The Mormons Are Coming

Summary

The author recounts an encounter with Mormon missionaries, reflecting on their past experiences and the hope these visits provided during a difficult family period.

Abstract

The narrative describes the author's recent encounter with Mormon missionaries, which triggers memories of a previous challenging period in their family life during the late 2000s. The author, upon recognizing the missionaries from their distinctive attire, chooses to wait in the car to avoid interaction due to not being in the right headspace. This incident prompts a flashback to a time when the author's family faced financial hardships, mood swings from the father, and general uncertainty about the future. The visit from the Mormon missionaries during that tough period brought a sense of hope and comfort to the author and their younger brother, as the missionaries' words and a small gifted book offered solace and the promise of better times ahead. The author concludes with a reflection on the unpredictability of life and the potential for a brighter future, despite present hardships. The article also includes a promotion for an AI service, ZAI.chat, positioned as a cost-effective alternative to ChatGPT Plus (GPT-4).

Opinions

The author initially feels apprehensive about interacting with the Mormon missionaries due to personal headspace.
The sight of the missionaries evokes memories of a time when the author's family was struggling financially and emotionally.
The author expresses a sense of relief when the missionaries do not approach them.
The author holds a positive opinion of the Mormon missionaries' previous visit during a tough family period, viewing it as a source of hope and comfort.
The author believes in the possibility of overcoming difficult times and the potential for an improved future.
The author endorses ZAI.chat, an AI service, as a more affordable option compared to ChatGPT Plus (GPT-4).

Sound the alarm

A few days ago. When I got home from work, Before I was able to find a parking space to turn into, I see two tall guys further down (from the apartment building I live in), walking toward me in white long-sleeve shirts with a tie, black pants, and black church shoes.

‘’Are those Mormons?’’ I asked myself. They had the right outfit that they wear. If they see me, they’re gonna want to talk to me about my faith and give me insight on God. Which I’m usually good with, but, at that time, I wasn’t in the right headspace to listen to them speak.

So, I decided to wait in my car for a few minutes until they pass by. After two minutes had passed, I was surprised I didn’t see them pass my car yet. So, I waited three more minutes just to be safe. After the time passed, I was surprised. Those two guys still didn’t walk past my area.

‘’They’re gonna catch me’’ I thought. I was ready to go inside my apartment, so I took the risk and finally got out of my car. Expecting to see the Mormons close to me, I see one of the witnesses was getting inside a big van still around the same apartment building further from me. They must have been done with our area for today.

Whew. That’s a relief! Mission accomplished.

Before that day, I hadn’t seen Mormons in years.

I had only seen them during a time when things were really rough in my family’s life. My sisters were doing really well in the military. My dad, my younger brother, and I, on the other hand..things weren’t so well around the late 2000s.

I was still trying to figure things out post-high school. My brother was in high school and my dad was working in construction at the time. There was a lot of tension in the apartment. My brother and I never knew when dad would be in those nasty moods that seemed very frequent then.

Some days, we would eat just bread and butter sandwiches — because there was hardly any food in the fridge. My brother and I didn’t understand why living felt so hard to do at the time. ‘’Was living always going to be like this?’’ I used to wonder and I’m sure he did too.

One day, late in the afternoon. I hear a knock on the door.

I assumed it was dad getting off from work. I run to the door and peeked inside the little peephole. To my surprise, it isn’t our dad at the door, it was two tall guys in church clothes, with bicycle helmets and something else that I couldn’t see well what it was.

I opened the door. They said hi to me and start asking me about my faith. I remember telling them yes I believe in God & Jesus Christ. My brother comes to the door to listen to them speak. Just hearing them speak to my brother and me made me feel like everything was gonna be okay, and that the troubles that we were going through would be a distant memory.

They gave us a small book (with animals and a man on the cover) — before they prayed for us and left.

Listening to those Mormons gave us hope, during a period that felt hopeless.

Thankfully, that grim period wouldn’t last a lifetime. We never know how our future will turn out. The present can be a drain to get through, but our future can be bright. We never know, unless we see life through.