Chapter 46: The Romanian Missionary
There we were, just like any other day on the mission when we contacted
this little Romanian lady named Dora…and that is where it all started….
This little lady told us about how she was interested in our message and
really interested in the Book of Mormon, but that she works in Almassora (a
little pueblo outside of Castellón), so we scheduled a day that we could go
there during one of her breaks. I was thinking about a member that we could
bring with us so that she could have a friend when she came to church, but
there wasn´t any members that came right to my mind. However, the answer was
almost too obvious. Cathy. But then I thought, “She´s not even a member. How on
earth am I going to explain to her everything….she´s still learning even…” And
I dismissed the thought, until that night that is. We were visiting Cathy and
Tony, and I kept going back and forth with myself. Should I…should I
not….should I ask…should I not… So I finally just said a little prayer that God
would guide me on the decision. It seems like a little thing, I know, but for
some reason I couldn´t get it quite out of my mind. So, at the end of the
lesson Cathy asked us, “So I feel like the people here in Castellón are really
hard, have you had any success lately?” My companion then relayed to her the
story of our little Romanian lady, and Cathy replied, “Well, I´m Romanian and
Orthodox; I might be able to relate to her better than you could. Can I come a
long as well?” Well, that was my answer. So, I believe we were one of the first
missionaries to use an investigator to teach another investigator, but God
knows what he is doing. So, we got to Almassora, and I was so upset. The lady
was not where she said she would be. Did I honestly drag Cathy all the way out
here for no reason?? No, it couldnt´be. So this other lady was sitting on the
bench where we were supposed to meet Dora, and we asked them if she knew her,
and they did. She said that she could pass by at any time or not at all. Thank
you for being so helpful. Well, she was Romanian as well, so we started talking
to her, and they walked away….but then another lady who walked past started
talking to us, and Cathy started talking to her about the church, and her
conversion story. And the tears from this lady just kept flowing. She said she
has been looking for truth for years, and her family wouldn´t even let her keep
a bible in the house. We gave her a Book of Mormon and Cathy told her how it
changed her life, and then pulled out a Romanian Bible from her purse and gave
it to her. It was so cute!! I felt like a proud mother, and I thought that it´s
a good thing we did end up coming, or else we wouldn´t have been able to help
these women, and Cathy seemed really content to be able to help these women. And
then the most miraculous thing I have probably ever experienced in my mission
happened. Get ready for this.
The lady comes up that we had made the cita with her friend that she
brought. Then Cathy invited the lady we were already talking to come over and join
us. I felt like a new missionary again—I didn´t understand a word. Haha So
there we were this little group of women, then two more women walked by
(speaking Romanian) and Cathy waved them over and said, “Hey, we are talking
about God, come on over!” So there we were now five new women talking about the
church. Then two Spaniards and a Moraccan walked over and joined the club.
Eight women….was this really happening? I could hardly believe my eyes. They
were all just gathered around Cathy feasting off of her every word (which was
now being translated into Spanish) and then one other woman came over. Yes
there were nine women now listening to Cathy preaching the gospel. It was kind
of like one of those… “be still and know that I am God” moments. I couldn´t
stop the tears as I heard the Spanish translation. Cathy told them how she was
raised Orthodox, but never fully agreed with all their traditions (such as
worshipping images and saints), and how she was always in search for a greater
truth. Then, she testified of how she found us and how it changed her life. She
said, “My husband used to sin without thought—probably not even realizing that
it was sin. He didn´t care about being a righteous father or anything like
that. Now she reads the Bible and Book of Mormon with him. He actually cares
about what God thinks. It has changed the Spirit in our Home. It has brought us
closer to God. I know that I am not doing this for them though, I am doing this
because I know it is what God wants for me. God wants me to have an eternal
familiy and I know this is the only way to obtain that. That is why I will be
baptized in this church.” It was so powerful. I just sat there and cried haha
and then one of the ladies asked her and said, “But I have already been
baptized, so it doesn´t even matter—what you´re saying only applies to those
who are not baptized yet.” And Cathy replied, “I thought I was baptized as
well,” and then she pulls out her Romanian Book of Mormon and reads in 3 Nephi
27 about the church of Christ church of Christ church of Jesus Christ
Also,
this week we visited the five young girls. The Elders came with us to give the
oldest (the one who suffers from Epilepsy) a blessing, and the mom said
she wanted to come out and see it. I was dying because we have barely been able
to get her to say Hola to us. After the blessing, she just whispered, “I feel
it”. YES!! The Elders left right after, but we stayed and talked to them for
another hour about prayer since they all are feeling so alone. The next day, we
came back to pick the girls up for church and the oldest told us, “After you
left last night, the house was so peaceful. Probably for the first time since I
can remember all the girls went right to bed without any fuss. My mom just came
in and cried that she could feel the peace that your message brought.” I think
the ward is falling in love with the girls as well. They are so cute! Our other
investigators are all progressing. Husane keeps getting called into work on
Sundays, so that is a big bummer, but it´s a work in progress. He really is
developing his faith in Christ and he is down to smoking 5 cigarettes a day.
Progress my friends.
We are also visiting a
international supermodel. Hahaha Yes, he contacted us through Mormon.org, and
said he had a lost of interest in the church. Well, by a lot of interest it
means he pretty much knows the ins and outs and every doctrine that we have and
has spent hours researching it. We are just trying to get the knowledge that he
has into a testimony. But, in the mean time, I am going to need to study topics
like Kolob a little more diligently in my personal study. It was so funny as well he was talking about
what really attracts him to our church is that we actually live what we
believe. Then he said, “Well, except for some Mormons… like Mitt Romney.” And
my immediate thought?? “Take that back!” But don´t worry, I know not to cross
that line, but our member who knows I
worked for him didn´t! So he says, “You shouldn’t say that. Hermana Hopkins
worked for him.” Hahaha Oh no. We just laughed
it off, and he felt bad, but I thought it was super funny. The work is definitely progressing here in
Castellón. The members are definitely feeling it lately too. We´re going to be
seeing a lot of miracles just around the corner! Well, I love you all so much.
Espero que tengan una semana maravillosa!
¡Les Quiero!
Hermana Hopkins
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