Pettit's Highland Highlights: Feeling the Workings of the Spirit

Dear Family and Friends,

Another week has passed, but it seems like so much has happened---surely it has been more than a week. We guess it is a testimony of the statement we make when we are teaching about Self Reliance: "The Lord can make so much more out of our efforts than we can ever do for ourselves." For those of you who may not have a complete understanding of SR, that may sound a little contradictory of the idea of SELF Reliance--that we depend so much on the Lord. But it is really true. The wonderful doctrine of Self Reliance is not doing things ourselves, but it is reaching for hard temporal and spiritual goals through faith. The Lord truly enable us, and everyone who depends on Him--to do and be more than they could do on their own.
The week began for us in Cork, which is 2 1/2 hours south of Dublin. We presented in the small branch there and decided to stay over to do flat checks for the Sisters and Elders, and to drive home in the light. The place we stayed was nice and we needed a good rest, but most importantly it was peaceful enough for the Spirit to guide us early that Monday morning. The strong impression we had was that if we went to Carlos and Priscila with a plan for a surprise baptism for him on Saturday ---a surprise for the Sister who has been teaching them before she went home on Monday--it might be the motivation that would help him go ahead with his baptism. Carlos is such a great young man. He is a brilliant astro physicist, who has extreme shyness (anxiety disorder) and has turned down getting baptism for quite some time because he wanted to know everything better. But in our last lesson with him, he hinted at the fear of so much attention. Therefore the surprise idea was a good one because the plan was to keep it super small.

We went to their house on Monday night (we are pretty good friends with them) and shared the "crazy idea". Two days later Priscila rang us and came over to tell us he would do it! She was so happy!----in her also quiet way.   And so we had to get all the details in order, the interview, the permission to have it be small, and in the end---how to fill the font!   Everything worked out so well. The mission President Counselor and the Bishop attended, (they were the two witnesses), the two Sisters, one other friend, and us. Dad worked very hard to get the water warm, but the pilot light had gone out, and even when he got it lit, true to rumor, it was not good, so we carried several big pots of all our hot water, boiling water from our house and the church kitchen, and it was good enough.   The Sisters were ecstatic when they saw Dad and Carlos in white clothes. The Bishop planned the service, but only asked us to speak Sat. morning--but we were so pleased to do it.

Carlos and Priscila were so happy as they can now look forward to being married in the temple in a year.   Priscila had asked us if Carlos could be taught again (the first missionaries had stopped because he was not progressing) and he has been so sincere to read the B of M and pray. We have felt Carlos had a testimony for a long time and been so impressed with his responses in the lessons.   The real sweet thing was knowing that the Lord wanted this to happen, and a way was prepared. Maybe it took a some craziness to push it forward--so we qualified.

Another experience that we felt has been guided, has been our efforts with Nick from Romania. After last weeks experiences with encouraging him toward solving his job problem, and seeing his faith and perseverance, we were looking forward to taking him to his interview on Wednesday.   Once again we were so impressed. The company ended up being a huge construction and product corporation--not what we expected when we approached the van on the side of the road a week ago.   So getting a phone number for an interview was beyond a miracle. It was a MIRACLE!    Nick still doesn't have his immigration work-papers, but he can't get them until he gets a company to say he works for them, so he had researched the company, and came very prepared and bold. We were so proud of him. He didn't get a job---yet, but he is still working for the first company he got fired from and it looks like the old boss may help him with papers,---and the big job is still a strong hope.   In the meantime, Nick is working so hard with the old job that the boss gave him a big bonus. He could maybe stay on with the present job now--but it is not as secure, so he has hopes of stepping up.

While all this is happening, we are loving being with him as he is getting gospel lessons. He is so humble and accepts everything he is taught. He practically bears testimony of things himself. The big challenge is still cigarettes. It makes us feel so sorry for how hard it is for him to live with the addiction while living among all smokers and wanting to quit. He is progressing, but still not quite there. Tonight we laughed as the Elders challenged him to pray before he smoked in the morning--and that they would call to remind him at his waking time. He smiled and said, "if you don't call me to remind me, I will call you to call me." In other words, I don't really need a reminder, I just need more strength.

