First off, I may now honestly say that I have eaten grasshoppers. Apparently they're a commodity in Mexico, some really expensive dish. In Pasco a plate of grasshoppers can go for up to $25. Our investigators, Pedro and Rosa, had a whole tub of them and made me try them. Elder Kiser didn't want to, so I had to. They weren't too bad, flavor wise. The worst part is picking the bug parts out of your teeth. I've attached a picture where I have to kneel down to fit in the frame with them. They're from Oaxaca, so they're very very small.
A common lesson that I've been seeing throughout my time here in Yakima is how easy it is to be an angel in somebody else's life. We got a random call from a phone number that we didn't recognize and answered the phone and started to talking to some stranger. He explained that his name was Rafael and that he felt that his life had no purpose anymore. He wanted to take his own life, but something told him that he should call the missionaries. We were all very taken back at what we had just heard over the phone, so we asked for some clarification on some things and realized that this man was truly on the brink of taking his own life. We asked him if he had any weapons or anything nearby, and he answered no. He told us that he lived out in Naches, about half an hour away from where we were. We felt helpless with the great distance between us, but we promised him that missionaries would go and talk with him. We called the Elders that covered Naches, and I said "Elders, someone is about to take their life. Are you up for the challenge?" We gave them the address, and they headed off to visit Rafael.
They called us back and told us that everything was going to be okay, that Rafael wasn't going to end his life. The gospel had begun to bring light into his life again. A couple days later I went on exchanges with those Elders, and we felt a very strong need to go and visit Rafael before Sunday. He lives out in a lonely garage in the middle of nowhere. The only social contact he may have in a day is with his dog Blackie, who has a broken leg. We went and knocked on the door with a whole new light about him. He let us in and we started talking with him about his life and what has happened to him. His entire family was killed by the Mexican cartels, and it caused him to lose faith in everything. He told us that everything has gone downhill since that moment, until missionaries went and visited him. Since that first visit, he was miraculously able to find a new job, after being unemployed for a very long time. A sad look started to come over his face again, when he confessed that he does not have very much food, and that he was afraid of starving. We promised him that God would look out for him, especially since he's been reading in El Libro de Mormon. We said a prayer with him and continued talking to him about the blessings of the gospel, when we heard a car lock up outside his garage. Very puzzled, we all went outside to see who it could be, since Rafael isn't accustomed to visitors. It was his new boss, from his new job, with a box full of meat from a hunting trip he and a friend went on. He also brought some spinach and other odd items of food. Rafael thanked his new boss, and we thanked him for being the answer to our prayers, and went back inside as his boss went on his way.
We were amazed. We had just witnessed a serious miracle. A humble prayer was answered.
It doesn't matter what trials we are going through in life, God will watch out for us. There is no depth that we can sink to, that the light of the gospel cannot reach to bring us back up.
A common lesson that I've been seeing throughout my time here in Yakima is how easy it is to be an angel in somebody else's life. We got a random call from a phone number that we didn't recognize and answered the phone and started to talking to some stranger. He explained that his name was Rafael and that he felt that his life had no purpose anymore. He wanted to take his own life, but something told him that he should call the missionaries. We were all very taken back at what we had just heard over the phone, so we asked for some clarification on some things and realized that this man was truly on the brink of taking his own life. We asked him if he had any weapons or anything nearby, and he answered no. He told us that he lived out in Naches, about half an hour away from where we were. We felt helpless with the great distance between us, but we promised him that missionaries would go and talk with him. We called the Elders that covered Naches, and I said "Elders, someone is about to take their life. Are you up for the challenge?" We gave them the address, and they headed off to visit Rafael.
They called us back and told us that everything was going to be okay, that Rafael wasn't going to end his life. The gospel had begun to bring light into his life again. A couple days later I went on exchanges with those Elders, and we felt a very strong need to go and visit Rafael before Sunday. He lives out in a lonely garage in the middle of nowhere. The only social contact he may have in a day is with his dog Blackie, who has a broken leg. We went and knocked on the door with a whole new light about him. He let us in and we started talking with him about his life and what has happened to him. His entire family was killed by the Mexican cartels, and it caused him to lose faith in everything. He told us that everything has gone downhill since that moment, until missionaries went and visited him. Since that first visit, he was miraculously able to find a new job, after being unemployed for a very long time. A sad look started to come over his face again, when he confessed that he does not have very much food, and that he was afraid of starving. We promised him that God would look out for him, especially since he's been reading in El Libro de Mormon. We said a prayer with him and continued talking to him about the blessings of the gospel, when we heard a car lock up outside his garage. Very puzzled, we all went outside to see who it could be, since Rafael isn't accustomed to visitors. It was his new boss, from his new job, with a box full of meat from a hunting trip he and a friend went on. He also brought some spinach and other odd items of food. Rafael thanked his new boss, and we thanked him for being the answer to our prayers, and went back inside as his boss went on his way.
We were amazed. We had just witnessed a serious miracle. A humble prayer was answered.
It doesn't matter what trials we are going through in life, God will watch out for us. There is no depth that we can sink to, that the light of the gospel cannot reach to bring us back up.
Con Mucho Amor,
Elder King
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