Every member is a missionary too!

1/18  This week I was able to do an intercambio with Elder Streadbeck down in Tortosa. We had a very busy and successful day. Our ward mission leader, Jordi, goes down to Tortosa once a week to spend a day with the elders and help them with visits. I had heard the legends and stories of Jordi before, but I had never seen him in action. I lucked out to be there when he came down! We spent the whole day with him. The first thing he wanted to do is contact. So we hit the streets hard contacting literally every person we saw. Jordi would contact in very creative ways that I had never even thought about, and most of the time they would work! We saw a ton of miracles out there in the streets with him. One such miracle was when we decided to sit down for just a few minutes while waiting for a visit across the street. A woman approached us and asked if we could answer some questions her friend had. We followed her to a bar, and sat down with them both. It turns out the woman who invited us had investigated the church in her country, but was never baptized because she moved away. Her friend was very interested as well, and both were crying when elder Streadbeck quoted the first vision. Both of them now have a baptismal date. It was such a great miracle to take part in!

The work here in Tarragona is progressing little by little. Every week we recognize small miracles that the Lord has given us. This week we had another walk-in investigator in sacrament meeting. We talked with him for a while afterwards and taught about the Book of Mormon and set a return visit. We also had a visit with Ferran, the nonmember son of a previously less active family. We taught about baptism and confirmation and we just need to talk to his dad to get a baptismal date set for the 30th of January. We are still really excited about Julio Cesar. He came to church again with his wife, and stayed all 3 hours. He has a rough work schedule so it's hard to visit with him, but we have another visit set, and we are excited for it.

The main thing I learned this week through my experiences with Jordi is the difference members make in missionary work. Too many times we think that missionary work is, by definition, work for missionaries. I myself am guilty of having such thoughts. While it is true that us as missionaries have been called, set apart, and given authority to preach the gospel 24/7 for 2 years, members too share the sacred responsibility of sharing the gospel. More than a responsibility, the missionary work needs members. Take Jordi for example, he was able to stop and have a connection with people on the streets that us as missionaries would never be able to have. I don't want this to sound like a call to repentance or anything, but missionaries need the help of members. I'd dare to go even further and say that the Lord needs members to help in His work. I know that everyone is blessed when we try to share the gospel, and I know that we can bless so many more lives when the members and missionaries work together.