The Water Department In The Swamp

January 12, 2012

Yeah, I totally forgot to write a post yesterday... Meh, you'll get over it. I'll keep this one short; I don't want to spend too much time tonight. Here's a little story I thought I'd jot down.

A week or two ago I was driving down the road, and I saw the city water department building. A building like that would normally have gone completely unnoticed to me but it brought back a simple memory. Every month when I was on my mission as a zone leader I would have to go pay the water bills for the missionaries that made up my zone. I remembered that the building was in a dirty, muddy part of town and my companion and I, either Elder Bricenho or Elder Huarca, would tread through the muddy swamp to get there, accomplish whatever our business was and then walk back to wherever we needed to go. That memory seems so insignificant but it affected me. It reminded me of what it felt like to be on a mission. I was suddenly struck with gratitude and I offered an open-eyed prayer as I drove past that water department in Victorville. I was so blessed for the opportunity to serve the Lord, going to another corner of the earth to share what I simply had felt and been blessed with. It was an experience that I will never forget. It was there in the jungles, deserts and swamps of Bolivia, that I learned a little better how to be a man. More importantly, it was there that I learned so much better how to be a man of God. I loved those people dearly, my heart ached for them and I think about them constantly. I believe that almost every missionary leaves their mission knowing they could have done more... they could have had more energy, talked to more people, tried harder, prayed harder, lived slightly better, etc. I certainly felt that and to be honest, it bothered me greatly until just recently. I had remembered so often those occasions when I didn't give EVERYTHING I had to give. As I prayed I told the Lord my feelings of regret and the feeling was almost instantaneous when I felt the Lord speak to my soul and tell me it was okay, that he was proud of me. I don’t remember whether I teared up or not but I do know that I felt the spirit completely soothe me.

That was rather personal. Don't know why I felt to share it with the whole world but perhaps someone will take something from that that will benefit them.