In mid-May, an act of sheer desperation mingled with an unexpected spark of creativity led Sister young and me to post a video in a few Facebook groups. Our simple video declared that we were 1.) missionaries, and 2.) willing to help people learn Danish.
After 3 days of an overwhelming number of responses and delegating prospective students to other companionships, we closed the post and informed the remaining individuals that we didn't have any more openings. To console any potential broken hearts, we offered lessons about God instead.
This is how we met C., who lives in the African country of Nigeria. He immediately took us up on our offer to teach him more about the gospel of Jesus Christ. We soon set up an appointment with him over video call. Fast-forward a month and we suddenly acquired another companion, Sister Sørensen. The three of us taught C. 5 times together, even extending a baptismal invitation, which he readily accepted. We chose not to set a date however, because we wanted to leave that up to the local missionaries in Nigeria.
In addition, C. created a group chat called, 'Disciples of All Nations' with 50 other people in order to spread the word of God. We also ended up teaching some of these people. C. was also able to attend my family's branch meeting over Zoom (a surprise for my branch) and we successfully referred him to native Nigerian missionaries serving in his area.
We continued to keep tabs on C. even after my two companions went home. He would tell us how the lessons were going and asked questions about topics if things ever came up. One day, during personal study, I received a message informing me that C. had decided to be baptized on August 15th!
His wife and daughter are now being taught and I expect their baptism announcements will follow shortly. The pictures I have since received from C.'s baptism make me smile. Seeing local members standing proudly next to him reassures me that C. has a solid ward family to lean on even when missionaries aren't around.
It's cool to have been able to be a part of C.'s journey from 7,000 kilometers away and yet still see the fruits of our labors. Just before C.'s baptism, he wrote to me, 'Today is going to mark a new beginning in my life as I consciously partake in the blessings of being baptized in Christ. I believe God will strengthen me to the end to continue living in the new life in Christ. Please pray for me, especially for total transformation from today.' If that's not something we want all of our friends to say, then I don't know what is.
Sister Katarina Hepworth
Denmark Copenhagen Mission