My Change of Attitude
The Peru Arequipa Mission Home is a beautiful and peaceful sanctuary in the middle of a noisy and bustling city. The home was originally built to serve as some kind of consulate for Japan and so it is accented with intricate Asian woodwork and details. It feels a little strange for me as an American living in South America to have this strange mix of cultures, but we have come to enjoy and appreciate the unique home with its floor to ceiling windows and private gardens full of hummingbirds, palm trees, and flowers.
Laura has worked in our mission home for 30 years and we are the 10th set of mission leaders that she has worked among. She spends all day 9 hours a day, 6 days a week busily cleaning and maintaining the home and yard as well as caring for our personal needs with laundry and other things. She is amazingly quick and effective at what she does and she is such a blessing because she is incredibly kind. It may sound like heaven, but it is only because she makes it feel this way.
Laura often talks excitedly about her calling in her ward which is to manage the cleaning of her church building. I find it amazing that she is happy and willing to serve her ward as a volunteer in the same capacity for which she works to support her disabled husband and herself. Not only is she happy about it, but it also brings her so much joy to serve and she goes well beyond what most would do. She talks of deep cleaning parties where she organizes her volunteers to scour every corner and wall of the church building. She holds spiritual devotionals before they begin every cleaning session, and she always makes sure that they open their service with a prayer. She brings refreshments and throws parties, and she has even organized her group to be a part of a ward talent show. She has shared with me inspiring videos about the importance of cleaning sacred buildings, and she has shared her testimony with great emotion of how it is such a privilege for her to serve God in such a way so that others can feel inspired and receive personal revelation as they attend their church services.
Her example has made me ponder my own past attitude for being occasionally asked to help clean a building on a random Saturday morning. It is a thankless job and it doesn’t seem like anyone notices or cares. I certainly have not enjoyed or savored the opportunity - especially when I find myself cleaning a smelly bathroom. I admit that it is something that I have endured reluctantly.
As I have thought more of Laura’s efforts to serve God as well as my own here in Peru, Matthew 20:16 comes to my mind where it says “the last shall be first, and the first last; for many be called, but few chosen. This helps me to see that God appreciates any service given, in any capacity, not just those who get more credit or notice. God also welcomes “a cheerful giver” (2 Cor 9:7) and rewards them openly (Mat 6:6) with great experiences and personal peace. Lastly, I am reminded of the atonement and that it is through Christ’s beautiful sacrifice he became the great “cleaner” of our souls (1 John 1:7), yet how many of us ignore this opportunity and avoid repenting? Many do not notice or acknowledge its existence. With this in mind, I now understand how appropriate and necessary it is that when we partake of the sacrament, we are told to always remember Him. (Moroni 4:3, Moroni 5:2)
