Aaron's brother returned home last night from his mission in California!
It was so nice to finally meet him.
Speaking of missions - I entered the MTC 6 years ago today!
February 21, 2007.
I'm pretty sure I've shared this story with you before, but my MTC companion and I met a few months before entering the MTC at the Sister Missionary Mall. We exchanged numbers and when we arrived at the MTC, we were beyond thrilled to spend 2 months together studying Spanish and preparing to head out to Argentina to be missionaries.
Before I go, I wanted to quickly share something with you.
A few weeks ago I decided to leave my office for lunch and walk to Chipotle to grab a burrito bowl. It was a sunny, warm day so I decided to take advantage of the nice weather. I ate half of my lunch at Chipotle and then wrapped up the rest before walking back to the office. On my walk back, I was stopped by a 20-something-year old guy who asked me what I would change in the world if I could change one thing. I mentioned to this stranger that one thing I would like to change is for everyone to feel safe. (I guess that kind of goes along with world peace, right?!) He quickly agreed and then proceeded to tell me about what he and his co-worker were doing on the streets of downtown DC. He said they were looking for people to sponsor children in struggling countries by writing them letters, donating a certain dollar amount each month - you know the rest. Anyway, I let him know that my husband and I happily donate money to our church's welfare and humanitarian efforts where we know 100% of the proceeds go to helping those in need around the world. I then asked him if he knew anything about The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, or the Mormons. I was a little shocked when he said he had studied Mormonism with missionaries a while back when he was living in Africa. He currently has a Book of Mormon and he asked if I served a mission.
Before I realized it, we were having an in-depth conversation about religion. I asked him why he stopped meeting with the missionaries and he said he moved to Florida for a little while then to DC and he lost contact with them. Luckily I had a pass along card to give him and I asked if I could share his contact information with missionaries and they would follow-up with him regarding any questions he may have. He agreed and wrote down his e-mail address and phone number on a random receipt I had in my pocket. I smiled as I walked back to my office and had flashbacks of being a missionary on the streets of Argentina and having similar experiences that I had just had right then.
That evening I spoke with the missionaries and gave them the information of my new friend and they promised to contact him.
The rest of the story:
The missionaries let me know this week that my new friend is currently meeting with the missionaries in DC. I gave him a quick call tonight and he said he's excited to attend church this Sunday in the city. He thanked me for passing on his name and number to the missionaries. I thanked him for stopping me on the street that day.
He said what he enjoyed most about meeting with the missionaries last week was that they invited him to pray and figure out the truth for himself.
I've definitely been inspired to take every opportunity to speak with others about something that makes me so happy and blessed - the gospel of Jesus Christ.
Promise you'll do the same! You never know what the outcome may be!
