Now for some miracle stories
On Thursday afternoon, we were walking up to hauptbahhof, contacting people as we went, and ended up talking with a little family from Africa. At one point in the conversation, we asked them if they'd ever come in contact with missionaries before and the husband said "yes, of course. They're everywhere in Africa". Our little chat continued, and everything was going great...until we brought up the Book of Mormon. We asked him if he'd read it, he said yes, then started to be a total hater. He had some big issues with that book, and try as we might, we couldn't resolve his problems! After about 5 minutes of back and forth, he suggested we go sit at McDonald's and talk (subtext: I want to prove you wrong) and we agreed (subtext: boy, you goin' down). We sat in that restaurant for about 45 minutes, and got to see the Holy Ghost at work on this man’s heart during that time period. Kenny started off so closed minded and full of disdain, but by the end had not only accepted a Book of Mormon, but gave us his number so he could meet with the missionaries in his area, too! Pretty crazy though, Kenny told us that the only reason he stood there talking to us on the street was because once upon a time, two missionaries contacted him and tried to talk about the Book of Mormon. He rejected them and went on his way to work, but had a terrible accident of some sort as he was walking over. He said that as he was lying on the ground, the image of the missionaries and the book they were holding played over and over again in his head. He said "I only stopped to talk with you because I didn't want to get hurt again." We assured him before leaving that those mental images were no coincidence, and that our encounter wasn't, either. The Lord has gone through such great lengths for Kenny—I know He's got a pretty special plan prepared for him! I can't wait to hear the end of this story! I also can't wait to give the Holy Ghost a big ol’ high five one day. Through him, we were able to resolve all of Kenny’s concerns and through him, Kenny’s heart and mind were opened to receiving the gospel of Jesus Christ. I'm so grateful for the spirit!! This great work really couldn't take place without him.
I think my favorite part of the week took place the next day, though. We met with...LEYEO!!! Who—hold the laughter—isn't actually named Leyeo. Haha his name is Yao. We may or may not have been pronouncing it wrong for like 8 weeks straight. Good thing I’m not serving in Asia, right? Anyway, I don't know if you remember him, but he dropped us a little while ago. He was the one who sent us that heartbreaking "I'd rather be an atheist" text. We'd see him around all the time after that whole incident (usually on the buses) and would chat with him and invite him to meet with us again, to which he always responded "thanks but no thanks". One evening a couple weeks ago, he turned to me on the bus and said "just so you know. I still believe in God. I just don't know whose God is the right one." I expressed my excitement and said "Yao! That is why you were meeting with us! We're here as missionaries to help people understand just that! We need to set up an appointment so we can help you!" And he said OKAY!!!! (: said appointment took place on Friday...and it was wonderful (: just like good ol’ times! He's been reading in the Book of Mormon and we spent a good portion of our termin explaining Lehi's dream and the tree of life. We talked about a bunch of other things, too...but the best part was right at the end. We asked him what changed--what made him decide to meet with us again and he said "you didn't give up on me. You'd see me around and you'd still talk to me. You kept inviting me to meet with you. You didn't give up. Thank you."
LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, THOSE ARE THE SWEETEST WORDS YOU COULD EVER HEAR. Don’t give up on those you love! Don't get discouraged! Keep trying! Keep inviting! Keep loving! Hearts will change and minds will open if you do (:
Real quick before I go, for all y’all who are wondering how the beautiful land of Germany has reacted to the recent terrorist activity, all I'm going to say is that I've seen more police men and guns over the past couple days then I've seen in the last 11 months combined. They've really stepped up security to say the least! Don't worry about me! I'll be fine! (:
Hope y’all have a great week! Looking forward to our skype call in about a month (:
Love you lots!!(:
- Sister Terry
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