Missionary Experiences

[1 Sep 2017]
Sorry for the lack of pictures. We’ve been having some real missionary experiences these past two weeks and haven’t bothered to document anything with the camera.

Here in Rama America, there are even fewer Melchezidek Priesthood holders than in the Tupiza branch, so the Branch Presidency consists of President Huarachi, and one counselor. They don’t have a branch clerk, so I have become the defacto clerk, which is perfectly fine with me. As a result, though, since President Huarachi has been doing all the membership stuff himself, he is very interested in how I look at things. Each week, I have an opportunity to show him the errors I’m finding, and what needs to be done to correct them. That results in needing to meet with members and reviewing their records. So, he’s been accompanying us (it makes it so much easier to get in to visit when someone known, and loved, in his case, comes to the door) to visit inactive families.

One of the families, the Venturas, were baptized 15-20 years ago, and had been very active. Some things happened, though, and their feelings were hurt. We’ve heard comments from others about some of the things that happened, and there were three or four strong families that left at that time. It had to do with gossip – we don’t know any facts, nor who all was involved, but there are some real lessons to be learned about how we treat each other, and how fragile some testimonies are. We really need to love, be patient, realize how imperfect we are ourselves, and what the purpose of the gospel and Christ’s Atonement really are.

Anyway, we went to visit them on a Tuesday in their typically humble Bolivian home. The father and two older sons (23 and 21) were working outside, and didn’t come in to visit with us, but the mother, Flora, and her three youngest children did. These three were born since they became inactive, and thus aren’t baptized. It was a sweet visit, but in telling us about her family, Flora was very emotional. We learned that they had two other sons who were killed in a mine accident some three years ago. One was about 17 at the time, the other about 24. It felt like a prime opportunity to remind her of the promises of the Temple, and that her sons weren’t really gone. We made an appointment to come back on Thursday.

After we got home, I looked up her sons’ names in FamilySearch, and found them easily. They were both there, but some of their information (death dates and places, for instance) weren’t complete. So, I figured that showing them this might be helpful.

When we went back on Thursday, the father, Humberto, came in to visit with us. As we talked, we realized that they had been very active for a time, and had not forgotten the principles of the gospel, nor of the temple. I fired up FamilySearch on my laptop, and with the help of their 12-year old daughter, we built them an account, and started their family tree. When we connected their sons, and corrected their information, the green icon lit up, meaning their temple work could be requested. So, we talked about what steps they would need to take as a family to get their three children baptized, to prepare for the temple, and to go and do the work for their sons and themselves, and to be sealed as a family. There was such a sweet feeling there, everyone was fully engaged. The mother, Flora, even said that she felt that the heavens had opened up again when we came, and especially mentioned Molly. It’s so easy for Mom to make loving connections with these people.

So, last night, we took the sister missionaries with us to visit them again. The father and two older sons were working away from Tupiza, but their daughter-in-law, Talia, was there and joined us. It was so sweet seeing the sister missionaries get to know the family and begin to teach them. The mother told us that she and her husband had spoken, and were committed to getting active again, and Talia even told us that she had talked to them and wanted to know more. The sisters are going to proceed from here, and when they feel like we are needed, we’ll continue to accompany them.

We went to visit another inactive family early in the week as well, from the Tupiza branch. The father is a son of one of the pioneers here – one of the first to be baptized in the area, but he apparently never really was active. His wife comes sometimes, but not often. As we visited with her, she told us about a daughter who had gotten sick and died at age 20. Again, we checked FamilySearch, and found that her temple work had already been done by other family members. Hopefully, knowing that will help bring peace to her, and encourage her and her family to work to be active again. We introduced the Elders in the branch to their family, and we’ll work together with them.

And, last Sunday night, we had a branch “Noche de Hogar” at the house of a recent convert family – the Vicente’s, in Rama America. They have only been members for two months, but they are fully involved with the branch. The mother cooked sopapillas – big scones – for everyone, and made a big pot of api, a drink made from purple corn, cinnamon, etc. Hno. Vicente’s younger brother, who was just baptized two weeks ago, gave a lesson on the Sabbath day, and did a very good job. Afterwards, we all played a game that the Elders taught, and had a very nice evening with all the members who came.

On Monday, we took our clothes over to Hna. Ibañez’s to wash in her washing machine, and had a nice visit with her. She offered to take us to find an inactive member family that she knows.
We continue trying to teach piano lessons, and we find a new person every once in a while, who wants to learn. Their schedules can be busy, so we end up waiting sometimes, but it still is a nice interaction when they come to learn.

So, we’re getting busier, and it feels so good to be here with these sweet people. Whether we are impacting their lives in any significant way, or not, we know that they are impacting ours. We feel such love for them, and want to help in every way possible for them to receive the richest blessings Heavenly Father has in store for them.

We also took a quick trip to Potosí this week for a Mission Conference. We really love President Montoya and his wife. He was an institute teacher for some time, and really has a beautiful way to teach gospel principles. Some of what we learned feel more appropriate in our private blog. So, if you are interested in reading them (the “small plates”?), you can go to our private version, “Ramblings From the ’Rents” blog (that's https://mollyandchuck.blogspot.com). It requires us to give permission, and is protected from internet searches, etc. So, if you try to get there and it stops you, let us know and we’ll fix it as quick as we can.

On a side note, the temperature has shot up, suddenly, so we’ve gone from needing the heater to needing a fan in over just two days. We still haven’t had any rain since April, but the forecast shows a 25% chance of rain on Tuesday. We’ll see.