Mission Home Firesides

We have a fireside in the mission home every six weeks on the Sunday before transfers. New members, investigators, and their member or missionary friends are invited. Every fireside is a spiritual experience and we have always had someone finish the evening anxious to be baptized. I don't know what will happen because of tonight but the spirit was remarkable.

Generally, President Robison starts by having each guest introduce themselves and then he talks a little about the mission and we show the latest missionary slideshow. After that he gives a short message accompanied by a video clip and then invites certain new members to share their conversion experience and bear their testimonies. That is when the spirit really comes.

We heard three testimonies tonight:

• A branch president, baptized two years ago who was contacted three different times, years apart, by missionaries and eventually came to church and loved it. After his baptism he was quickly made a counselor and not long after that, the branch president.
  
• A young actor, baptized a few months ago who was given a Book of Mormon and taught about the gospel by friends. He said at first he didn't want to read the book but it kept 'calling' to him. When he finally read he felt an incredible peace and kept on reading. He was happy to be meet the missionaries and be baptized. He is now preparing to serve a mission.
  
• A PhD student who met and refused missionaries in Trinidad and London over and over again during his life and eventually was contacted two years ago in an internet cafe and agreed to hear a message. The missionaries invited him to church and because of a special dream and a little pushing by the spirit, he attended church and loved it. He was baptized but was offended a few months later and stopped attending (but kept reading the Book of Mormon). Persistent and loving missionaries (and Elder Bednar's talk) helped him come back and tonight he bore a powerful testimony.

After the fireside we ate cookies and visited. I talked to a few new members just baptized yesterday, and some who attended church for the first time today.

I was impressed with one fine young 16 year old baptized a few months ago. He sat in the front row during the fireside, smiled, and glowed. He wants to go on a mission when he is old enough.

I asked him, "Do you know how special you are?"

He said, "Special?"

I asked him, "How many 16 year old boys do you think there are in Trinidad?"

"Thousands"

"What do you think most of them are doing right now? Yet here you are at a fireside, committed to serving the Lord. That makes you special."

He grinned and said, "No one has ever told me I am special before."

The testimonies tonight were powerful. We had lots of investigators in attendance and if they felt what I felt, they are begging the missionaries to get their baptisms scheduled, right now!