"O that I were an angel, and could have the wish of mine heart, that I might go forth and speak with the trump of God, with a voice to shake the earth, and cry repentance unto every people!" (Alma 29:1)
I had one of the coolest experiences of my mission this week... in a strange series of events that led us to be EXACTLY where we needed to be to talk to the right person. We had a terrible day yesterday... nothing was working out the way it needed to! We used tons of miles trying to contact people that weren't home, and even got lost a few times. Our dinner was a disaster and all of our evening appointments fell through.
Right after dinner we decided to say a prayer that we would be guided to do the things we needed to this evening, since it didn't seem like anything was heading in the right direction. We were able to see a few of our investigators, and spoke with several people on the street that definitely needed to hear from us. We had one great contact that was finally what I needed where we were able to testify strongly for almost an hour, and invite a less-active member to make the changes in his life to get back on the right path. I would have been satisfied with that experience for the day (in fact it was exactly what I needed after a long day), but the Lord was not done with us yet.
At 8:40 we were trying to figure out the most effective way to use the remaining minutes of our evening, since it is a horrible time to be contacting people at home. I said out loud "Where should we go?" and a specific street name nearby popped into my head... so off we went. We drove around and didn't see anyone, but decided that maybe we should walk around the block and try to find someone to talk to. No one was outside, but by 3/4 of the way around the block I was completely convinced that someone that needed the gospel would come outside so we could talk to them.
It didn't happen. And I was admittedly slightly disappointed that my promptings and faith were a fail. I started telling Hermana Adams that I had never had one of those "typical" missionary experiences where the spirit has told me to knock on a certain door and a family of six gets baptized. Still, I have felt the spirit guiding me in many ways that have helped others come unto Christ.
As we arrived closer to home and were about to make the last turn I saw someone walking on the side of the road and said, "That person needs the gospel! Do you want to do a drive-by contact?!" It all happened so quickly poor Hermana Adams was like "What?! What do I do?!" I pulled over, rolled down her window, and told her to start talking! (Thanks to my trainer, Hermana Wilkins, who made me do this every once in a while.)
She struggled for a second, but pulled it off great... especially because it turned out the kid walking was Mormon, and recognized us as missionaries... he even told us we couldn't give him a ride! Anyway, it turns out his name is Mahonri, and he has been inactive for the past two years, but we told him he didn't have to be.
We slowly got to know him and found out he used to attend a Spanish branch (he looked totally white). Perfect! We invited him to church with us on Sunday and gave him the information. He said, "Wait a minute, what's the branch called?" We told him and he said he thought that's where his dad attends church... and yes. We know his dad, in fact he was going to come with us to one of our appointments that fell through tonight! It was so crazy! And way too huge of a coincidence to just be a coincidence! I know that we were sent there specifically to talk to him... we definitely don't normally go around at 9:00 at night to pull over and talk to strangers. I know the Spirit directed us to him, and I am SURE the Lord wanted us to talk to him.
So what did we tell him? I testified that he is a child of God and that Heavenly Father loves him (enough to have sent us to find him) and Hermana Adams testified of the love his earthly father also has for him. He told us that he would love to come to church and sit next to his father, and I know that that will be an answer to his father's prayers.
Mahonri basically had a "Paul experience" (except he was on the "road to Pueblo" instead of Damascus) where we were two angels sent to find him and cry repentance and invite him to change his life. We'll see what he does with that, but my companion and I are pretty convinced he is going to come back to church and then go on a mission. SO awesome.
It is crazy to think how things needed to line up perfectly for everything to work out the way it did. First of all, if our lessons had gone through we wouldn't have been on the street looking for people to talk to. And even though it felt like a failed effort if we hadn't circled the block on that particular street the timing would have been off to talk to Mahonri, and we would have either missed him, or I wouldn't have been so pumped to talk to just one more person.
It is absolutely amazing to see how the Lord literally uses us as his angels to cry repentance with the sound of a trump. If we are completely willing to trust Him and follow His will, he will place us in the exact places and situations we need to be in to do the most good. I know that this is truly HIS work, and I am so grateful that He has chosen me and qualified me to be an instrument in His hands. I am amazed at what measures our Heavenly Father will take to help one of His children in a unique, time-sensitive way, and I feel so blessed to be part of that process on a daily basis.
Love you all,
Hermana Richelle Ouellette
PICTURE- It rained! I felt pretty "legit", seeing as most days of my mission we have picture-perfect weather! :)
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