and the Miracles keep rolling in
Flashback to this post in April 2014 when I kept feeling prompted to call a family I taught on my mission. It was a good, short conversation with the mother, but I didn't really find out much how they were doing. The past week, a name kept coming to mind - Lloyd - the son of this family. He was about 17 when he was baptized and is 21 now. I figured most 21 year old guys are on facebook, so yesterday I finally searched for him, found his page, and added him as a friend.
He responded with "who are you? do I know you?" When I told him who I was, he was so excited. He and his family are great and that he wanted to thank me. He said, "my parents are amazing and they are happy, truly happy, which is awesome. They weren't that happy when I was a kid, so it's awesome."
Honestly, I was surprised to hear his gratitude because he never seemed to want us to come over to teach him, and at first would not participate in the lessons. I told him that sometimes as a missionary, I felt like I was a failure and not making a difference. Sometimes I look back on my mission and have those same thoughts, though not all the time.
He said, "Well, you didn't fail, and the reason I didn't like you guys coming was because I hated myself and my life and you guys had a happiness I just couldn't understand, so I hated it but secretly deep down, I wanted it from the start. There's no such thing as failure in God's will. As long as you did the right thing and knew God wanted you to do it, you were a success."
Wow - wise words. I am so grateful for the prompting to reach out to Lloyd. To find out he feels more peace and serenity in his life. I asked about church, and he hasn't been going but says his family is. That was encouraging news to me because last I knew, they were not attending. He said he is doing his best to meditate and pray daily and follow God's guidance, and I think that is great. I told him as he continues to do that, he will find the right direction to go, and that I hope I can see him and his family sealed in the Temple one day.
I love this family so much. They taught me a million lessons - the number one lesson was love. They taught me to love people before judging them. I'm grateful for these experiences that remind me that my mission was worth it and was a success. Heavenly Father is so good - he didn't have to give me this experience, but he did because he loves me. ♥ Ashley
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| Sister Dashmaa Dashjav (Mongolia), Lloyd, Me, Sister Karmin Anderson (Utah) |
He responded with "who are you? do I know you?" When I told him who I was, he was so excited. He and his family are great and that he wanted to thank me. He said, "my parents are amazing and they are happy, truly happy, which is awesome. They weren't that happy when I was a kid, so it's awesome."
Honestly, I was surprised to hear his gratitude because he never seemed to want us to come over to teach him, and at first would not participate in the lessons. I told him that sometimes as a missionary, I felt like I was a failure and not making a difference. Sometimes I look back on my mission and have those same thoughts, though not all the time.
He said, "Well, you didn't fail, and the reason I didn't like you guys coming was because I hated myself and my life and you guys had a happiness I just couldn't understand, so I hated it but secretly deep down, I wanted it from the start. There's no such thing as failure in God's will. As long as you did the right thing and knew God wanted you to do it, you were a success."
Wow - wise words. I am so grateful for the prompting to reach out to Lloyd. To find out he feels more peace and serenity in his life. I asked about church, and he hasn't been going but says his family is. That was encouraging news to me because last I knew, they were not attending. He said he is doing his best to meditate and pray daily and follow God's guidance, and I think that is great. I told him as he continues to do that, he will find the right direction to go, and that I hope I can see him and his family sealed in the Temple one day.
I love this family so much. They taught me a million lessons - the number one lesson was love. They taught me to love people before judging them. I'm grateful for these experiences that remind me that my mission was worth it and was a success. Heavenly Father is so good - he didn't have to give me this experience, but he did because he loves me. ♥ Ashley
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