Only words of simplicity and Gratitude can appropriately convey the experience of having been allowed to Labor in the name of Jesus Christ for two years of my life. Receiving this call was among the greatest joys I have ever felt in life, and serving in it has rendered some of the most dear testimony and sacred experiences I have ever witnessed. A full summary would be much too long, and a partial recap could hardly do it justice.
So I confine my reflection to a short acknowledgement of the goodness that I have seen on my mission. From the earliest hours of my departure, I could see God's hand working in mine and others' lives. Day by day, small miracles and exceptional circumstances would occur, continually assuring me that God has a plan for all his children to come back to him. We must only be willing.
It may seem strange, but one of the greatest lessons of my whole experience was Heavenly Father proving to me, in many instances, that the Scriptures and counsel of the prophets is true. I would struggle and suffer in ignorance, and finally through Revelation and much study I would formulate an answer to my concern. And not two days later, as the case usually was, I would find my exact answer recorded in Preach my Gospel or in the holy scriptures. That alone has given me the determination to hold fast to these blessed guides the rest of my life, especially the book of Mormon, which I can gratefully say has become the keystone of my testimony. I will include an example below.
I have seen people change because of this gospel. For a long time I felt slightly disappointed in that I felt that I had never been the one to bring this change upon them. It seemed to happen almost magically. I felt like I was almost missing out on these peoples' conversions. Would they even remember me after years? And then I took a moment to search the Scriptures and my own patriarchal blessing, and I was taught that the Holy Ghost is the teacher. He is the converter and the testifier. It is my privilege to teach and invite the spirit in to confirm that. Every convert that I have baptized I hope is a convert of the Holy Ghost, and not of myself. So I was grateful to learn that, yes, the Gospel does change lives, but only as we allow the spirit into us.
And I do believe, standing here at the end of a long journey, that I have been changed by the spirit. That I know more of who I want to be, and the way in which I wish to take the gospel into my life. I am not perfect. I still have many glaring flaws that I wish I could have overcome in the time of my missionary service, but while serving, I gained a witness for myself that Jesus Christ is my Redeemer. My Savior. And I know that someday, if I follow him and love him, and give my will up to him, I can be perfect. Not through any goodness or great feats of my own, but through the Grace of my Lord.
I am ready to face the rest of my life as a disciple of Jesus Christ.
19 And when I desire to rejoice, my heart groaneth because of my sins; nevertheless, I know in whom I have trusted.
20 My God hath been my support; he hath led me through mine afflictions in the wilderness; and he hath preserved me upon the waters of the great deep.
21 He hath filled me with his love, even unto the consuming of my flesh-
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34 O Lord, I have trusted in thee, and I will trust in thee forever. I will not put my trust in the arm of flesh; for I know that cursed is he that putteth his trust in the arm of flesh. Yea, cursed is he that putteth his trust in man or maketh flesh his arm.
35 Yea, I know that God will give liberally to him that asketh. Yea, my God will give me, if I ask not amiss; therefore I will lift up my voice unto thee; yea, I will cry unto thee, my God, the rock of my righteousness. Behold, my voice shall forever ascend up unto thee, my rock and mine everlasting God. Amen.
(2 Nephi 4:19-21, 34-35)
-Elder Tayson Meanea
Special Mission Experience
As all good trainees are, I was afraid of the phone at the beginning of my mission. Only when it was safely in my trainer's hand could I relax. But one night we came home and were trying to set up a lesson for an Investigator that was about to be baptized. My trainer said, "I'm going in the other room for a minute." I waited for him for a while because we still had to set up a member to come to this lesson for us and change times, and I couldn't do it. After about ten minutes or so, I went and checked on him, and found him to be stone cold asleep. I walked back into the other room and began to panic. How could I set up this lesson? This Investigator was super hard to get an appointment with and if we missed this, we would miss her baptismal date. I got really scared, realizing this all relied on me. I was so scared that I knelt on our study room floor and prayed out loud, telling Heavenly Father that I did not have the skill to do this. I picked up my Phase 1 book and started searching for characers and their related pinyin so I could text the investigator and change times. It took me nearly twenty minutes, but I managed it. Having changed times with the investigator, I set out figuring out who it was that was going to help come to the lesson. It was an older brother, and I knew his Taiwanese accent to be thick, nothing like what I'd heard in the MTC. I said a prayer again, knowing that I had no chance of communicating with this man, and dialed the phone. To this day, I don't know what I said, but after a two or three minute conversation, I hung up the phone with the lesson in perfect order. I literally fell to my knees. I had such a feeling of love, and no matter how small it may seem, it was a miracle I desperately needed. My weakness through my father in heaven had been made strong, and I could feel the spirit testifying that God himself had helped me accomplish what to me was as daunting as building a ship to cross the see. The next day we met and finished her last lesson before she was baptized that next week. I know that God hears our prayers. And I know he answers them as well.
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