It was
harder to leave Erie than I thought it would be. I didn't think it would be as
I had been in the same ward for 7 months, but everything that happened Monday
evening and Tuesday morning changed everything for me.
Foreseeing
my inevitable departure weeks before, I prematurely signed my favourite family
(The Clarks) up for my last dinner appointment Monday evening. It was wonderful
as it always is but our goodbyes suddenly began to take an effect on me – I was
actually leaving. I received a long bear hug from Brother Clark as I knew he
was showing his sincerity in that way. Sister Clark gets very attached to us
missionaries, so when these days come, it's hard for her to see us go – she
started to cry and after a quick tease from her husband, she whispered through
her tears, “Bye, Elder Low...”A wave of emotion came over me and I felt like it
was terrifically difficult to leave. Silence fell among the Erie 1st elders
on our drive away as solemn piano music rang out from the stereo, reflecting
the emotion of the evening.
The
last person I had to say goodbye to was Bernie. Remembering how far he's come
from our crude first encounter in a Rite Aid parking lot in a rundown area of
Erie, he seemed so much more promising and progressing from the man we met
those months ago. Around 8:00 AM on Tuesday morning, Bernie texted us telling
us that he had good news and that we should come as soon as possible. Because
it was still time for our studies before we had to go out, we had planned to
stop by him at 10:00, but his impatience grew and he called us to tell us the
good news.
Sitting
in his living room later that morning, Bernie spoke of the night before in
which he had been at his band rehearsal. He had been trying to get a hold of
his friend Mark (the latter-day Saint he grew up with who now lived in Utah)
since we started teaching him but had been unable to until that night.
Excitedly relating his amazing experience at Church last week, the conversation
with his old friend ignited a desire for him to really pray about the things we
had taught him. He said that he knelt for a long time, praying and meditating
about the Church. Suddenly, an unexplainable feeling of light filled him that
he said he had never felt before. He said it brought him immense joy, erased
his medical pains, and made him fall in love with his wife and kids all over
again. He said he felt a huge burden being lifted, like he was 50 pounds
lighter and walking in the air. That feeling apparently lingered with him even
until that morning when we came over. He decided at that moment that he would
convert to the Church and unify his family with this feeling of inexplicable
joy.
The
thing I personally appreciated the most about Bernie's honest experience was
how true he knew our message was. He said that he has had other missionaries
come before and none of the had the impact we did. I have always wanted to feel
like I was meant to be somewhere, serving at that time for a reason. I couldn't
have had any greater witness than Bernie telling us how much he loved us and
our message. “You guys have changed my life,”he said, “how can I ever thank
you?”
You
can imagine the how difficult it was for me to leave all these members and
investigators I have gotten to know for so long at the drop of a hat. It's hard
but it's also very good. I really feel like I made an impact in Erie and I've
seen so many miracles there.
Coming
to Dover was a little more of a different experience. My new companion is Elder
Rowzeé, a missionary from West Jordan, UT who's been out ten months and
actually started his mission in Hershey, so we have fun talking about that. I'm
excited about this new area because there is so much going on. I feel like
there's a lot of low-hanging fruit as 90% of the current investigators we have
are part-member families, all just waiting to be baptized. The problem (I
think) is just getting the fellowshipping they need. We have a wonderful Ward
Mission Leader named Brother Shoemaker who really knows what he's doing, but to
the point where he makes some of the members cheesed off a little. He knows
what members need to do for missionary work and sometimes they are less than
happy to comply. I've never sat in a more tense Ward Council meeting where my
Ward Mission Leader was silent and staring everyone down. The Ward Mission
Leader is supposed to be our bridge to the ward not the other way around. But
hey, it's a work in progress.
I've
really enjoyed being around the members. We visited one member at her home and
her nonmember daughter was there with her. We asked her if she had considered
baptism and she thought about it a little and said that she hadn't! We have an
appointment with them tomorrow and she was excited to talk about baptism. More
interactions included being pulled into Christmas performances soon to come.
Because Elder Rowzeé likes to sing and I like to sing, we're being recruited
left and right to do musical numbers for Christmas sacrament meeting and the
Ward Christmas Party. We are definitely going to sing “What Child Is This” and
“O Holy Night.” I don't mind as much, it's a good way of getting to know the
members really well.
Well,
that's it for now. I hope you all remember the greatest gift given at this
Christmas season (see John 3:16)!
Love
you all,
Elder
Low
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