Never Assume

I have a doorstep study with a young woman named Soyla. She has been a very consistent and interesting study. For the last two weeks, however, I haven't been able to reach her and I was beginning to think that maybe she was avoiding my visits. Finally, Tuesday I was passing by her store and decided to stop by to see what was up. She immediately invited me in and started to cry. She told me that her one month old baby boy, Cristian, died. I immediately broke down and cried with her. Apparently, Cristian was born with a defect that the doctors didn't catch until it was too late and he died while in surgery to correct the problem. Her husband, Andres, who always avoids me came out to talk to Mark and I as we were trying to comfort Soyla. We talked about the resurrection and that Cristian is in Jehovah's memory. They both listened and appreciated the comfort and asked us to come back. Today, I went by to give them the brochure "When Someone You Love Dies" and Soyla again asked me in and wanted the answer to some of her questions. First, she said that she was always told that when you die your soul returns to God. But, she was reading the Bible Teach book and noticed that the soul dies. So she wanted to know where was Cristian. We explained to her that Cristian was in Jehovah's memory and that he will resurrect him in the paradise. She then told us that her family was telling her that since Cristian hadn't been baptized in the church that he was condemned in Purgatory and that was very upsetting to her. Again, we explained that the teaching of Purgatory was not a bible teaching and that Cristian was simply resting until Jehovah called him. Soyla really appreciated the information and by the time we left she even smiled a bit. We go back on Monday to continue our regular study.

I learned a great lesson not to assume someone doesn't want to study just because you can't reach them. So keep trying to contact those who show interest even though it may seem like forever before you can contact them again.