My Missionary Brother

So this morning we just got an e-mail from my brother Josh who is on his mission in Switzerland. It was such a great e-mail! Well, usually all of his e-mails are wonderful but today was very heartfelt as he explained to us the happenings of this last week. He expressed a great love for his companion. His name is Elder Cadeau and about a week and a half ago he broke his foot while at a "piquenique" with some ward members and investigators. Well this last week they found out that because of his injury he will have to be sent home a transfer early. His last day on the mission is this coming Monday. Josh expressed the heart wrenching reality that hit his companion when he realized his mission was going to be cut short. They cried together as he expressed his great love for Josh and that Josh had become his mission miracle. Josh has had some deep spiritual understanding since he's been gone, but it seems like these last couple of months you can really tell how much his testimony and life has been changed by this experience.

As I was thinking about all those things this morning I was filled with an overwhelming sense of gratitude. Josh is amazing! I've always known that, he is my dearest and best friend in the entire world, and it has been the most amazing opportunity to see him grow so much. He also wrote individual little notes to each of us in his e-mail. I was grateful for the wisdom he shared with me and the way that he taught me today. I love being able to have his "eternal perspective" hit me upside the head sometimes. Life gets crazy and I don't always think about the big picture but Josh brings me back down to earth and helps me grasp onto the things I know. I appreciate that!

There has been one experience he's had (from a whole slew!) that has really stood out to me and made me really think. It was about a month ago now that Josh wrote us and told us about a rendezvous he had with a woman and a couple of Jehovah Witnesses. The actual "getting there" to her apartment was a story in itself, but when he and his companion finally got there he had a wonderful experience. This woman had her bible ready and Josh's companion went right at it with the bible bashing. Josh said that as all of these people started pulling out their bibles he posed a question. "Is this all you do at your church, find ways to prove other people's doctrines wrong?" At that moment every one of them shut their bibles and as Josh explains it he began to testify "up the wazoo" that this gospel is true, that he knew it and that nothing could take that away from him. The spirit was strong and they left immediately after he testified. As I imagined Josh doing this I was just so proud of him! He has so much courage and faith and I think that this experience he had really brought home to me how converted he is. It was just neat to think that he is blessing people's lives just as much as he has blessed mine. I know how grateful I am to him for his love and friendship that we have always shared and I am so grateful that he is having these wonderful experiences!