The Miracle of a Mission
Christ said "Follow me and I will make you fishers of men" (Matt 4:19). And so we follow. We turn our lives over to him. We leave who we have been all our lives and turn to what we believe in and Who we believe in to guide us. At first is a scary decision, but one that changes us forever.
You pack your bags thinking and realizing the adventure you are about to take, the leap of faith. But once you begin, you realize that the adventure is also a journey. Nineteen and twenty one year old young men and women leaving there lives and loved ones behind to bless the lives and loved ones of others, thousands of miles away.You arrive and realize your whole life you were waiting for this moment, but yet you feel completely unprepared for the task ahead of you. You drop to your knees and plead with the Father above. And thus the transformation begins, the miracle of a mission.
It continues. Every day a battle to be better and do better, a challenge of diligence, will and heart. You wake up in the morning exhausted but begin with a simple plea, a prayer for help and strength to how what to do today and how to do it. Who will you find at the other side of that door? Will anyone let you in? Will you be able to help them and share with them your testimony in another language? Will you feet stand another full day of walking with all your blisters? The only option is to be obedient, pray for guidance, forget who you are, and listen to your guide. Doubt not, fear not: you are now a servant of the Lord and an instrument in sharing the life changing message of the Restoration. He will get you through, just go. The miracle of a mission.
The miracle occurs in the transformation. The fight to get out of bed early at 6:25am everyday. The quiet dedication in the early morning hours of study time to diligently search His word. Fasting and walking all day with an empty stomach for the ones you now love. After being yelled at, mocked, and turned away hundreds of times, you press on waiting to find that individual or family who needs the light of the Gospel. The miracle is that person who you came as is starting to change. The punk college aged kid no longer exists because now there is something bigger to be, to work to become to be an instrument in His hands. You leave who you were as you put on your plaque every morning and enter into the apostolic work of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
Your relationship with our Heavenly Father is strengthened, your testimony of the Atonement deepened, the tears and heartaches of the people you teach now become yours as well. Even though you are farther from you family than you ever have been, you love them and are more grateful for them than every.
A mission is a journey, a transformation. When you send in your papers in you never realize the struggles you will have and the situations you will have to help your investigators overcome. You don't know who your companion will be or where you will be sent to work. But there is Someone who does, and has walked that path before you. You change your fears to faith, pride to humility, doubt to courage, frustration to love, and discouragement to determination. Not only do you learn to become fishers of men, but you learn to follow him and walk on water. The miracle of a mission, and what a beautiful miracle it is.
(PS, my camera card had a virus so you will get pictures as soon as it is finished getting cleaned!)
Love you all,
Hermana Thatcher
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