BYUH students share their spiritual experiences from their full-time missionary service
A dream, a change of heart, a manifestation of love and being God’s instrument are what six BYU-Hawaii students said were miracles they witnessed during their missions and they strengthened their testimonies and their faith in God.
Love, service & dedication
BJ Nalos, a freshman from the Philippines majoring in psychology, said he served his mission in the Philippines Cagayan De Oro Mission. Nalos said the simplicity of the place amazed him. In his third area, the branch had only a handful of priesthood holders who came to church, he explained. After working with their branch leaders, Nalos said they discovered the husbands of the Relief Society members were not coming to church. That’s when they asked Nanay Awa, the Relief Society president, if missionaries had visited her husband before.
“Despite the many missionaries who visited Tatay [Awa, Nanay’s husband], there was no progress,” Nalos said. Tatay Awa was 55 years old and was addicted to tuba, a brewed organic alcohol, said Nalos. He also said because of Tatay’s daily job on their farm, he never had time to meet with the missionaries.
“My companion and I embarked on a series of fasting and prayers to seek guidance on how to touch his heart,” Nalos said. Their goal was to befriend Tatay by demonstrating genuine love and care, he continued. He said they learned about Tatay’s interests, such as farming. “We asked him about how he plants, how he harvests his crops and what strategies he uses to have better outcomes of his harvests,” he continued.
Nalos said his companion and he also helped Tatay with his farm chores. “By that, Tatay saw and felt that we cared for him and that is how we began to build trust with him,” he continued. They also visited him every day, Nalos added. “We would come by their house and ask him how his day was, and we treat him like our actual father,” he said. They also conducted family home evenings with other members and leaders to strengthen Tatay’s foundation, he continued. “With the united effort of the members and leaders, they were able to invite Tatay to investigate the church,” he added.
There were some challenges in Tatay’s conversion process, said Nalos. “Whenever we asked him to pray, he seemed reluctant or too shy to express himself. But his wife was always there to encourage him,” he said. Eventually, Tatay started to enjoy praying and began to attend church more often, Nalos added.
After 25 years, Tatay Awa accepted the invitation to be baptized, said Nalos. “My heart and my soul were filled with gratitude and joy when he accepted the invitation. His wife was equally moved to tears, knowing that soon they would be reunited not only in this life but also in the life to come,” he said.
Nalos said they celebrated Tatay Awa’s baptism like it was a festival. “Nanay Awa’s dedication to serving in the church over many years tested her faith and perseverance,” he said. Nanay Awa always hoped for the day when her husband would attend church beside her, he added. “Now, her love and commitment to the gospel and the church have fulfilled that wish and dream,” Nalos concluded.
A miracle in a dream
Jalini Vicky Jeyapathy, a junior from Papua New Guinea majoring in biology, said she served in the Philippines Cebu Mission. She said after completing her training, she was sent home because of the pandemic. She was then reassigned to the Papua New Guinea Port Moresby Mission with five other sister missionaries in the whole mission.
“One night, I had a dream,” said Jeyapathy. She said she saw a mountain with trees and it had yellow flowers. “Then there was this one guy who came up to me and he said, ‘Hey, I am looking for your companion,’” she said. She said asked what he wanted from her companion and the man answered that he needed to talk to her.
“I said, ‘I don’t know where my companion is. If you have a message, I can pass it on,’” said Jeyapathy. She said the man declined and said he wanted to talk to her companion directly. She said she then asked for his name instead. “I remember clearly the name was Michael Pinoco,” she continued.
Jeyapathy said the surname sounded familiar and asked the man if he had any family or friends who were church members. She said the man replied that he just really needed to talk to her companion, “So I said, ‘Okay,’ then I woke up.”
Jeyapathy told her companion about the dream. “She had tears in her eyes and she said, ‘That is my mom’s younger brother,’” said Jeyapathy. Her companion explained that he died when he was young, but if he were still alive, he would be in his 30s. Jeyapathy said, “She was crying and I got chills and the other sister missionaries got chills.”
Six months after finishing her service, Jeyapathy said the temple site in Papua New Guinea was announced. She said, “It was on the exact mountain that I had a dream of where I met Michael.”
