| When I was called to open the San Mateo branch near La Esperanza in the Quetzaltenango valley, I wasn't too happy. I had been hoping to finish the mission in the warmer climate of Huehuetenango or even on the coast. I had already been extensively working the San Mateo area as a part of the La Esperanza area with two greenies. We hadn't had much success there.
I was starting to feel burned out and was looking for a nice downhill ride to my release date. Heavenly Father had other plans, of course. His work would go forward even though my part of it was nearly complete.
My companion was to be Elder Cruz. During my first week of working with him, I found that he was quite friendly and had a way with the people that I didn't have. He could strike up a conversation very easily and people trusted him quickly.
The branch turned out to be larger in number of members than the La Esperanza ward from which it was split. That was the first bit of good news we had. And referrals started rolling in quickly. Soon we had a sizeable group of people we were teaching and preparing for baptism.
Then Elder Cruz's knee blew out. We suddenly were trying to figure out how we could manage doctor appointments, prescribed resting for him in the mornings, and the large number of people we were teaching. Stake missionaries weren't always the answer as they were busy during most mornings.
Somehow, though, we were able to teach and baptize seven new members in the space of a month and a half, which was quite extraordinary for the region we were in. But the numbers were not so much the goal as the quality of the testimonies we helped people to build. If they weren't strong starting out, the branch would struggle and these sons and daughters of God would lose out on blessings later.
One of the most memorable people we baptized was a young lady of fourteen from the border between San Mateo and San Juan Ostuncalco. We had stopped by her house to follow up on visits my earlier greenies and I had made to the house.
We were looking for the grandfather and his grandson that we had been teaching before. The grandson had moved to the U.S. and the grandfather seemed less interested than before. But this young lady listened intently as we taught her grandfather. At first I dismissed it as a mere interest in these two missionaries in white shirts and ties, but later realized that her interest was genuine as she was able to answer quickly and accurately when we asked her review questions.
Two Sundays before I was scheduled to go home, we baptized her into the Church. I went home not knowing what the future of that branch would be.
Recently I was able to get back into contact, via e-mail even, with this young lady we had baptized. She informed me that San Mateo has a brand new chapel and that a new stake center is being built nearby that will serve La Esperanza, San Mateo, San Juan Ostuncalco, and other areas. Her testimony is still strong despite many hardships and she has great desires to serve the Lord.
That experience and another personal spiritual experience that I had earlier in the mission cemented firmly in my mind that it was indeed God's will that I be assigned to that specific area at that specific time. Now, when I reflect back on all of my experiences, the work I was able to participate in while in La Esperanza and San Mateo stand out in my mind even more than being in the warmer, more successful areas of Coatepeque or Huehuetenango. |