We have also been praying hard for Morris from Botswana, the man who found us in the mall. We have had a few appointments with him, but at the last they usually cancel, or he just doesn't show up. Without an invitation again, we heard he came to church (we are never attending our ward because we have to speak in other areas). And one day he called the Elders, but didn't come through on that appointment either.   It hasn't made sense because HE was the one who found US and was interested in the gospel. Then last night at 2:30 a.m. he texted us telling us he was feeling suicidal.   We immediately called him back, but then he couldn't talk because he was at work. We gradually got enough information to find out where and when to pick him up after work.   We got a few more hours of light sleep and then left early to find him. He was hurting so much from depression. We spent much of the day trying to comfort him helping him get started on finding better work. Immigrants have so many restrictions and his resolution was to work for a temp work agency who was really taking advantage of his situation. We feel that although it has been so hard on him, his trials will ultimately help him to have the determination to succeed and to gain a testimony that of course will bless his life. It is a blessing to be able to work with these (and others less severe) to help them find ways to change their lives.

Friday was another day of miracles. We had planned to go to Belfast, primarily to see the Bowens (Stake Self-Reliance Specialists), but also to do flat checks. We arranged with the Bowens early in the week to take them to lunch, but late Thursday night Donovan Bowen called to cancel the lunch appointment because of work conflicts. We didn’t know whether we should go anyway to do the flat checks, even though we wouldn’t really be doing any Self-Reliance work, which is the reason we have the car in the first place. We worried about it right up until the time we were to leave, but decided it wouldn’t be fair to the Elders to cancel the flat checks, and perhaps we could just call the Stake President when we got there to see if we could talk to him without an appointment. So we went anyway, not really having a plan in place. We somehow got through all 5 flat checks in 3 hours. It is really exhausting work, since not even the Garmin can find some of the addresses, and driving in unknown territory is hard work. We only really got lost 5 times in 5 flat checks. We had some instructing to do about cleanliness, but the checks were fairly uneventful. A flat check goes like this: look in all the corners, explain that the black stuff is mold, tell them to spray everything with bleach, talk about how their mothers would like their beds to be made, take a list of things to repair, leave candy bars, and say goodbye. It is interesting, though, that it is easy to pick up on a missionary’s attitude to a certain extent by the condition of his flat.

So, back to the story. After the last flat check, we decided to call the Stake President, and just happened to catch him home, which was only about 10 minutes away. We went to his home, and had the nicest, most productive visit we have ever had. He was agreeable (he’s not always), trusting of us (he’s not always), and open about the challenges he is having in the stake (he’s not always). We had a list of things we wanted to talk with him about, and he agreed to support us on every one! We probably made more headway in Self Reliance for the Belfast Stake in that 30-minute meeting than we have in 2 months. Miracle? We think so. Why was the lunch appointment with the specialists cancelled at the last minute? Why did we decide to go to Belfast anyway? Why did we just happen to catch the Stake President at home? Why was he so much on the same wavelength as we were?

The story doesn’t stop there. After arriving home, we were still uneasy about how things were going to progress in Belfast, so we decided to write a “suggestion” letter to get them going, even though it might ruffle some feathers (we’re still trying to build political capital in the Belfast stake.) Halfway through the letter, a mistyped key erased half of it just before we had to leave for an appointment. Later that evening, before we could get back to the letter, we got a call from the Stake Specialist, explaining that a major breakthrough had come in the entire stake Self Reliance effort. Dates had been set, plans had been made, people had been invited. We have been waiting for weeks for this to happen, and everything we were going to visit with the specialists over lunch about (and write in the letter) happened anyway. Was the Lord’s hand in all these events, even though they seem small? We think so. Missionary work is full of just this kind of thing, on a daily basis.

So as we conclude yet another long letter, it seems that every day this week has been packed from beginning to end. We have had a lot of SR projects. We started two SR classes with YSA on Wednesday nights, We traveled up to Belfast Friday, down to Waterford Saturday after the baptism, and all the way across Ireland to Mullingar on Sunday. We have done flat checks, lessons, meetings, planning, speaking, hosting and parties. We love the variety and the steady stream of things to do--but we especially love it when we feel the Spirit working in our efforts. We don't seem to have time to plan our talks or presentations, but they go ok. We don't have time to get lost for all the places we need to get to in record time, so "somehow" we just find it, and we feel the Lord letting us help with good people who are having tough times. In all the work goes on, because it is the Lord's work.

We send our love to each of you. We love hearing about all the little and big things that are happening in your lives---because we think of you so much and love you tons!
Hugs a Plenty!
Grandma and Grandpa,
Dad and Mom,
Elder and Sister Pettit