Leap of Faith

Well, I'm still here in Sàenz Peña with Hermana Beckstead. We're really excited. We wanted to stay here. This place is magical. But one can't help but get a little anxious around transfer time. You just never know what your fate will be. But the Lord knows. And we just have to trust Him. I have a firm testimony of transfers. I know they're inspired. Anyway. This last week was a good one. Full of miracles. This week, we truly witnessed the hand of the Lord directing the work.

A number of weeks ago, we contacted and taught an old lady who, we weren't entirely sure was totally there. After giving her a Book of Mormon, she attempted to give us 100 pesos in return. But we obviously refused to take the money. While planning one night this last week, she came to mind. "Hey. Let's go visit Elena." I said. Hna. Beckstead was a little apprehensive. "Uh... Okay." So, the next evening, we went by, still not entirely sure why. As we attempted to teach Elena about the Restoration, she kept standing up. "We need to go talk to my daughter-in-law." She said. "Uh... Alright. Can we finish here?" We asked. Finally, after finishing our broken lesson, Elena stood up again. "Alright. Let's go visit my daughter-in-law." Hna. Beckstead and I looked at each other, bewildered. But, one gets used to such weird and awkward situations as a missionary, and we followed the strange old lady out of the house and down the street to her daughter-in-law's house.

The Gonzalez family was a little confused as to why we were there with their grandma when we first showed up. But the 18 year old daughter, Meli, began asking us questions about the Book of Mormon, having heard of it before. Soon after, her mom came into the house with a brand new baby girl, Luz. It was almost disconcerting how well received we were; how many questions they had. They were asking all the RIGHT questions. "How do we know if our baptism's valid?" Well, you have to have the proper authority. "Who has the proper authority?" Well, let's just tell you a little bit about Joseph Smith and the Restoration of the Priesthood. "How do we know what's true?" We picked up the Book of Mormon. By reading and praying about this book. "Okay." They said. They all accepted our invitation to be baptized on October 3. And we're really praying that they make it there, taking up our challenge to read the Book of Mormon. From a tiny whisper from the Spirit to go visit some random old lady, we found a family prepared to receive the blessings of the Gospel.

That's only one example of the way the Lord is directing us here in His work. The list continues. The spirit is consistently prompting us to act. But we have to choose to do it. When we exercise our faith and act on those tiny promptings we receive, our faith grows. But it's always a leap of faith. Indy never would have found the Holy Grail had he not first taken that giant leap of faith. We have to do the same. Not just as missionaries. But as human beings. As children of God.

I know this is the Lord's work. I know He is leading us to the people that we are here to teach. I know He lives. I have received that witness personally by reading the Book of Mormon. I know it's true and I know it's another witness of Him. I'm grateful to be here on the mission and for the people I have come to know and love. It's an amazing opportunity. Thanks for all the love and support I receive from you all at home. You don't know how much your prayers do.

Sending prayers from the south,
Hermana Hein

Note from editor: No pictures this week, so I took the liberty of putting in this clip of Indiana Jones and his "leap of faith."