Recently, I received a post on Facebook from a friend I have never met in person. She and her family, were celebrating the 40th year they have been Members of the LDS Church. I was privileged to lead her family down into the waters of baptism before she was conceived.
Social media is a two edged sword , along with the bad, one of the good things for me is the ability to connect with Friends and family I not seen for years or even had opportunity to meet…Including my young friend from Bolivia, celebrating events from decades ago and thousands of miles away.
Social media is a two edged sword , along with the bad, one of the good things for me is the ability to connect with Friends and family I not seen for years or even had opportunity to meet…Including my young friend from Bolivia, celebrating events from decades ago and thousands of miles away.
When I was a young man of 17, I had a religious awakening. It was actually more than a awakening...more a yearning to find peace in my troubled life. Over the previous 3 years, life had beaten its stark, uncaring reality into me. My father died when I was 14. During the same time frame, my mother was diagnosed with Breast cancer and underwent a radical Mastectomy.
My Life was uprooted and I was forced to move from the place and friends I loved an Anchorage, Alaska to Orem Utah. Utah was a foreign land to me, but, where my roots began and filled with family and two aging Grandparents whom my mother, In the midst of her battle with Cancer and mourning the death of her husband, could help take care for in their last years.
My grandparents passing by my 17th Birthday left me depressed. I was angry and contemplated suicide is an escape from me grief. So many loved ones gone so quickly, left me stunned.
I began to yearn for answers. One Night, I randomly grabbed the Bible and as I thumbed thru it, I came across th verses from Matthew 11:28, “Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls”
My soul filled with peace…and rest. I committed myself then and there, to pursue the faith of my mother’s family and made the decision to serve a Mission for the Mormon Church.
I was 19 when I arrived in Bolivia during September 1978. Armed with a stammering, rudimentary knowledge of Spanish, and a lot of will, I began my mission.
The initial cultural shock leaving the USA for the first time, filled my my young soul with angst and fear. How could a people so poor even survive. Let alone find joy. I resolved to stay the course and every day, put one foot in front of the other. As I learned more about the amazing people who live there . My fear turned to a sense of wonder and awe.
Though poverty was prevalent, I learned over that two-year period that happiness was tied to one’s soul and family…not their possessions . Still grieving the losses in my life, I dealt with my depression, anger and pain by pouring myself into teaching and sharing with the good people of Bolivia the peace and contentment that religion had brought into my life.
The initial cultural shock leaving the USA for the first time, filled my my young soul with angst and fear. How could a people so poor even survive. Let alone find joy. I resolved to stay the course and every day, put one foot in front of the other. As I learned more about the amazing people who live there . My fear turned to a sense of wonder and awe.
Though poverty was prevalent, I learned over that two-year period that happiness was tied to one’s soul and family…not their possessions . Still grieving the losses in my life, I dealt with my depression, anger and pain by pouring myself into teaching and sharing with the good people of Bolivia the peace and contentment that religion had brought into my life.
The first of those people, was the young family of Demetrio and Margarite Flores Hurtado. Many A night we spent with the Flores Family sharing with them our experiences and listening to their life story. While Demetrio and Margarite thought I was teaching them, in reality, they taught me that:
- Love of family is the most important thing in life.
- Life is full of Joy and worth living
- No matter where you live, your race or creed, we are all the same ...searching for happiness and a better life for our children.
Demetrio also taught me how to play tennis.
The young family decided to become members of the LDS faith. I was honored to be asked to baptize them as members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. They were the first of many great people I was was honored to help. That moment with Demetrio and his family was a turning point in my Life.
I learned that the Key element to fighting depression, is to discover or rediscover your purpose in life. Watching the young Flores Family happiness grow, helped me realize that My life did have a purpose and I could help other people.
That sharing a part of my soul and experience was a good thing and helped other people as much if not more than it helped me. My Depression faded and My soul grew as I worked and did my best to help the Bolivian people.
I learned that the Key element to fighting depression, is to discover or rediscover your purpose in life. Watching the young Flores Family happiness grow, helped me realize that My life did have a purpose and I could help other people.
That sharing a part of my soul and experience was a good thing and helped other people as much if not more than it helped me. My Depression faded and My soul grew as I worked and did my best to help the Bolivian people.
I soon moved on to another city and lost touch with Demetrio. This was nothing unusual in those days…. There was no Internet access or Social media tools back then other than written mail that took weeks to deliver.
Many years passed till the late 1990’s when I received a phone call. Though My Spanish was quite rusty after 20 years of neglect, I immediately recognized the voice of my old friend Demetrio. My heart leapt with Joy to hear from him again. We met in Salt Lake City where I learned he was visiting to translate the Book of Mormon into the Quechua language. As we reminisced, I could smell the Anticuhos cooking on the street corners, the chattering of the Cholitas pouring the glasses of mocochinchi,and hear the sounds of the streets of Cochabamba in that Small hotel room next to the Salt Lake Temple. As I left, I felt that warmness that only two friends can share.
Another decade passes. I receive a FB friend request from one of the Flores children. Soon after I was in touch with the whole family and their posterity… While many preach of the evils of Social media, I tell you…For me, it has been a blessing.
The young Bolivian friend celebrating her families 40th anniversary, and who friended me is named Nefia. She is named for Nephi, an important figure in Mormon Scripture.She was born after I had left to go to another City.
She thanked me for helping her family. The reality is, that Her Father and mother, before she was born, saved me, in every way possible. For that I will always be grateful.
Even as I have left the religion of my ancestors firmly behind me, I will never forget the salvation and purpose I found in a humble home on the outskirts of city called Cochabamba from the Flores family. They gave me more than I ever gave them.
So, Felicades por 40 anos, querida familia Flores. Los amos a todos!
Even as I have left the religion of my ancestors firmly behind me, I will never forget the salvation and purpose I found in a humble home on the outskirts of city called Cochabamba from the Flores family. They gave me more than I ever gave them.
So, Felicades por 40 anos, querida familia Flores. Los amos a todos!
