This week I would like to focus the spotlight on a few inspirational stories, the first of which is a young sister missionary in our ward who was extended a mission call without submitting an application & has a missionary companion who is a dog!! Yes, Sister Taylor Talbot in our YSA Ward was called as a service Missionary last November with a special Missionary assignment to help bring others to Christ through her example & public speaking. She is nearly totally blind yet is training in the Chula Vista, California Olympic training center as a Paralympian sprinter. Her blind service dog, Fargo, is her companion & trains & travels with her on the speaking engagements. She is also a hopeful Paralympian for the Paris games in Paris, France scheduled for 2024. She had been torn about continuing her Olympic training or going on a Mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints & wrote a letter to the Church thanking the leaders for the messages they gave when they had come to southern California. Her letter was forwarded to her Stake President who called her in to visit with her. He then spoke to the Church leaders who issued her a special, unique Mission call so she could continue her training, but also serve a service Mission.
We have witnessed the fruits of her labors as the missionaries have been teaching a number of athletes training at the Olympic training center where she trains - she shares & invites all around her to consider the message of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ. Despite her blindness & adversity, she sees it as a blessing from the Lord when she says, “I am so grateful for that challenge God gave me that I am losing my sight so that I can help others see Christ and come unto Him." “I have been able to reach more people and teach them about the gospel than I ever could have if I was fully sighted,” she said. “It’s opened my eyes to a lot of good things in the world. I have a completely different perspective on trials because of it. I’ve been able to be more grateful and become more aware of the miracles and tender mercies that God has put into my life. It’s just so much easier to see God’s hand when I can’t see physically.”
What an amazing attitude!!
The young Missionaries out here in San Diego are doing an amazing work in sharing the gospel; Recently a pair of Sister Missionaries were tracting and found a family of 11 to teach. They knocked on their door & when the door opened, they introduced themselves & asked if they could come in and have a prayer with their family. The family said ok, so they went in to have a prayer & suddenly, grandma, grandpa, Mom, Dad, and a bunch of kids all came out!! So one of the sisters gave a sincere prayer & gave thanks for their many blessings, including the restoration of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Following the prayer, she explained to the family what she meant when she gave thanks about the restoration of the gospel proceeding to tell them about the restoration! On their next lesson a few days later, they had a spirit felt discussion after which they asked the family if they would like to feel that spirit more often? With an affirmative response, they put them on date for baptism and are now teaching them how they can have the gift of the Holy Ghost with them as they have faith, repent, get baptized, and receive the gift of the Holy Ghost by the laying on of hands!!
Recently, one of the Spanish Sister Missionaries completed her mission & was scheduled to go home, when she got covid, which delayed her departure. After she could travel again, she got scheduled for a fight that got delayed, so she ended up on a different flight. When she finally got on her flight, she sat next to a lady who was a refugee from Colombia relocating with her family to North Carolina, so this Missionary was able to talk to her in Spanish. During the discussion, the Sister Missionary asked her if she was Christian to which she responded, "no, but I have been meaning to research how I can become Christian & be baptized." The Sister Missionary explained that we have missionaries in North Carolina that can help her with that!! After the flight, she forwarded her contact information to the Missionaries in North Carolina who are now teaching this lady!!
The Lord will put people in our path when we have the faith to act & follow his promptings. This Missionary was in tune with the Spirit & was able to help a family that the Lord was very aware of!!
On Friday, a number of the Senior Missionaries went to the airshow put on by the Marines at the base in Miramar, California. We were fortunate to go and spend the afternoon seeing the Osprey vertical take off and landing planes, the F-22's and the f-35 5th generations aircraft doing some of there amazing maneuvers in the air. The main event was the precision flying of the Blue Angels - always an enjoyable event!
On Saturday, we were able to join the younger Missionaries for a local "clean up" service project in one of the canyons, clearing out weeds & picking up trash. The Missionaries know how to have a good time giving service!
I learned the lesson of the "Italian White Snail" that is an invasive species in Chula Vista. Apparently they must have ended up here from a ship and they have infested the area learning to adapt to the local surroundings by crawling up the stem of weeds & plants to get away from the dry heat on the ground & sealing themselves up until the rain comes when they crawl back down and enjoy the cooler moisture!! Perhaps we can learn a lesson from this snail to make sure we move away from Satan's territory & seal ourselves up & away from Satan's enticements - making sure we focus on the nourishing moisture of the Gospel of Jesus Christ & His goodness.
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