Mission Memory

As I was going through our family photo CDs (way too late) last night to pull out some photos for a school project D is working on, I came across a folder of pictures from my mission in Austria (1992-1994) that I had scanned in about 5 years ago. In that folder was the picture you see below of the Jevtic family's baptism day:

When I saw the photo, I recalled one of my most prized memories from the two years I spent teaching the people of Austria about the gospel of Jesus Christ. My companion and I weren't actually the missionaries who were teaching the Jevtic family, but the sister missionaries who were couldn't make it to the appointment that night, so they asked us to go in their place. It so happened that we were to teach them that night about sacrifice and invite them to live the law of tithing (i.e., contribute 10% of all your increase to the church to fund things like temples and new church buildings, programs in the church, etc.). Given their meager circumstances (they had recently moved to Vienna from Serbia and were struggling, to say the least), we were concerned that this invitation may be a challenge for them to accept. When we taught them about sacrifice, however, the Spirit was so strong! And when we invited them to live the law of tithing, Milo (the dad) said, "Only ten percent? I would give everything I have if you asked me!" I was so filled with joy at that moment! That kind of faith doesn't come along everyday...

Of course, that's not what the Lord has asked of his people (to give everything). But the willingness to do so if God were to ask shows a level of humility and faith that is admirable in any person -- let alone a family who is struggling just to get by. That experience has impacted me deeply; I think of it often when I pay our tithing...

What motivates a person to be willing to give up everything they have for God? I believe it's faith. Faith that we don't know everything that Heavenly Father knows and that He would never ask us to do something that was not for our good. Faith that with sacrifice comes great blessings. Hoping and believing in something that we can't see but that is true. That's what motivated Milo that night to accept the invitation to live the law of tithing, and it's what motivates every true follower of God to remain faithful and devoted to what's good and true, even when it's hard.