Tuesday night Bishop called and asked Jason to be the Youth speaker sunday. He told Jason to come to his house and get his topic.....................this is what he gave Jason to read.
Bishop,
Thanks for sending all of us our Email addresses, it will be nice to keep in touch with the other missionaries from the ward. Also, thanks for the counsel on the new Email standards change. I would really appreciate it if you read this in Sacrament Meeting, and made my Mom and Dad cry.
Being in the California Carlsbad Mission has been a life changing event so far. Even though I have only be in the field for 4 1/2 months, I know that being set apart as a Missionary is a powerful and eternal calling. I observe and am apart of, the ways that Heavenly Father guides his children to be included into the Shepherds Fold.
One experience I have recently had, that I feel impressed to share at this time, was one that touched my heart.
In the ward that I am currently serving in, there are a lot of members that live in a retirement community. There is one sweet sister who is bound to a chair, and often feels that she cannot perform the work of the lord.
The Priests administer the sacrament to her most Sundays, when she feels well enough for company, and a few weeks ago, they brought the Youth Choir with them to sing a hymn that they had been practicing.
One of the 12 year old beehives in the choir, has never been baptized, her family is fully active and she has always participated in church activities. But when she was 8, she didn't want to be baptized. She is very shy, and avoids most one on one talks with church members, but has a beautiful singing voice.
After the Choir sang, and the Sacrament was administered. The Chair-Bound Sister was very grateful for the sweet music of the youth. She was mostly impressed with the Beehive, who's voice seemed to be calling out to her, and her mind was fixated on her in particular. Throughout the week, she thought about the girl, and asked her Husband if he knew anything about her. Her Husband then told her about the girls shyness and that she had refused to be baptized. She woke up the next morning with an impression that she could not shake. She remembered of a friend of hers, who had passed away last year. Her friend was a 12 year old girl who volunteered at the Senior Center. They had become very close, almost as if she were her own Gran-daughter . She remembered that it had been a year since her passing, and now she could have her work done in the Temple.
The Chair-Bound Sister was discouraged. She wanted to take the girls name to the Temple and do the Baptism for her. But she is no longer physically able to go to the temple. The Spirit rushed into her heart, and she felt that she needed to give this name to the Beehive to take to the Temple. She had no idea how it could be done, but she knew that if she prayed, that Heavenly Father would give her the opportunity to talk with her again, he would make it happen.
The next Sunday, my Companion and I went to this Sisters home, with the ward Choir Director and his Family. He Happens to be the Father of the Beehive with the Beautiful Voice. In the few moments between our arrival and the Choir Directors, The Sister relayed her story to us.
The Lord gave her the Opportunity to do reach out to someone. To do his work. After we had given her the Sacrament, she asked the Beehive if she would join her in another room for a moment, where she told her of the prompting to share the name of her young friend, and asked her if she would take the name to the Temple.
This shy Beehive, is going to be Baptized, to be able to go to the Temple in July, for the Youth Conference. Where she will start the Chair-Bound Sister's young friend's Temple Work.
I know that Heavenly Father has each and every one of us in mind, and that he does not forget about anyone, even if they are in less than ideal circumstances.
I say this in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen
Elder James Riley Strong
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