Last Tuesday morning, before we learned who would be going where with transfers, I stumbled across a deck of cards with motivational quotes written on them. Flipping through the deck, I came across a card that said, "I can do hard things." When I read it, I was reminded of my childhood and all the times my parents tried to teach me that difficult is different than impossible. And this impression came to my mind: "This next transfer is going to be a hard one, but if you push yourself to do what's right, even when it's hard, God will help you through it."
Turns out that thought I had was foreshadowing of what was to come. In the transfers, I lost my Peruvian comp Elder Silva, a missionary who always seemed to know exactly what to do, exactly what to say, and exactly where to go. In his place, I received a super energetic, super red-headed elder named Elder Smith. He's one transfer "younger" than I am in the mission, and, obviously, new to Aregua. So I have to plan everything, remember all the names, lead us through the area, and a bunch of other things. I've started to realize that Elder Silva carried a ton of the weight and a ton of the stress in my area. I guess that now it's my turn!
One of the first hard decisions I had to make in this transfer was whether or not to postpone a wedding that we had scheduled for this last Saturday. The problem was that in the morning that day, there was going to be a ward temple trip, so there wouldn't be anyone from the bishopric, or much support from members. I talked to the bishop; I talked to the members; I called elders in the mission office; I said a bunch of prayers. And then I went to the family that's going to get married to explain the situation and ask what they wanted. We came to the decision that it would be better to wait until this next Wednesday, the 27th of April. I spent most of the week stressed and worried that it was the wrong decision. But when Saturday came, C, the father of the family, called me and told me that the legal documents he needed to get married weren't done yet and that we would have had to postpone the marriage anyway. It was such a relief! And it really gave me a testimony that when we include God in our search to make the right decision, He can guide us to make the right choice. Now I just need to worry about getting the wedding organized for this Wednesday!
Another lesson I learned this week is that as missionaries, people have really high expectations of us. And we have to keep our promises. Elder Smith and I were walking to a lesson when I felt like we should look for an investigator named F that Elder Silva and I had contacted 6 weeks before. I didn't remember exactly which house was his, so I was prepared to contact some houses and ask around. My search wasn't long because at the first house I clapped at (that's how we "knock doors" here in Paraguay) F came out to greet us! I excitedly greeted him and explained that we'd like to pass by another day to share more of our message with him. He invited us to stop by on Sunday night but then said, "But this time, you better show up." He explained that the last time we contacted him, we set up a lesson, but never showed up. In our rush to prepare investigators for baptism, Elder Silva and I had forgotten to stop by. It was really humbling to have this man chew us missionaries out for not keeping our promise. But it was also a great feeling to be given a second chance to teach him. As a missionary, I have to be better about being on top of things. The people I talk to and teach are children of God. If I forget to show up to a lesson, they might be losing the chance to find the truth of the Gospel. Luckily, with F, God gave me a second chance to right a wrong. Elder Smith and I showed up on Sunday, and as we talked to and taught F, I became even more grateful for the second chance we were given. Felix has had a really difficult life, but he is really prepared to accept the gospel and find the peace that Christ promises us in Juan 14:27.
As I struggled this week to plan with the Spirit and be where I needed to be, and with whom I needed to be, I had some great experiences and lessons. My favorite is a lesson we had with an investigator that Elder Silva and I thought wouldn't progress. His name is A. We stopped by to teach him about the Gospel of Jesus Christ. We started out normally, but when we started talking about baptism, I felt like I needed to explain more in depth the importance of baptism by authority. After I did that, Alexis looked kind of confused and like he wanted to say something, but, worried about getting through the lesson, I didn't think it was important and turned to Elder Smith to continue with the lesson. Luckily, my new comp was more in tune with our investigator and the spirit than I was at that moment because he asked: Do you have a question? Yes, A had a question. And it turned out to be the question I've been waiting my whole mission to answer: "If people have to be baptized by the authority of your church, but your church didn't exist from the death of Christ until 1830, what happened to all the people that died when they couldn't be baptized those with priesthood authority?" Thanking my companion in my mind for catching our investigator's reaction to what I taught, I flipped in the bible to 1 Peter 3 (that teaches that Christ preached to the spirits in prison) and then to 1 Corinthians 15 (which teaches about baptisms for the dead). And Elder Smith and I explained that in the end, every single person that ever lived on the earth will have the chance to receive the ordinance of baptism. We wrapped up the lesson with an invitation to read the Book of Mormon to know if it was true. Elder Smith and I were able to clarify A's questions, but now it's up to him to gain a testimony of the church that only the Holy Ghost can provide.
This week's been hard. I've had to be in charge of everything, and there's not anyone aside from my Heavenly Father that can answer my questions about what I should do. But so far, He's helped me keep my head above the water. Now all I have to do is keep working, and "bear(ing) with patience my trials" like Alma 27:27 teaches. If I can do that, I have the Lord's promise that He will give me success in my mission and in my life.
The Church is true and we really do have a loving Heavenly Father that has our back when things get hard and we have questions.
I love you all! Thanks for all you do,
Elder Fairbanks
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