March 31, 2014

Hey everyone! I'm so sorry it's been so long. Life has been good here in North Las Vegas. There are airplanes constantly flying overhead and missionary work always to be done. I'm sure you'll hear more about it in the coming weeks, but today I wanted to tell you a story! It's a true story, so pay attention.

Once there was a young missionary. He'd only been out for about a month and half and was still learning the ropes and trying to figure out how to do this missionary thing. One night, he and his trainer were biking when they got a phone call. It was the ward Young Women's President and she was calling to tell them about a family that was moving in soon. The mom was a less-active member with a new husband and 2 kids. The mom had called the Young Women's President and asked if the missionaries would come and teach her kids, a fourteen year old girl and an eleven year old boy, the missionary lessons so that they could get testimonies of their own. As the older missionary stopped to listen to her tell him about this family, he would sometimes repeat some of the words he heard back to her. The young missionary listened to him say a few words but it didn't mean much to him, since he couldn't hear the rest of the conversation. But when the trainer said the family's name, a subtle but powerful prompting from the Holy Ghost hit the young missionary's heart and it told him "This family is here for a reason."

So, they went to meet the family. The first meeting was definitely not ideal. The apartment was loud and there wasn't too much focus to the visit. But they met the family and set up a time to teach a lesson. The mom was grateful for the missionaries, the kids were a little less enthusiastic about it, and the husband told them that while they were fine to come and teach the kids, he was absolutely not interested, would not participate, and that they shouldn't expect anything from him. So they came back time and time again, doing lessons to keep the kids learning (one of which involved the young missionary doing 300 pushups), but mainly focused on what it would take to help this man see how this could benefit him. As time passed and the missionaries did lessons that involved him with the family, he noticed a change in the home. He could feel the Spirit in his home. There was less arguing, more peace, and a distinct difference in the home. He brought HIS kids over to learn from the missionaries. He adored his kids and would do anything for them. The more he noticed the difference the gospel made to his family, the more his heart warmed to the idea. Finally he decided that if he truly wanted the best for his kids, something in his life needed to change. He decided to learn about the gospel and had the missionaries teach him as well as his family.

6 months later, the young missionary had the opportunity to baptize his friend, Tim Brooks. He's now one of my best friends and I've come to love his family so so much. Tim showed me that a true father does what's best for his kids. He makes changes in his life because he knows that it's about them. He had become converted to the gospel because he could see that this gospel truly blesses family. Of that, I know for a fact. I am so grateful for the example and story of Tim Brooks. He's taught me a lot and I'll never forget the experiences I had with his family.