"Have You Ever Seen Rain?" June 29th email from Elder Adam Younce

There are some events in your life that you don't recognize as a
moment that you will always remember until after it happens and then
you reflect on it some and realize the gravity of it. I'll tell y'all
about an experience that I've had this week that elicited such a
response.


It happened when we were visiting a less active family 
to help them get them involved in missionary work by sharing the gospel with
their friends so we can start teaching them. They fed us dinner and we
taught a lesson to them, but then they said that they had a favor to
ask of us. Using language that they knew their little girl couldn't
understand, they explained to us that she the mom was pregnant. Apparently
because she is a little bit old to be having children and she has some
other health problems, she will be going to the doctor to assess the
health of the baby and mother. They haven't told anybody, including
their daughter, because they aren't sure what is going to happen but
they told us because they wanted her to have a priesthood blessing.
The husband could not participate for reasons he didn't specify but
I'm glad that they trusted us enough to ask for our help. We were
about to start when they both said that they would like me to say the
blessing. I guess it made sense because it was the first time they met
Anziano Pyper and I had seen them a couple of times before, but they
also knew I wasn't very good at speaking Italian. As I was pronouncing
the blessing on her, I realized that it was the first time that I had
actually said a priesthood blessing, let alone in Italian. I'm
starting to see more and more the purpose of the priesthood. It isn't
a means to exert power over other people in the church, but rather is
a way to serve others and carries with it that responsibility. Our
prophet, Thomas S. Monson, is known as one of the most service
oriented people on earth. Since his early adulthood he served
countless widows, sick people, and poor people in his numerous
callings, all in the name of Christ and his priesthood. Our Savior,
the prime example of priesthood holder, never used it for selfish
purposes but instead served others. He healed the sick and fed
multitudes but when he was suffering of hunger or bodily pain, he
refused to do the same for himself.

Ok I know I pretty much already a spiritual thought but I want to
do another one really quick because I feel the need to do so. This
week we met with our little Peruvian miracle man, Isidro, again and we
talked with him about how he is doing with some of the commandments we
talked to him about. He expressed concern to us his doubts with the
Law of Tithing and Word of Wisdom and said that he doesn't know yet
what the benefits will be for him or why he has to keep them. In
essence, he doesn't know why he has to keep them because he has never
tried it. We were almost out of time when he told us this so we
decided to talk about it the next time we see him. I felt that I
should really put some thought into a response to his questions
because at this point, he just needs to attend church one more time
and get this out of the way and he will be ready for baptism. As I
reflected on his doubts, I realized that it was completely based on a
lack of experience on his part with these commandments and that they
may sound strange at first but that once he puts it into practice, he
will see the blessings that will come from observing them. I thought
about how a person who had never seen rain or snow had it described to
them: little drops of water or flecks of ice falling from the heavens,
seemingly spontaneously. However, if they are shown a fresh layer of
snow or get caught in a spring rainstorm, that uneasiness, doubt, or
fear will soon turn to delight as they dance around in the cool shower
or make snow angels for the first time. When we meet him next I will
be sure to try show him how sometimes we just need to have the faith
to follow God and that he will take care of the rest.

From what it sounds like, everyone back home is well and blessings
continue to be showered on all of you. If there is anything that any
of you want to talk through or want me to keep in my prayers, please
don't be afraid to contact me. Also, please don't neglect to think of
all the good things that are happening in your lives and inform me of
them. I want to know!

Con un cuore pieno d'amore

Anziano Younce