Sunday, May 3, 2015

Planting The Seed: Knocking Doors

It's easy to say you make a difference in someone's life when you baptize them. "But what about knocking doors?" you ask, "I spent more time on the streets than in a font." These questions lead us to the next story. The day my Dad met Cora.

Cora, was out watering her plants when she saw two young men in shirts and ties knock on her neighbor's door. In that moment she heard a voice, "I did not send them for your neighbor, I sent them for you." Cora was so afraid that she dropped the hose, ran inside, and locked the door. She heard the knock on the door and thought, "My husband will send them away. He doesn't like religion."

To her astonishment Mario greeted these young boys and invited them inside.


Shortly after this, my Dad was transferred to another area. He received letters from her and she had been baptized, to her family's disapproval.

[2008] My Dad's emails continued each Monday and even included the name of a former missionary currently living in Buenos Aires. Spencer had met Cora on his mission and had reached out to my Dad. He told him that Cora always referred to the missionaries that knocked on her door as her angels. 

Spencer and I went out for a steak dinner where he proceeded to give me Cora's phone number. I was excited to find out that she had also moved to Buenos Aires. Neither she nor Lucas (see Planting the Seed: Part 2) had resided in the Buenos Aires province when my father met them. In fact, Buenos Aires wasn't even part of his mission.

My internship was coming to an end and I feared I wouldn't have a chance to meet this woman. So my last week in Argentina, I sat down and dialed her number. I couldn't contain my excitement  as the phone rang. Cora answered and I tried my hardest to stay calm and speak the best Spanish possible.

"Hi Cora my name is [Jen S.] I am the daughter of the missionary [Elder T]."

"OH!"

 "I'm in Buenos Aires working for the church." 

....."I have to meet you"

My last day in Argentina I took the train to Cora's small town. I didn't know what she looked like and didn't know how I would find her. Suddenly, a woman in a black dress walked around the corner. We made eye contact and hugged. She drove me to her home where she started telling me her story. The story I thought I knew. 

She talked about the day she met my Dad and started to talk about her angels. I mentioned that my Dad had told me that she called him and his companion that. She corrected me and said "No, your Dad was my angel". It was his countenance, that mantle given to him from our Heavenly Father, that made her husband let them in.


My Dad didn't baptize her, he didn't even teach her, but just by knocking on her door he changed her life.

Cora accepted the gospel even with her family's disapproval. Within a year she had baptized her entire family and has gone on to teach many others. Her husband told me to tell my Dad that "He planted a good seed in good soil when he found Norma."

NEXT WEEK: Join us on May 10th to read the last entry of our Planting the Seed series.

This is a featured post by Jen S. Names have been changed for privacy reasons. To share your pictures and stories please email them to us at eldersandsisters@gmail.com.
www.eldersandsisters.com

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