We have been the busiest we have ever been. I never thought it would ever come down to that reason during these quarantine times.
I remember first hearing about the Facebook Finding Assistant. It sounded like a sketchy idea, and I was definitely skeptical. However, I had faith that it was inspired. From one night to the next day, I woke up to 45 unread messages, and I was so confused! I was certainly never this popular before. Then I realized that the Facebook Finding Assistant was doing its job. Whenever I sent one message, it felt like I received 10 more messages. I never thought I was going to be able to sort through them all. Then, one day, we spent 3 hours going through my inbox. Many people did not want to learn about the gospel and just wanted to talk about other interests, but we kept sorting.
Just when I was about to give up, I had the impression to open one last message. That is when I saw L. We had a short conversation, and when he found out I was a missionary, he asked me if we could pray together to overcome these hard times. He gave me his number, and we set up a rendez-vous. Little did I know that he only spoke Portuguese. Well, I only speak Spanish or English, so I lay in bed that night thinking what I could do. I remembered that my brother at home had served his mission in Recife, Brazil! That next morning, I could hardly wait to ask President Sorensen for permission to have my brother teach with me!
When I saw L.’s grinning face on video, this overwhelming sense of familiarity came over me. It was as if I had known him for such a long time. We started out by befriending him, and then we started teaching the Restoration. He had barely any experience with the teachings of Jesus Christ, but he said he was more than willing to develop a better relationship with Him and our Heavenly Father.
He talked about how hard his life is and about how we showed up at the perfect moment when he realized he needed to change. He bore his testimony about how he knew that we had crossed paths for a reason and that this was proof that our Heavenly Father heard his prayers.
We could not believe what we were hearing. At the end of the lesson, my brother asked him, “What would you give to know the truth?” and he responded with, “I would give my life.” My brother then proceeded to ask him, “So what will you do?” and Lucas replied, “I will get baptized.”
I witnessed four things that night. I witnessed the sacred power of the Holy Ghost traversing the barrier of technology. I witnessed the healing power of our beloved Savior. I witnessed how the Gospel brings families together, and I witnessed a new, powerful frontier on the Gathering of Israel. I promise you that the Lord will bless us in finding the elect no matter the circumstances, because we are specifically called to labor during these times.
Avec amour,
Soeur Sandres
France Paris Mission