M&L are in their 50's. They were married 22 years ago after both of their first marriages ended in divorce. M brought 5 children into the marriage and L brought 3. They really love each other and L told me over and over that they are a great "team" together. It was apparent they are!
Last year L's 32 year old daughter took her own life. It was very unexpected. She had been struggling with endometriosis her entire marriage and it became so painful they prescribed pain meds. She developed an addiction to them, but with the help of her sweet husband and M&L she had broken free from the addiction. Then she had a horrible recurrence and went into the hospital on a Friday. The doctors felt they needed to give her some relief, so they prescribed some meds again and sent her home. M&L live 2 house away from their daughter and her husband. On Monday morning L found her, passed away, in her home. It was devastating for all of them.
Shortly after, the LDS missionaries knocked on their door. M described it like this to me. "We were both raised Catholic, but hadn't been practicing Christians since we were young. We needed God more than ever, but were too grief stricken to seek Him out. The missionaries found us and helped us find God. It was meant to be!" He told me about some very sacred experiences that confirmed to him that God cared and was close by. He was much quicker to accept the gospel than his wife, L, was. He started attending church and felt so much peace there. After awhile, L said she decided to join him. She said they had always been a great team and she knew they needed to continue to be. She was much more skeptical of the church. They ended up taking the lessons several times from the Elders and attending several churches. She then told me about being able to feel the "Holy
Spirit" so strongly when she was at the Mormon church and when the missionaries would visit their home. When the sister started visiting them, it changed a lot for her. She could relate to the sister missionaries easier than the Elders.
She describes the day Jessica landed in Long Beach. M&L were the first house she visited! L said she had red, puffy, watery eyes from crying. She was very timid and quiet. Now L is a larger than life woman! She has SPUNK! She loves DEEPLY! She immediately took to Jessica and loved her. She grabbed Jes and embraced her and told her there would be "no crying at my house!". Jessica smiled and over the next several weeks a wonderful relationship ensued. L calls the sisters "my girls" and she really means it! They meet with them twice a week for lessons and she is SO generous with them. She buys them shakes at In-And-Out, she spoils them with gifts and looks over them like their mother. She said if an appointment falls through, they will stop by and say Hi. She told me she can imagine how much we must miss Jessica because she is the "apple of my eye".
As we visited with them on Saturday night at Costa Vida with all of our girls, they had a sparkle in their eye! They kept taking pictures and next thing I know, L is texting Jessica and her companion! She told me how annoyed she was that they only had a flip-phone because they couldn't get pictures or emoticons. She also told me how badly she wanted to take them to Knotsberry Farm, which is just a few miles from their home, but that LDS missionaries "can't do anything fun!". We laughed and laughed together.
They loved temple square! As we visited with them about the history and the purpose of temple square, it became apparent very quickly how young they were in the their knowledge of the gospel. We both came home and commented how we take for granted our knowledge and understanding of the gospel! The highlight of the trip for L was the Christus. As you can imagine, it was crowded! As we waited for our turn to view the Christus, there was a feeling of reverence. When were got up there, the big group sat down and the sister missionaries shared their testimony of Christ. L was overcome and felt the Spirit so strongly.
Next we went to the Conference Center. We had a quiet moment, away from the crowds there. M & L shared some very personal feelings with us. I was struck as M talked about faith and L talked about a desire to believe. They said that they had learned that this was the key to feeling the Spirit. As they exercised faith and belief and then ACTED on those feelings, they had felt a peace that surpassed their understanding. They had also felt their daughter closest to them during these times. M then expressed gratitude for being with us right there. He said he knew there were no coincidences and that God puts people into our lives for a reason. Scott was able to share his own powerful witness of Jesus Christ with them. It was an incredible moment together.
On the way home we found out that these two own Harley Davidson motorcycles and LOVE to ride! It's about their only hobby, next to their 12 grandchildren. They also told us how important their ward family is to them. Upon attending, they were immediately embraced and welcomed! They rely on these ward members so much and get together with them outside of church often. I was reminded how important this is as members! We must get to know, love, and embrace those who are being taught by the missionaries! It is vital to their conversion and fellowship.
M&L are still unsure on a date for baptism, but they said they are close. I have had many impressions of how I can continue to reach out to them and support them in the gospel. It has been a neat experience for me. L told us that they heard through the grapevine that when the Elders found out the Sisters were teaching them again, the Elders jokingly said, "Why are you wasting your time on M&L?". L told me that Jessica quickly responded, "We will never give up on M&L! We love them! This touched both of them!
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