Despite the lack of sleep, I love transfer weeks so much! It's a really cool experience seeing the new missionaries arrive in Italy completely clueless for what they're about to experience. They are naive, can't speak Italian, but have the "greenie fire"- a desire to get to work! Then, on the other side of things, I get to send the departing missionaries on their way out. They have all had a couple years of experience in the service of the Lord and are excited to start the next chapter of their lives. I've been in the office for three of these transfer weeks now and each time, I've really enjoyed being able to reflect on where I've come from, where I want to be, and where I'm going. I really like the position I'm in right now. I'm knowledgeable, I've had a lot of great experiences, but I have a lot of time left to learn and change lives (especially my own).
On Sunday night, I woke up to the screams of my companion. "I'm dying! I'm dying!" He may have been dying, but I was about to have a heart attack. I was in a deep sleep and when someone wakes you up screaming that, IT'S SCARY! We had all eaten ghost peppers before going to bed and apparently Anziano Scoggin's stomach wasn't a big fan of the pepper. In the midst of Anziano Scoggin's throwing up, Anziano Simmons and I didn't really know what to do. The only thing I could really think of was to ask if he wanted a blessing. He said yes. In that moment, I was struck with a huge realization regarding my own, personal faith. The gospel became a very real thing when I was put into that moment of crisis and was needed to exercise my holy priesthood. I've given a lot of blessings here on the mission, but this blessing felt very different. I had no idea what was wrong with Anziano Scoggin (whether is was serious or not) and so I uttered the words of that blessing, I was praying with all my might that my mind would be inspired with divine words- God's words. Within a few minutes, Anziano Scoggin's symptoms disappeared and he was able to go back to bed.
I've reflected on this experience again and again. I know this church is true and knew it was true before giving the blessing. However, in many moments of the day, I am so far away from being perfect because of my own pride. It was a special reminder getting the opportunity to give that blessing. It is a reminder to me that I need to be doing everything I can to be valiant in deed and thought because there are going to be times of emergency (physical or spiritual) where the priesthood that I hold can bless a life of someone around me.
0 comments:
Post a Comment