Serving & Learning in El Baño

Yep, that is correct. I was schooled by the Lord in the bathroom of the Paine Branch. It happened on June 19, 2022, the very first time that we attended the Branch. We had only been in Chile since the beginning of June, so I was feeling a bit overwhelmed or more like underwhelmed – with myself. I came in with so much momentum ready to do the Lord’s work, to serve and make a difference, but at this point I was feeling pretty useless. The language barrier was tougher than I was prepared for. My prayers were full of pleas to show me how and where I can serve. Show me what good I can do! I have so much to give and share! Make me more than being a place holder that can say, Hola!, Cómo Estás? Muy Bien, nod my head and smile a lot.

As soon as we arrived at the Capilla (Church), I quickly found the bathroom. To Paine, it is a half an hour drive from our apartment in San Bernardo, and of course all the water I had consumed before and during the drive compounded by my anxiousness were pressing me into dire need. Unfortunately, when I was ready to leave the bathroom, I discovered that I couldn’t. I was stuck in the stall!

I tugged and twisted and pounded on that latch, but it would not budge. After about 5 minutes I was starting to become very concerned. As you can see from the picture, I wasn’t going to be able to crawl under the stall. There was no way to go over either, because the toilet was too short to do any good if I stood on it. And the surface of the doors are so smooth and slick, there is nothing to grip. I wasn’t sure how I could pull myself up far enough to throw myself over and get back down gracefully in my dress, without injury. And no one came in the whole time I was stuck either! I wouldn’t have been able to ask for help anyway, and even if I could I was feeling so humiliated I probably wouldn’t have tried.

The stall to the left, also known as the corner of crappy confinement

So I pull out my phone to call Dave for help, only I have no service. I pull out the mission phone to call for help, and it has no service. I search for the church’s Wi-Fi, and discover that this chapel has no Wi-Fi! Its been about ten minutes now and my thoughts are racing: “Oh no, I am missing meeting everyone! How come Dave hasn’t even noticed I haven’t come back yet? Does no one in Chile have to pee before Sacrament meeting? Sacrament meeting should have started by now!” Here come the tears, lots and lots of tears! At least I have lots and lots of toilet paper.

Blubbering, I finally turn to the Lord in prayer and plead for His help. Alma 7:23 “…ask for whatsoever things ye stand in need, both spiritual and temporal..” Immediately the thought comes to my mind to lift the door up with the top of my foot to take the pressure off the latch and sure enough it slides right open! I almost shouted my prayer of thanks and then washed up and left that cursed domain and rushed to sacrament meeting, which hadn’t even started yet (Chilean time!? I’ll save that for another post).

The lethal latch

Of course, my small bladder is not going to allow me to avoid this room of regret very long, and so right after church I entered again, but with caution, and found that one of the three stalls has a different type of latch and it was safe. Whew! It was pretty busy in the bathroom, being after church and all, so I didn’t take much notice of the girls standing around the first stall. When I came out of my stall I saw that they were all tugging at the door, talking to the girl on the other side and trying to help her get it opened. Using universal body language, I was able to communicate the means for extracting the poor victim, having just obtained that knowledge painfully earlier. They were relieved and grateful. I realized then that they were children that were with one of the Amigas (or investigators) that had come to church for the first time, so like me were clueless to the perilous Venus flytrap of a bathroom stall.

I was truly humbled and grateful when I walked out of that bathroom. And I walked a little taller and a little lighter. I had been pleading to be of use, to be able to serve the Lord and He had used my particular (not so great) experience to serve and bless another. It may seem silly, insignificant and small even, but it was huge for me! Alma 37:6 “Now ye may supose that this is foolishness in me; but behold I say unto you, that by small an simple things are great things brought to pass; and small means in many instances doth confound the wise.”

The Lord gave me what I wanted and what He knew I NEEDED. I needed to know that the Lord will use me if I am willing and ready. This is His work, done in His way and in His time. “Whom the Lord calls, the Lord qualifies”. My mission hasn’t looked like I thought it would for me, but it has been perfect for me. I may not be able to speak and share a lot, but I have really learned to listen, to quickly observe and recognize the Spirit’s promptings and guidance and act on them right away. I give lots of hugs, share tears and yes, I nod and smile.

One of my favorite songs is “Hands” by Jewel. The lyrics are beautiful and say exactly what I already know but needed the Lord to remind me again:

If I could tell the world just one thing
It would be that we're all OK
And not to worry 'cause worry is wasteful 
And useless in times like these
I won't be made useless
Won't be idle with despair
I'll gather myself around my faith
For light does the darkness most fear
Poverty stole your golden shoes
It didn't steal your laughter
And heartache came to visit me
But I knew it wasn't ever after
We'll fight, not out of spite
For someone must stand up for what's right
'Cause where there's a man who has no voice
There ours shall go singing
In the end, only kindness matters
I will get down on my knees, and I will pray
My hands are small, I know
But they're not yours, they are my own
And I am never broken
We are never broken
We are God's eyes
God's hands
God's mind
We are God's eyes
We are Gods hands
We are God's eyes
Reflections of God
WE ARE REFLECTIONS OF GOD

We ARE reflections of God! Each of us is a beloved spirit son or daughter of heavenly parents, and, as such each has a divine nature and destiny. As I have put my trust in the Lord and asked Him to trust me as I serve as a disciple of Jesus Christ, so many maneras (ways) to serve have been placed before me and so milagros (miracles) have occurred. I am so grateful for these precious lessons! I know that the Lord loves me. He knows me personally and truly cares about what I care about. His Hand is in my life daily. He is aware of the specifics and is in all the details. I invite all who read this to reflect on how the Lord has had His Hand in your life in the last 24 hours. I promise you He has and I promise you He loves you!