September 8, 2015

Apparently some people (*cough cough* Jacob Vance *cough cough* ) misunderstood that our entire mission went to the orioles Mormon Night baseball game and it was mere coincidence that it was the day before my birthday and that I live 3 hours from Baltimore on light rail, so that's why  i got home so late. Trust me when I say I'm the cream of the crop in obedience ;))

Maybe it's a hidden gift or a reoccurring call, but Elder Dustin and I have been getting call after call to take care of the elderly all throughout our area. One in particular, her name is Cynthia, was a cryptic, nearly impossible to understand voice message that led us on a wild goose chase to help her. After driving a solid hour and a half to the other side of our area, we finally discovered the old nursing home rumored to be Cynthia's home. If you've ever seen horror movies regarding nursing homes over looking lakes in the middle of nowhere, you know what I'm talking about. Cautiously we walk in the scratched grey doors to the front counter where an extremely elderly secretary sat. Not sure f she was a patient I asked if we could see a woman named Cynthia. Immediately her suspicious eyes lit up in astonishment and told us what room Cynthia was in, not even asking for a last name.

Cynthia sat in a gray room in her old wheelchair attached to twin oxygen tanks. She looked 70 to 80 years old but apparently was 55. Upon turning around from the window and seeing us her normally perma frowned face changed to complete, heart-grabbing relief, insomuch that she began to weep into tears. I have never met someone who literally looked outside all the day long waiting for us to possibly show up to help her. It was immediately obvious she was in there for mental health disabilities as well as physical disabilities when she screamed at the top of her lungs at the cleaner workers to get out, but to each their own. We began talking with her and gave her a pure blessing in her trials and difficulties. The aspect of blessings that testifies to me of their divinity is how I take absolutely no thought what to say beforehand, stream line upon line of revelation, then as soon as i'm done I can't remember what I blessed. It's like asking a guitar what it's played before. It doesn't know. All that matters is that it's tuned and ready to play again. Cynthia asked if we could read some scriptures to her afterwards, where she seemed to rest for the first time in months as we took turns reading the Book of Mormon to her. Every Friday at1:30 (it's scheduled with the office staff) we will be seeing Cynthia.

Elder Dustin walked out of there wide-eyed as if he had seen it all. It's whenever I ask myself that same thing that something new like this spins into my court. Plateau isn't in spiritual vocabulary.

A couple other instances were miracles, like just happening to knock on a member's door when he choked on a piece of steak and Heimlich'd him perfectly on time, and schooling hoodlums in Basketball, one of which was the son of the Father of the Catholic church in town who talked with us afterwards, thanking me for humbling (also known as stuffing) his son. We are now on excellent terms with the head ministers of the Methodist, Catholic, and 7th Day Adventist churches in town.

Speaking of 7th Day Adventists, out investigator Shane is the source of immense study. I doubt college will hold me down now after going as in-depth as this. What I've learned the hard way is that each person is an absolute individual with absolutely different thought processes, experiences, and biases. No one lesson should be taught the same. Ever. The principle of teaching people, not lessons is identical to how the Lord teaches us. He speaks in our language, to our personal understandings. Time to teach to learn :)

xoxo

Elder Burgess