It is a wonderful thing to pray for missionaries and their success. However, we should also pray for us to be an instrument in the Lord's hand for those who desire to have the restored gospel of Jesus Christ a part of their lives.
So, this is not a missionary experience from Ava, but myself. I met Dulce a decade ago when our kids were in the same swim session. We became friends. Her son was in Callie's school class, so our paths often crossed. She wanted to start her own business. The Self Reliance courses had just started up. She was interested in the "Starting My Own Business" class, but she was hesitant to take it. I said I would take it with her. "Oh, Abby, you will!?" The course was great, but our talks—sometimes for an hour afterward—were the most meaningful. She is a woman of great faith.
She has been through so many missionaries. Her daughter decided to be baptized and is a valued member of YW. However, Dulce's hang-up was that she is not married. I didn't realize this till a while into the friendship because she referred to Pablo as her husband.
Then, one day in March, she called to tell me, "I am going to get married and baptized." Just like that. It was when the Sister Missionaries were over to visit her daughter that she asked them, "I would like to get baptized; can you help me with that?"
There was some miscommunication between the Missionaries and the Relief Society about what the day would look like. Matt and I met with Dulce and Pablo the Thursday before—to iron out all the details. I had to convince her that no one would be expecting her to feed them if they came to the baptism. She said, "Really? In Mexico, we feed everybody!"
I told her, "I know, I know, we are very boring and cold." We laughed at the differences in our cultures. I asked if there were any traditions she would like to incorporate. She said, "Signing the marriage license is a big deal." I made sure we had a table for that.
So, Matt got to perform his first marriage on March 27, 2021. He did a great job! Though the marriage was just a formality to Pablo, we were all touched by his emotions. Both of them were beaming. They have been together for sixteen years, with four beautiful children.
