I love the scripture in Mosiah 18 in the Book of Mormon, when Alma baptizes 200+ souls in the waters of Mormon. After they have been baptized and have made covenants with the Lord, they talk of their experience in that place. Verse 30 says, "And now it came to pass that all this was done in Mormon, yea, by the waters of Mormon, in the forest that was near the waters of Mormon; yea, the place of Mormon... how beautiful they are to the eyes of them who there came to the knowledge of their Redeemer; yea, and how blessed are they, for they shall sing to his praise forever.”
Just as that place became beautiful to those people because of their experiences there, Honduras became beautiful to me because of what I experienced there on my mission. For it was there, in that small country, where I came to a knowledge of my Redeemer. It was there that I came to know who He is and what He has done for all of us. It was there that I learned to love Him and learned how to be like Him. It was there that I learned forgiveness and repentance. And it was there that I came to know Him.
I remember one such experience. I was serving at the time in a small area called Sabana Grande. One night, we went to visit a member family before we headed home to finish the day. This family consisted of a mother and one little nine-year-old daughter. They were very, very poor and lived in a shack. What broke my heart about this little family is that both the mother and her little girl had a rare stomach disease that couldn't be treated in Honduras. They would both eventually die from it. Because of the pain that accompanied this disease, the mother couldn't work, and therefore they lived off the charity of family members and friends. This simple little family taught me a lesson, though, that I will never ever forget.
That night that we went to see them and to share a message with them, it turned a little cold, something that is very rare for Honduras. I remember, I began to shiver as we shared our message. The mother, clearly seeing my shivers, whispered something in her daughter’s ear. The daughter ran into one of the poorly built rooms and brought me out a sweater that she draped around my shoulders. As we concluded our message, we stood up to leave, and I took off the warm little sweater to hand back to that dear family. However, as I began to hand it to the mother, she pushed it back into my hands, and told me to keep it, so that I would always be warm, and that when I put it on, I would think of them. Knowing how little they had, I began to refuse, but as I looked into her eyes, I saw such a deep and pure love, that I took it back and held onto it tightly. As soon as we had gone a little ways from their house, I began to cry. I think it was in that moment that I understood what charity, the pure love of Christ, is. It is unselfish, it is pure, it is patient, it is real.
They had given me a simple sweater, something that might not hold much significance with most of us, but I know how much that cost them. They had absolutely nothing, barely any clothes for themselves, and yet, here they had given me a precious piece of clothing to keep me warm and to let me know they loved me. As I contemplated that love, I realized that when I had looked into the mother’s eyes, as she told me to keep the sweater, I was seeing someone else’s eyes. I was looking into the eyes of Christ. He was there, in that little mother and in that sweet daughter, and my faith and understanding of Him grew. The love that Christ has for us is limitless. It passes all boundaries; it encompasses all lives. He paid the ultimate price and gave His life so that we could live. The love that He has, charity, is something that we can't even comprehend. My faith grew in Him so much that night. I understood Him more.
Whenever I'm now tempted to be selfish or spiteful, I think of that little family, and I think of what I saw in their eyes. That leads me to again reflect on Christ and on His great love. I know that He lives. He is the Savior of us all. I know that change is real and possible through His infinite atonement. He gave us everything. He gave us the chance to start over. I am so grateful for the opportunity I had to serve a mission and to come to know Him in a unique and special way. I love this Gospel, and I know that it has been restored to this earth!
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