19 June
2012
It’s my
turn again to offer my infrequent comments to the blog. I am the Elder of this missionary couple, in
two ways.
Everyone is all excited about seeing Bro.
L. become baptized on the 30th of this month. So are we.
We have looked forward to it and prayed for it and hoped for his family
because his son will be baptized on that day.
His wife and parents in law have waited for this to happen and now it
seemed that the vision was fading away.
We have given him two lessons and a lesson on stop smoking and now the
dream doesn’t seem to be materializing.
He told us that he would stop smoking yesterday morning so I called him
at his work and asked him how he was doing.
The reply was negative and he brushed my call away saying that he was
too busy to talk. We felt that he had
failed himself and us because we stayed another day in Bridgetown to be able to
help him through the first day of abstaining and to give him the 3rd
lesson last night that would give him courage.
We were disappointed to say the least and turned the rest of our day to other
investigators and duties. We then
visited the Lakes, who made us feel welcome. She is reading regularly from the
Book of Mormon and he is willing to keep trying. They seem to like our coming and I believe
they will some day accept the gospel. They
are inviting us to come back this weekend to attend a “Winter Christmas in
Bridgetown” presentation this Saturday. Bridgetown
merchants do this kind of thing to attract tourists because Bridgetown is so
cold in the winter and things slow down to practically nothing. Our branch president is in the hospital this
weekend with angioplasty surgery and the other counselor is out of town so he
has asked me to come back out to conduct the meetings.
Our
visit last night with Bro. L was approached with apprehension and
concern. We thought that he might tell
us that he was through trying, or that he didn’t want us pushing him, or that
he would just ask us to not come anymore.
We were cordially invited in to his home and we just decided to clear
the air and set our lesson aside. We
prayed and then told him how we felt. He
opened wide up with us. The spirit was
strong and he expressed that he didn’t want to just join the church because
everyone wanted him to do it. He really
wants to know for sure. He said that he
hasn’t had the witness yet that everyone talks about and he wants it. He wants to quit smoking because it is the
right thing to do. He said that he
feels that he can do it without all of the pressure from family, us, and
expectations of being ready for a baptismal date. I looked at him and saw a real sincerity and
dignity in his eyes.
It
was after this expression of his desire that my dear companion asked if she
might tell her experience with receiving the witness of God’s spirit. As she began to tell her experience as a
young adult in Washington State, she was startled by attacks of her neuralgia
in her jaw. They became quite strong
and I thought that I might have to finish the story for her but she grabbed her
neck with her fingers and pinched the affected area. She held it tight while she continued to pour
out her sweet powerful testimony. As she
finished, both he and I were touched by
the power of her feelings and love for the spiritual witness that she gave and
which we felt. I had
to express my silent witness and appreciation at remembering what happened to
Joseph Smith in the grove as the adversary tried to bind his tongue and keep
him from speaking the words of his prayer to God. Brother Lishman said that he wasn’t giving
up and that he would continue to read the Book of Mormon and pray. He wants us to help him. We told him that we are going to be patient
and so is the Savior who loves him dearly.
After these commitments, we knelt in prayer and Bro. L offered
it. Our prayers in his behalf are being
answered.
3 comments:
Nice to hear from the "other half" of the Ashby missionary team! We hope Sister Ashby is feeling better, as well as your investigator, Brother Lishman. While serving in Washington, D.C. we used to make "Holy Smokes" for investigators who needed to quit smoking. Our fake cigarettes when unrolled contained inspirational thoughts. Clearly, Holy Smokes were the product of young and innocent minds, unfamiliar with the real and personal struggle of overcoming powerful naddictions. But somehow it seemed to help. Looking back, our investigators must have been impressed with how much we cared for them, and that we were willing to do almost anything to help them. I am sure Brother Lishman will benefit from your love and efforts.
Dad, it was fun to read your account! Thanks for sharing about Mom giving her strong testimony when she was young. That must have been tough to share when she was feeling so much pain! You are both an inspiration!
Love hearing from you dad! I hope mom is doing okay.
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