We had more meetings than proselyting this week, but it was a spiritual wake-up call to me.
First off, we got the privelege of seeing Elder Cornish, a member of the Seventy that's over the Carribean. What an inspired man is all I have to say. We got to talk with him personally and pretty person-to-person on Tuesday for a special leadership meeting we had with him and President Corbitt. He gave us a lot of great and truly heaven-sent advice on how we can meet with the goals and vision we have (both as a mission as well as personally).
Thursday, we had a meeting with the Zone with President Corbitt that was basically a how to "Plan More Effectively and Improve Companionship Study". We got food (well, rice and beans yet again - yay!) No, it was good and we learned a ton.
And on Friday, we had a mission tour where we had the privelege yet again of hearing from Elder Cornish. He told a story to us that I have to comment a little bit about:
While he was serving his mission in Guatemala over 40 years ago, towards the end of his mission he recieved a special assignment from his President to look for possible missionaries from Guatemala. He worked, searched and finally got all the "prospects" together and in his words he delivered to them the best talk of his life. At the end, he asked "Who'd be willing to serve a mission?". Out of all the people there, one 18 year old boy he had known previously came to the stand. He was disorganized and had been kicked out of his house, a family of 11 people, because he accepted the Church. He was, he commented, the worst prospect there could possibly be to serve a mission. He didn't have a dime to his name and honestly, wasn't the most intelligent young man in the world. He explained to him the requirements to serve. In that era, you had to pay every penny of your mission unless it was an impossible circumstance. The amount that he would have to save was at least 2000 dollars. He asked him how much money he had saved up. He said 5 quetzales (the equivalent of 8 American dollars). President Cornish told him to keep saving up and to call him when he had enough and was prepared to serve a mission.
He recieved a call two weeks later from the same young man. When Elder Cornish asked him how much money he had saved up, he responded "5 quetzales." Elder Cornish, a bit irritated, told him that was the same amount he had two weeks ago and so why he had called, being that he still didn't fulfill the basic requirements to serve? He said that he had sold all his tools he was using as a carpenter to sustain himself, his clothes that he could, and everything that he could to get some money. He didn't have a place to live, nothing to eat and 5 quetzals--- and he wanted to serve a mission for the Lord. Elder Cornish talked with his President. The young man came to the mission office, took some of the shirts, suits, shoes, and suitcases other missionaries had left and with money personally from the President left that following week to serve a mission in Honduras.
Elder Cornish, 6 months after, already returned to his home having completed his mission, recieved a letter from the young man with the address from Guatemala. Thinking that the man had failed, and discouraged, returned home from the missoni, he sadly opened the letter ---- only to find that it was from the father of the young man. That same father (who had hated the missionaries and kicked his own son out of the house for accepting the Gospel) was now in a picture with the entire family dressed in white at a baptism. The whole family was baptized and the young man returned honorably from his mission.
I was humbled to say the least. The little things we complain about. I have had many days in the mission where I feel like I have it hard. But to hear of others who truly sacrificed all to serve, makes me feel a bit spoiled to think of how little I gave up to be here. I love the mission, this Gospel, and sharing it with others. I know it's true and that the things I'm preaching now will immensly bless by family down the road.
Happy Late Thanksiving and Holidays to all.
Elder Taylor Graff
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