Hola Familia Y Amigos,
This was a week in Perú, that I will NEVER forget. It all started on Friday morning when the alarm went off at three-thirty in the morning. I got up, showered with my Inca Kola bottle in the chilly Peruvian winter, and we hit the streets at 4, to begin the journey to the Stake Center at Los Olivos (Which is the city where the new temple will be built.)
We got there and studied our scriptures for a while, and then we all stood up, and in walked in Elder Ronald A. Rasband of the Quorum of the 12 Apostles, and he said, breaking the dead silence, "Buenos Dias!". As the pianist played the prelude music, we all shuffled into a line-up to the pulpit to go shake his hand, and that of his wife, and Elder Montoya of the Seventy and his wife. (Which by the way is the SAME General Authority that called me to the pulpit in Canto Grande).
I can’t even explain the Spirit I felt as I shook the hand of an Apostle of the Lord, and as he looked me straight in the eye, and said, "Hello.". We then had the privilege to be instructed by him, and by the rest of the visitors for about three hours.
He told us so many fantastic things. He said that when we shook his hand, he wasn’t looking at our name tags. He was looking at our eyes to see if they were sparkling. He then told us what he said was exactly what the Prophet, President Monson would say to us if he were here: “We thank you, and we love you.” He gave a solid talk, and the Spirit was so strong. In the End, he prayed a blessing upon each and every one of us, and said this: that among the 600 missionaries there, if there were any afflicted, that he gave us that blessing as if his very hands were placed upon our heads. The powerful Spirit that filled the room was undescribable.
He also told us that Lima Perú, is EXACTLY where the Lord wanted us to serve our missions. What a privilege it was for us to have this visit from an Apostle of the Lord.
It is one day of my life I will never forget, because after shaking the hand of an apostle, and looking him in the eye, it is IMPOSSIBLE to deny the truthfulness and the divinity of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ. I know without a doubt that he is a personal witness of the Lord Jesus Christ, and that he is one of the 15 people on this entire earth that holds ALL the priesthood keys of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. What a privilege and a blessing it is to serve the Lord and be one of his personal servants, to bring the restored Gospel to the remnant of the Lamanites.
Love you all so much,
and I hope you all have a wonderful week.
Con Amor,
Elder Jacob Reschke.
P.S. When the 600 hundred missionaries stood up and were singing “Called to Serve” in Spanish, I was 100 percent proud to be a missionary serving the Lord in the Misiòn Perù Lima Norte.
What an incredible experience.
You have exactly 7 weeks left of your mission in Peru. How do you feel about this?
I feel kind of how I did when State Track was coming up. Nervous, but excited. I am not going to judge my success as a missionary based off how many people I baptize during my last transfer. I am going to base it off how hard I worked. That is all the Lord really cares about in the end.
It is kind of a mix of emotions. Bittersweet. Sweet because I have accomplished so many things here on my mission, but bitter because I feel like Perú is just a part of me now, and I don't want to leave. I was just thinking how much I love each and every one of my converts. I think it is very similar to the love that our Savior feels for each and every one of us. Anyway, we are going to keep working in our area to be able to finish strong!
The door to our room:
Wow what a neat experience with Elder Rasband. He was the one who came to our stake conference several months ago.
ReplyDeleteVery cool, wish I could be there
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