Return of the Phone (Week 87)

Throwback to literally a week ago.

We showed up at Joseph's home. He is a returning member we have been working with ever since I got to the area. He opened the door and honestly looked a little upset that we were there. After a few seconds of thinking about it, he let us in. He was kind of a wreck, haha. We started talking about how things are going for him and come to find out, things were pretty sucky. Just a lot of things had broken down and some people hadn't pulled through that he had wanted to. He was also struggling with some health challenges and was just not having a great day. 

We read from Alma 18 together and talked about how the Lord knows us very personally. He is aware of our innermost thoughts, desires, and feelings. He knows exactly where we are in life.

His phone had broken recently and was a big reason why he was upset. He was using a really, really cheap phone and couldn't communicate at all with other people. We took a shot in the dark and texted our ward group chat to see if anyone had a spare phone that Joseph could use. We talked to Joseph about coming to Church on Sunday (the very next day) but he said he was instead going to walk to a phone store to get his phone fixed. He expressed to us that he was having a hard time trusting in God because of the frustration he was experiencing in his life. He said he wasn't going to go to church because his phone was a lot more important to fix.

Wales

"More important than getting your phone fixed, is coming to church and taking the Sacrament. That will do you a whole lot more good." We said. Joseph had a slightly unimpressed look on his face. We then told him that if he came to church someone would bring a phone for him. Doubtfully he asked, "How do you know?" We told him Faith wasn't to have a perfect knowledge of things but it was to trust in God nonetheless. He had a change of heart and really thought about it. After some more talking and hyping him up, he was set on coming to church. 

The moment that his heart and his intents were set on coming to church and on trusting God, a member in the ward group chat said they had a phone that Joseph could use. It was actually amazing. Joseph was in awe! Haha, it all sounds really cheesy but it was just awesome. Joseph became so grateful and was very happy. It was just so cool to see such a little tender mercy from the Lord in a small way that ultimately had a big impact on Joseph. 

Sunday came around and no Joseph...................  Sad day. Second hour rolls around and in came Joseph from the rainstorm. He had accidentally slept in and missed his ride earlier in the day, but determined to get to church, he walked 40 minutes in the rain. Haha it was amazing to see it all come around.

Love, 

Elder Hayden Shockley