There and Back Again

This Post Written by Preston Meyers
 
Wow!  Today was an emotional roller coaster ride for me.  From the time that I heard in October that there was a possibility we were going to do a conference with local pastors on Mormonism I have felt God calling me to be on this trip.  The months since then have forced me to relive my experience and remember the bad but especially the good.   I am honored to serve God in Guatemala and even more honored to speak in the conference and share my personal life.  I wasn’t prepared to meet so many smiling faces, get hugs, and shake so many hands.  The church space was packed with about 90 people waiting to hear what we came to present to them.  While I felt like a giant physically (Guatemalan’s are very short), I was humbled to have this opportunity.

Jen went first and bore her heart to the audience. She did a great job presenting the case of Jesus versus Joseph Smith.  I was so proud of her because I know how much time she spent and how personal this subject was for her.  Her testimony was so powerful and I found myself fighting back the tears.  

Sean, Jared, and the team were very encouraging.  Sean said something to me that really hit home.  He said, “know that Christ is with you, and that when you walk up to that podium, you do so with the full authority and confidence of Jesus Christ”.  This really got me fired up and it erased any sort of nerves or anxiety that I had.  When Jen was done, I approached the podium and saw so many eager and excited faces awaiting the message.  There are several reasons why I wanted to be in this position today.  First, I was raised Mormon and left the church in my teens.  Second, my older brother served a Mormon mission in Guatemala nearly 20 years ago.  I chose to speak about grace versus works.  This is near and dear to me because it was one of the biggest reasons I left the Mormon church.  I struggled a bit with the talking over the interpreter but got the hang of it after a few rough spots.

Jared then shared some basic differences between Mormon doctrine and the Book of Mormon next to the Bible.  He talked about the historical significance of the Bible in parallel to the Book of Mormon.  He did a great job of pointing out the basic tenants of Mormon theology.  

Corby was up next and shared how he grew up in Utah as a Mormon.   It was interesting that he did so to follow the crowd and do what everyone else was doing.  It was cool to hear that his Mom became a Christian and immediately shared it with her son and he got saved too.  All of this was done in classic Corby style, reluctant but effective.

Sean got up last and provided some very good examples of how to reach Mormons with gentleness, love, and truth.  He shared a great story about a friend who refused to leave Mormonism because of his family.  He reinforced the common theme that we wanted to present to this group of Guatemalans.  We love Mormons! We want them to know Jesus as their personal Lord and Savior.   Relationships are key in reaching them and to share the truth with them.  We heard great feedback from our hosts and the conference was well received.  

We headed back to the compound for lunch and got reacquainted to our already filthy work clothes.  I think the rest of the team was ready to make some more progress on laying block on the wall.  My heart was so heavy, I cried quietly during Jared and Sean’s portions of the conference.  I was crying for my parents, brothers, sisters, aunts, uncles, cousins, friends, and neighbors.  My heart is broken because of the burden each one of them carries everyday.  This burden is trying to earn the grace of Jesus Christ when His grace is freely given and is more than sufficient for salvation.  I am encouraged at the same time because I know how big our God is and this anything is possible through Him. 

We ate and got back to work.  I quickly learned that mixing concrete by hand is an extremely difficult job, my hat goes off to Jerry because he did it all by himself all day yesterday.  We worked about 6 hours and made some really great progress on the longest wall of the building.  We have about two and a half runs of blocks until the first bond beam can be put in.  It is so cool to see so much progress made in just a day and a half.  I can’t express how awesome our team is!  Everyone is so positive and supportive; I haven’t seen a selfish act yet. 

Thanks everyone for your prayers.  They are felt and we have all witnessed God’s hand in so many ways on this trip.  Thank you for all your support and kind words and for each and every hand and heart that made it possible for us to be here.  Gloria a Dios!