Mission Blog |
A dangerously acute account of 18 months in Nicaraguan Territory.
|
from the Beatles https://youtu.be/RDxfjUEBT9I It was a Thursday evening and all was still and quiet on the road of the Retirada. Only the faint sounds of the bar on the corner could be heard as I turned off the light at 10:29 p.m. As I searched for my bed, I tripped/walked over a pair of shoes and almost tipped the bucket over. Finally I made it to the bed, turned the fan on high, said a prayer, and was dead asleep within moments.
2:25 a.m.: I felt as though my dream was just repeating my name over and over in a loud whisper, but it was actually my companion. `` Hermana Beatty, Hermana Beatty``. ´´Yes, Hermana Valdez, what´s wrong?´´ ´´I feel bad.´´ ´´what do you mean?´´ ´´I had a bad dream and I feel like there´s a bad spirit here.´´ ´´okay, let´s sing some hymns.´´ (forty-five minutes and15 hymns later) ´´do you feel better Hermana Valdez?´´ ´´yeah, a little bit.´´ ´´can we go back to sleep now?´´ ´´Yeah.....goodnight´´. ´´Goodnight´´. I can honestly say that I´d never had that experience before, but there always has to be a first, right? You should try it sometime, set your alarm for the early morning, wake up and sing a hymn or two, then go back to bed. It makes for a refreshing break from the routinely night´s sleep :) More than just singing a Beatle’s song, let´s pay another tribute to great ol´ England by telling you about a wonderful experience I had this past week with Laura, a 25 year-old British girl living in Nicaragua. We were on Divisiones in the capital of the country and Hna. Wilkins says ´´OK Hna. Beatty, our last appointment will be with Laura, a girl we´ve been teaching for about two weeks and has gone to church once. Oh, and we´ll be teaching in English´´. That´s when the nerves started. You need to understand, I´ve never EVER taught a missionary lesson in English. I don´t even remember some words in English, how was I supposed to teach this lady? I was super nervous in the Taxi, but we got to the apartment complex and said a quick prayer and I felt a little better. We knocked on the door, which she energetically opened and brightly said ´´HELLOOOOOO!´´ in her lovely British accent. We invited the North American Member couple that lives next-door, said a prayer, and then started in Teaching the Plan of Salvation. It was amazing. I had never felt the spirit so strong in my whole mission. I was saying words I didn´t even knew I remembered and you could see the comprehension in her eyes. It was fantastic to hear the testimonies of this young couple and in the end, feel the confirmation from the Holy Ghost that all of this was true. There was a brief pause in the lesson, and Hna. Wilkins whispered to me in Spanish, ´´put the baptismal date´´. well, since I totally know her so well (sarcasm). Here goes nothing, thought I. ´´ Laura, we know that you are such a special daughter of God and that this is the plan He has for you. We know that you really have desires to keep the commandments and follow Jesus Christ. Now, we want to invite you to follow the example of our Savior even more and be baptized. Will you follow the example of Jesus Christ and be baptized by someone who has the priesthood authority of God on the fourth of August?´´ She didn´t even looked stunned, she just started saying (once again, imagine British accent) ´´well, I´d have to see. My brother is coming down on the fourth of August and I haven´t seen him in the longest time, I´d hate to have him get here and then say, oops, got to go to my baptism real quick.´´ Hna Wilkins jumped in ´´you can really do it any time, any day you´d like but...... Laura, will you follow the example of Jesus Christ and be baptized?´´ without hesitation she said ´´yes´´. It was a renovating experience and I know it was a miracle performed by the Lord. -Hermana Beatty
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
Archives
November 2015
CategoriesAuthorhola! I'm Naomi and I love reading, my amazing family, and the color green. |