Greetings! (hehe)
Yes, I am in an old area of mine today, doing a division with one of the Elders here. The bus ride was a long one, standing from 2:30AM to 4:30 but hey, whats new? It is great to be back, I have already ran into a few friends, and am excited to stay tomorrow as well.
There was a huge rainstorm this last week that we ended up having to walk through a few miles to our house. I think it would have to go down as the biggest one yet of the mission. Lets just say that my baptismal clothing was more dry in one day than my companions boots in 6 days. The weather has been all over the place, but generally hot.
I had one of the best experiences of following the Spirit last night. We were hurrying down to our last visit of the night at about 8:15PM when I noticed a couple on the side of the road next to their motorcycle. I felt a very strong impression to stop and offer help. Well, I was not sure if it was just me telling myself, or the Spirit, so I gave them a wave and continued on. We continued to walk, and were about 20 feet ahead of them when I felt an undeniable impression to turn around and offer help. So I turned and gave a weak "Do you need help?", to which they replied, "No, all is well!" After hearing that I then started to turn, but then again felt impressed to offer again to help! By this point, I felt like I might have been annoying them, which of course was what Satan wanted me to think, but I asked them again, "are you sure?", to which they replied, "Well, we are looking for something." So we went and started talking, and what do you know, they had been walking for more than 2 hours pushing their motorcycle, because the tire had gone flat, and no one offered help, nor could they find a pump. We started calling members who lead us to one place, and another, and another, and we could not find anyone who had a pump! In addition, it was Sunday, and nothing was open. We ended up carrying their helmets, bags and walked with them as we pushed the bike up the hill, where he got in touch with his brother-in-law, who knew what to do. We were able to talk and realize that they were very interested in our message about eternal happiness, and accepted to receive the missionaries in their house in Asuncion. They kept on saying how thankful they were for our help. I really cannot explain to you all how great I felt after. I had been a part of a first hand following-the-Spirit experience. I understood what King Benjamin said when he taught that when we are in the service of others, we are only in the service of our God. My companion and I got to talking about the effect that one little experience can have like that, especially in the life of someone in need. Who knows, maybe they will never talk to missionaries again. Maybe they will find the truth, be baptized, sealed in the temple, and endure to the end to obtain eternal life. Maybe they will greet Elder Sorrell and I on the other side of the veil and say, "Remember us? Remember, we were in need of help, and you helped us! You led us to happiness we had never known was available! Remember us? How glorious will the day be when it all comes together, and all of those small acts of kindness we do are all found out and added up, and we can all rejoice together. Like Elder Holland said, that surely the thing God loves most about being God is being merciful, especially to those who don't expect it, or may not be worthy of it. I feel so thankful for being here in the mission and for the experience I have had and continue to have daily.
Love you all!
Elder Babcock
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