THE RED DOOR

A friend of mine told the following story:

While I was on my mission in South America, I was transferred to another area. The bus I rode had a low ceiling and as I sat there, I had to hunch over for several hours. The heat was stifling and the humidity almost unbearable. The vehicle was crowded with people, their baggage and all sorts of farm animals and the smells generated by all these was enough to make one swoon.

By the time I arrived, it was late afternoon. I no sooner got off the bus, than my companion suggested that we go tracting and knock on some doors. I was just a little less than jubilant at the prospect. We came to a house with a red door and my companion said, “Give your door approach and let’s see what happens.”

I knew my Spanish was not that good but I gave it a try anyway. Remarkably the family invited us in, more out of curiosity, I suspected, than anything else. My companion began giving the first discussion and as he did so the husband and wife began to argue with him. After a while the argument began to be heated and suddenly, in my mind, the Spirit said, “Bear your testimony.” I thought, I can’t, my Spanish is too poor. This happened twice more and I answered the same. Finally I opened my mouth and out came the most perfect sounding Spanish I had ever rendered. I said, in part, I know the Church is the Church of God and that Joseph Smith was a Prophet.

The husband and wife stared at me and suddenly stopped arguing. They began to listen politely. The next week we baptized their family of seven.

GRINGO LIARS

Not long after the red door incident, we visited a home that consisted of a mother and her three teenage sons. We gave her the first discussion, which was the plan of salvation and then told her to ask God in prayer if the “Gringo Liars” were telling the truth. A few days later we began to teach the woman and her sons the second discussion on Joseph Smith, when the woman interrupted us and said she needed to tell us about a dream she had.

She had prayed to know if we were telling the truth and then went to sleep for the night. She dreamed she was in the room with the Savior Jesus Christ and that he was a few feet away from her, writing at a desk. She approached him and asked if the Gringo Liars that had been teaching her had spoke the truth. He looked up, smiled at her and told her that the words we had told her were true and that we were his servants. She and her sons were baptized soon after.

Later, the Spirit prompted us to go to a particular home and knock at the door. We did so and were invited in. As we taught the opening discussion, we could see all sorts of pornography on the walls in front of us and so we looked away. We could not make direct eye contact with the family because of the pictures depicted; however, we were invited back for the next discussion.



Many of the pictures had been taken down and eventually they were completely removed. The Spirit could now work with the family and they prepared for baptism. Several of their neighbors and friends became interested in the Gospel and we baptized many in that area.


Shortly after, I was transferred out but came back for one more visit before I left. I can still hear in my mind the shouts of the children when I returned. They called my name again and again and I was greeted with hugs and smiles to the point of tears. I imagine this is how it will be when we return to our Heavenly Home.