Missionary Miracles with the Maintenance Man (by Bethany)

"We are simply asking all members to pray, knowing that if every member, young and old, will reach out to just 'one' between now and Christmas, millions will feel the love of the Lord Jesus Christ. And what a wonderful gift to the Savior." 
- Elder M. Russell Ballard of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, Oct. 2013 general conference

A member missionary experience from a couple years ago:

When I gave birth to Alice, it was a miracle. We had tried for over a year to get pregnant, had seen numerous doctors, and fasted and prayed endlessly. When the stake president told us to open our home to missionary work in order to get the blessing we desired, we did everything we could think of to share the gospel. Soon, I was expecting, and we thanked the Lord everyday for this blessing.

By the time Alice was born, we had all but forgotten about the miraculous circumstances surrounding her conception, and our missionary efforts waned as we focused on our new little bundle of joy. We lived in family student housing while Paul attended graduate school at New Mexico Tech, and frequently had maintenance men at our apartment to fix things. One day soon after Alice was born, our sink clogged, and the on-call maintenance man came to work on it. Junior was a big brown man, with a gap between his front teeth, a scruffy gray beard, an obvious New Mexican accent, and a long black ponytail down his back. We shared some small talk, he fixed our sink, and he left.

At Grace's birthday party with Junior and his son Skyler. 

Months later, on a particularly hectic Sunday for us, Junior showed up at church with his family. Paul talked to him briefly, but we had to leave right after sacrament meeting for a trip. The next Sunday, Junior came to church by himself. By the following Sunday, he was sitting with us. We found out that his wife was an inactive member, but that he was not a member, nor was their 9-year-old son. Junior was raised Catholic, but the Catholic churches in the area were all being renovated, so he decided to try another church rather than meet with the Catholics in a cafeteria. His wife, Nova, said she'd go with him if it was the LDS church.

On that third Sunday, I asked Junior if he'd met with the missionaries yet. He said they'd tried to set something up with him four times, but he hadn't been able to make it work. I suggested he could be taught at our apartment, and that I would make a feast to go with it! After talking to the missionaries, we set a dinner/teaching appointment for Tuesday at 5. Junior was really excited for turkey, and specifically requested gravy!

I spent all day Tuesday cleaning and cooking.  Junior showed up at 5 with his 9-yr-old son, Skyler, saying his wife didn’t feel up to it. I was really hoping we could reactivate Nova in this process, but was happy with the start we were getting. The elders didn’t end up making it to the appointment due to a conference. Luckily, Paul and I had read the first lesson in Preach My Gospel the night before, so we were able to discuss it with Junior and Skyler over dinner. I asked Junior what he had learned about Joseph Smith so far, and he said, "Not a lot. Tell me more about him." Paul told him the story of the First Vision, and Junior didn't touch his food the whole time. Afterwards, he said, "I've got chills, man!" He liked the idea of modern prophets, and especially liked that we don't believe in infant baptism. When we told him we're born without sin, he put up his fist for us to bump fists with him! We discussed the Word of Wisdom and a few other things that came up. The Spirit was strong. Paul gave Junior a Book of Mormon, explained the pictures in the front, and told him about Moroni's promise that he could know for himself that the book is true.

The next Sunday, Junior came to church as excited as ever, and stayed all three hours. We were disappointed not to see the rest of his family, but happy to see him. We set up another lesson/dinner for the next day. This time, the missionaries taught, and Junior brought Skyler and Nova. Nova agreed to attend a relief society activity with me the next day, and many of the women in the ward knew her and fellowshipped her. The missionaries taught the Sotos another lesson at their home on Wednesday, and on Thursday, Nova attended our cub scout field trip with Skyler. Paul and I were the cub scout leaders, and hoped this would help Skyler integrate into the ward. On Friday, we had another lesson/dinner at our house with the Sotos and the missionaries.

Nova and Alice 

Over the next two or three weeks, we tried to have a dinner/lesson at our home with the Sotos once a week, and the missionaries would give them another lesson at their home or the church once a week. We were soon becoming close friends with this family, and the discussions became more spirit-filled. Junior really opened up and cried about the death of a close relative. Another time, we discussed him not playing bass guitar on Sundays with his band. He didn’t know if he wanted to give it up, but the Spirit worked on him, and he made the right decision.

We also interacted with the Sotos socially. Junior and Skyler came to Grace’s birthday dinner, Skyler attended cub scouts most weeks, and we had a pre-baptism celebration of food and wiffle ball a few days before the baptisms.

Saturday evening, July 16, 2011, was Junior and Skyler's baptism. Nova's uncle came from two or three hours away to baptize them. The room was PACKED, including Nova's inactive mother, Junior's Catholic mother and brother, and tons of people from the ward. I played the piano and Paul gave the talk.

Junior, Skyler, and Nova's uncle on baptism day! 

The baptisms went well, though Jason (their 30-yr-old less active son with no interest in the church) ran up to the font as soon as Junior was dunked because he was so scared Junior would drown. Jason said he was worried because, "I know how heavy he is!" Ha!

At church the next day, Paul stood in the confirmation circles. Nova's mother came for the confirmations, and Junior's mother stayed the whole 3 hours! Skyler was all dressed up with a white shirt, tie, black slacks, and dress shoes, and Junior was wearing all that plus a jacket! They looked great, and we were so happy for them!

All of this happened in less than two months. We hardly knew Junior except as an on-call maintenance man, but we took an opportunity the Lord placed in our path, and were able to have an experience that enriched our lives and theirs. We are so blessed to have been able to share the gospel with our new friends, and to see how the Spirit can change people’s lives.

Junior and Skyler at Paul's graduation the day we moved.