Our "Good Samaritan" Missionaries

This is a story told to me by one of the missionaries in the Huelen Zone. Presidente went to do interviews yesterday, so meanwhile, I sit with the companion and let them 'talk' to me, sharing their highs, lows, health, joys, scriptural experience, etc. I love to learn from their faith. This missionary will remain anonymous here, but I won't forget his story. He told me about his experience finding a man in the street, drunk and bleeding from a large, deep gash on his forehead.

He and his companion decided to help him into his house, since he had apparently been very drunk, fallen and gashed open his forehead, but had yelled and tried to have his family inside the house hear him to come help. No one had heard him. These two elders gathered him up, tried to stop the bleeding, talked with the family, helped them get him inside, and meanwhile, had blood smeared all over his one Elder's shirt, soaking through to his garments also. After tending to him and the family, they stepped outside to hustle home and change shirts. The neighbor had previously been outside watering his small lawn, and earlier in the evening had refused to listen to the missionaries when they had approached him, but as they stepped out of this other wounded man's home, now the neighbor was impressed by the spirit and touched to tell them he wanted to listen to their message! They set a time to return, as this was already getting late, about 9:30pm. He agreed. I'm sure he was prompted to see their Christlike efforts, and willingness to help his neighbor, something he hadn't even bothered to do, so he wanted to know more. They quickly ran home, changed shirts/garments and since it was still early, decided-after wrestling with the easy thought to just call it a night, stay in, clean up, shower and end their day. However, they knew they still had another hour they could be out, so they decided to leave. Then he told me that in that hour, they found FOUR, 4 new investigators! Great people that seemed to just come up to them, because they were right where they needed to be, and the Lord provided the rest. I told this sweet missionary, that I could actually picture them covered in blood, like the story of the Good Samaritan, and that the Lord has told us that He will clean our robes, clothes, garments, from the blood and our sins, if we have faith in Him, come to Him in humility and repentance, and He will forgive us. The symbolism of the blood of that other man on these clean, pure missionaries was powerful to me, and I told them that the Lord is so happy that they are serving Him, and He loves them. I thought at that moment, these sweet elders had been there in His spot, to tend and care for this Child of God. Then He poured out more blessings upon them, by letting them find 4 more people who have been prepared, and now are being taught and progressing towards baptism. How merciful the Lord is to all of His children. As I came out of the room, and the President saw I had been teary, I told him, "This wonderful Elder V had made me cry!" I am humbled to work along side of such great missionaries, who are full of faith and charity for others.

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