mountains, miracles, and imagination

Dear Family,

Winter here in the Southern Hemisphere is treating us well - we've been blessed with a number of breezy, sunny days where the temperature hovers around 80 and the wind keeps you cool enough to trick you into thinking you aren't getting sunburnt. As we rode home in the all-too-familiar mototaxis from our weekly zone meeting, the scarcely cloudy sky revealed the beautiful Andes mountains in the distance. Normally, one can only see the sandy hills that surround Chimbote a few miles away. Beyond them are even more hills and mountains, still sand and rocks. Finally, far far away, stand the powerfull shadows of the "everlasting hills," only coming out when the sky is crystal clear. It has the effect of making one feel a bit small.

We experienced a much-prayed-for miracle this week. An elder in our zone had been having some attitude problems and just didn't want to work. The ward members were starting to notice that the missionaries in their area weren't following the mission rules, too. Ever since I arrived, we've been wondering what we could do to help that missionary. We've been fasting and praying for him, and I've been talking to his companion, who is a great friend of mine (he started the mission the same day I did), trying to figure out what we could do. This week, we called them and invited them over to our apartment, because this elder's companion needed to sign and fingerprint a legal document to renew his foreigner ID card (or something along those lines). After taking care of the paperwork, our troubled elder took a moment and asked our apologies, saying that he had received a firm rebuke from the Lord for his attitude and that he just wanted to work. I talked to his companion later, who told me that this rebuke came in a dream that the missionary had. I smiled and offered a quiet prayer of gratitude; I imagine it got close to what Alma must have felt when Alma the Younger had his angel experience. It reminds me of the scripture that says the angel appeared because Alma had prayed with so much faith. That must have been my companion. Our dear friend is now working hard and the results are there to show it. Who can say this isn't the Lord's work? Who can fail to see His mighty hand over it? Fantastic!

I was privileged to perform about 4 baptismal interviews this week - our zone ended up with ten by the end of the week. It brings to my mind a little story that Elder Wirthlin told in the February Ensign about a little boy who asked his veteran grandfather, "Were you a hero in the war?" The aged soldier thought for a moment and responded, "No, but I served in a company of heroes." I'm serving in a zone of great missionaries! It looks like next week is going to have similar, if not better, results.

I was reflecting a little bit (funny how I do a lot of personal reflection in mototaxis - maybe it's cause the noisy rumble of the motor makes companionship communication difficult, if not impossible) this week, wondering just how to help a family whose "atheist" father won't let his under-age daughter get baptized. I remembered something Mr. Jonas said in my World Literature class - that we all have mental faculties: emotional, imaginative, and rational. He said we can't discover truth just by limiting ourselves to any one faculty: by simple rationalization alone, we can't discover the truth that God exists or who we really are in this world. As a missionary, we seek to have the Spirit with us and to work by that Spirit. It reveals things that are rarely visible to a natural eye, and it brings feelings that pass our understanding. I've realized that in my own life, I have allowed what I've seen on TV or heard on the radio define for me what I thought was reality. But reality isn't just what we see (in fact, that's rarely the case): it's something that's born upon our souls by the Spirit of God. The reality that I'm a child of God is something that wasn't written on my soul by singing a song, writing the words, or picturing it in my head. Rather, it was truth - the pure truth - poured into my spirit by the Holy Ghost. By that same power, I know that God lives; that His Son, Jesus Christ, is the Savior of the World; and that His Church is on the earth today, guided by a living prophet. They have revealed the plan of salvation, the reality and purpose of our existence. I'm glad we're here to have joy! I love it! I've discovered a little more of what's really going on in that plan by feeling the Spirit of God. It's difficult to explain, and requires one to use his or her imagination for it to make sense sometimes. I suppose that's why God gave us the ability to imagine: not to escape reality, but rather to escape the deception of sight and thereby discover reality.

I love missionary work! Thanks for writing me! Until next week.

Love,
Elder Withers
(Elder Weethairs, as we say it in Peru)