My cousin Gerardo (Jerry) and his wife Lucia and their kids were in town and we were able to spend some time with them at Disney.
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| Everyone |
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| My cousin Jerry and Lucia |
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| The kids |
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| Michael Carter was in our Ward on Sunday. He served his mission in Puerto Rico in 1973 and he served in my Ward. I met him sometime after my baptism in 1974. He married my friend's sister when I was about 11 years old and divorced many years later. It was a surprise to see him in our Ward. He was in town on business.
Michael told us the story of how he got to be a missionary in Puerto Rico. Puerto Rico was part of the Ft. Lauderdale mission and When he got to the mission he was told that out of the 4 new missionaries from the MTC he was the one to go to the island. The president told him that there had not been baptisms in the island in 2 1/2 years and he was sent there to figure out why. They were ready to pull out the missionaries from Puerto Rico. This was about 1973. He was sent to Ponce and there he saw that the branch met in a rented Methodist church (I remember going with my aunt and uncle to this church once after they were baptized. I must have been 6). He said that most of the members were Americans (my aunt and uncle and my cousins were members of this branch at the time. They were baptized in 1970). He said that he did not feel the spirit when he walked in that chapel. He related this to the president and he felt that it would be good to rent out a home for church meetings and also for the missionaries to live in. He told me that he was only 19 years old and had this big responsibility. He found exactly the house he was looking for, a three story home where they could hold the meetings and the missionaries could live on the third floor. The rent on the home was exactly what they had been paying for in the Methodist church and the missionary apartment combined. It was in the Las Delicias neighborhood.
My friend's family had an experience with a man who knocked on their door and asked to speak with the father of the home. He spoke with him and told him that the true church was on the earth and that the name of the church was The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. He didn't give much detail just that he wanted them to know the name. After he spoke to the family he left. They try to ask him more question but he didn't answer and he left. The father told the kids to go after him but he simply disappeared. Sometime later at a Masonic Lodge, of which my friend's dad belonged to, him and his wife were at some meeting and they heard Sister Folly mention the name of the church. He went over to her and asked her the name of the church. To his surprise it was the same name he had heard from that man. He gave her their name and address and asked her to send the missionaries. Sister Folly gave the name to the missionaries they decided they would visit the family when they had time. Time passed and one day they didn't have appointments and they picked up the paper and decided to go and visit them. Michael Carter and his companion baptized my friend's family. Michael baptized my friend's sister, who would end up being his wife (she was my primary teacher and branch pianist). My friend was only 7 years old so she was not baptized at this time. A few months later she was baptized. A couple of months later my parents investigated the church and we were baptized. I remember this house where we had church, it was a lovely house and even though I was only 8, I could feel the spirit and the members were very close. Michael said that was a wonderful time in the church in Ponce. So many strong families joined the church. I remember sister Folly, as a young woman I would go visit her with my mom. Sister Folly's health was not very good and could not get out of her bed. My mom would bring food and clean her house. The missionaries used to live in an apartment above her garage that was in the back of her house.
I am so glad he shared this with me. I had no idea they were considering pulling the missionaries out of Puerto Rico at that time. It was at this time we joined the church and it is hard to think that maybe we would not have, had they been pulled out. But I know we were supposed to and that my dad meeting the missionaries was the answer to his prayer.
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