate. haha But the cherry on top this week was really Marta. I am just so humbled every time that I meet with her. She is leaving all her family behind her to be a member of this new family, and she does it always with a smile on her face. She says she gets nervous sometimes, but she knows that this is what God feels for her. Every time we teach her she just takes notes of what we says, and never doubts it. She has a lot of questions, but she is so sensitive to the spirit that the spirit just testifies the truth to her of everything. I really am so excited for her!! This week was really full of lots of miracles, and we have decided to do the "week of miracles" for all of our investigators, so I am sure we will all be seeing a lot more. It´s such a sweet experience (and I am not just talking about the cake!)

Les quiero!
Hermana Hopkins

Ch. 68 Both Sides of the Veil

Chapter 68: Both Sides of the Veil

My whole mission I have been told by everyone that there are people on both sides of the veil helping with this missionary work. I really had a testimony of this when I was in Castellón teaching Cati and Toni. When I had received news that they had decided to stop taking the lessons, it wasn´t that my testimony was rocked, but I would be lying if I said I didn´t lose a little bit of that hope to find investigators like them. Well, this week, God opened my eyes a little bit to the blessings He had in store. This week we have met with Marta almost every day. I would have never guessed how prepared she really is. All the members have just fallen in love with her, and when they ask us about her, they usually just break out in tears. She makes everyone remember their own conversions, and really brings a light to the church. Let me explain what happened this week. During the week she was telling us about some experiences that she has had along the way on her road to conversion, and I just had to share them. This week we decided to have a Family Home Evening with Marta with the Stake President, and we had a lesson completely about Jesus Christ. We decided that of all the concepts of the church, that the life and Atonement of Christ would be the most important for any investigator to understand, especially one who didn´t have a previous Christian background. It was seriously such a wonderful lesson. I actually learned a lot myself! Afterwards, she told us something that just melted our hearts. She told us that she had told her family of her decision to be baptized into the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (her very active Jewish family) and in the words of her grandparents, “For making this decision, you have just separated yourself from the family. We do not consider you to even be our own granddaughter.” She has received a very similar response from all her family. The only person that seems to tolerate her decision was her father, so she is going to move in with him here in Vilafranca. I was thinking that I really hope that I would have that faith upon finding the church to be willing to sacrifice everything for it. The ward members here are really opening up and letting her know that she has a family here in the church. Later in the week, we taught her the Plan of Salvation, which I always consider to be the make it, or break it lesson. It was wonderful. The spirit was really strong, and she understood everything. Instead of the usual questions at the end of the lesson about the basic doctrine, I was surprised when she asked, “So, this makes the temple work make sense. I understand now. I have been asking a few of the members why we have temples, and this just makes everything make sense. When can I go to the temple to do the work for my ancestors? I want to go as soon as possible.” I could hardly believe my ears!! It was such a tender mercy. The member turned to her and said, “Marta, your ancestors have been preparing for you to find this gospel so you can do their work.” Marta turned to us and said, “I know. I can feel it. It just makes sense.” She also continued, “ I also understand why God has given us the church here on the earth. He gives us the church so that we have a powerful tool to be able to return to His presence.” It was one of the most powerful Plan of Salvation lessons that I have ever seen or taught before. I think the comments that were said actually touched me more than Marta. As we walked home that night, I sent a silent prayer heavenward for the tender mercy of letting me really see the promise fulfilled that there are angels preparing the hearts of the children of men. When we went to church with her on Sunday, she just cried through the whole thing. She is so special. She just seems so willing to sacrifice everything for something that she now knows to be true. Really, it´s moments like these that make being a missionary worth it. What´s funny is, really these moments don´t come very often. In fact, for many missionaries, they may only come once or twice, but when they do come, they make up for all the hard times. We have seen so many miracles this week, but Marta has really become more of our shining investigator right now. I know the last couple weeks before baptism can be extremely hard, so everyone please pray for this special girl. I know that people really are helping me from both sides of the veil, and it was so apparent this week.

Les quiero a todos!

Hermana Hopkins