The sister missionaries in our area have encouraged the primary presidents in our stake to invite the kids in their ward to have missionary moments and the children in our ward are taking it to heart and having and seeking out and creating missionary moments and it's miraculous to see.
Every week, a member of the presidency asks the children in primary 'who would like to have a missionary experience this week' and almost every hand goes up, then they choose one from jr and one from sr primary and ask the rest of us in primary to pray for that child all week long that they will have the courage to be a missionary and have a missionary moment. I love it! I love being in primary and witnessing these young children get up and talk about the way they served someone who isn't a member of our Church or went out of their way to invite a friend to Church with them...it's tough to be a missionary, but these young children are leading the way.
Last Sunday, Colt volunteered to have a missionary moment. With Garrett being in Alaska all week, I knew I needed to step up my game. The kids and I talked about it around the dinner table on Sunday and I asked him to pray about it and told him the rest of us would begin praying for him, too. Monday night the kids and I had family home evening together. For family home evening I read all the stories in The Friend and a few in The New Era magazines...we talked about each of the stories and I cried...cute Wyatt would come over by me every time I would cry and pat my shoulder and just look at me like he was so concerned (he does this everytime I read The Friend...the other kids are just used to me crying through the stories, but Wyatt is still so concerned). We began talking about Colt's missionary moment and I asked the kids if there was anyone around here that Colt could talk to about the Church or anyone he could share his testimony with. I had the impression to ask the kids how they felt as we read from The Friend and The New Era...they all said they had felt the spirit. I asked Colt is he had a friend who would enjoy the magazines like we enjoy them and maybe if they read them they could feel the spirit, too. Colt liked that idea and immediately though of a good friend he could share them with.
I asked him to pray about that and if he felt that's what he wanted to do, I would go to the distribution center and buy his friend their own copies of The Friend and The New Era and that we could also make our favorite brownies for their family, too. Colt loved that!! I prayed that it would be a good experience...it shouldn't be hard to share something that we value and love so deeply, but it is. What if they are offended?? What if they never talk to us again?? What if...? It takes courage to be a missionary, but I felt the Lord would bless Colter for doing this. A few days later Colt said he was ready...Colt and I made the perfect brownies and grabbed the magazines and rode our bikes over to their house. Colt's friend answered the door and Colt said "You're one of my best friends and these are some of my families favorite brownies and favorite magazines and I wanted you to have them." His friend smiled his huge smile and said "Thanks Colter, you're a great friend, too!" On our bike ride back home I asked Colt how he was feeling...he just smiled at me and said "Mom, I feel really good." I sure love my missionary!
p.s. a few days later, I ran into Colt's friend's dad. We began talking and I mentioned how much I think of his son. He thanked me for the magazines Colter brought over to them. He said they had read both magazines and that his kids loved them. He told me how he grew up as a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, but had fallen away and he was glad Colt could share those with his family. Wow...I couldn't wait to share that with Colt!