The gospel of change
Pua Evans, a sophomore from Mililani, Hawaii, majoring in English and TESOL, said she served her mission in the Idaho Nampa Mission. “The most impactful experience I had in my mission was in my second to the last area,” she said. They met this guy named Abel, who was in and out of jail, “doing things he shouldn’t be doing,” she continued.
Evans said at first Abel did not want to meet with missionaries despite consistent visits he had from them. She said they brought with them a member who had similar experiences to Abel. “[Abel] connected with this person and saw in him that he did not have to put up an image to be a part of the church. He learned the church is for everyone,” she continued.
Eventually, Abel opened up and was more receptive to the missionaries, said Evans. She said Abel’s three children were baptized first. In time, he said he also wanted to be baptized just like his children. “When I went to his baptism, I saw this light within him that something had changed,” she continued. Seeing this change in Abel, Evans said she witnessed how the atonement and the light of Christ worked within him.
Evans said, “That was such a testimony to me to know it does not matter who you are or where you came from. Christ invites all to come unto Him.” She said before her mission, she was a completely different person, and it was because of her missionary experiences and letting the atonement work in her life that brought her closer to God. “It gave me the confidence to help others and bring them unto Christ,” she said.
Healing through the gospel of Christ
Joshua Fluckiger, a freshman from Utah majoring in psychology, served in the Lima Peru Mission. He said in one of his areas, they met a person who was special to him. “We learned she lived close to the church building and missionaries have passed by her house many times, but she never really accepted them,” he said.
Fluckiger said one night, they stopped by her house and talked to her. “She said we could come over, and so we ended up visiting her and started teaching her,” he said. She liked the lessons but she was also going through a difficult challenge with her ex-partner, he explained. “They had a kid together, but he left them and he treated her poorly. He wanted to come back and it scared her,” he said.
They did not see her for a week and later found out she attempted to harm herself, said Fluckiger. He said they told her they were sorry because they could have been there for her. “But she said, ‘I’m so glad you guys are here now,’” he continued. Fluckiger said from that moment on, it was one of the biggest miracles he had ever witnessed.
“She would read a chapter of the Book of Mormon every day, and we did not even tell her to do it. She said it helped her feel the spirit,” said Fluckiger. She loved having them over and one night, she prepared a meal for them, he said. She offered them coffee and was surprised when she learned they do not drink it, he continued.
Returning to visit her a week after teaching her the Word of Wisdom, Fluckiger said she had thrown away all the alcohol she sold in her small store. “She ended up getting baptized and finding so much joy in the gospel,” he continued.
He said this experience strengthened his testimony that Christ died for His children. He said, “I grew to see and know that the atonement of Jesus Christ can heal anything and anyone’s broken heart. It changes lives more than we know.” Fluckiger said it humbles him to see what the atonement can do when people give the Lord the power to touch their lives. “Hearts can always be mended, and we can find joy and peace in His gospel.”
The prize of perseverance
Thanh Le, a sophomore from Vietnam majoring in mathematics, served in the Philippines Manila Mission. She said there was a family in one of her areas who was not active in the church. “They had family issues and they felt like they were not qualified to go to church,” she continued.
Le said they kept visiting them, teaching them and serving them in any way they could. “We helped them do their laundry and it was really fun. They did not have a washing machine, so we washed their clothes with our hands,” she explained. Le also said they had family home evenings in the family’s home and invited members to attend to help them minister. “We also helped them celebrate a simple birthday party,” she added.
“We kept inviting them to come to church,” said Le. One day, they accepted the invitation to a fast and testimony Sunday. The father shared his testimony and said he greatly appreciated the help and effort of the missionaries. That was a miracle to her, said Le.
An instrument of God
Isabelle Hancock, a freshman from Iowa majoring in elementary education, served in the Bulgaria Central Eurasian Mission and Adriatic North Mission. She said she was originally called to Russia but because of the war in Ukraine, she was reassigned to the Bulgaria Central Eurasian Mission. She said, “When we got to Bulgaria, we did the interviews with the mission president. He asked me if it was okay if I learned a different language.”
Hancock said her mission president asked her to learn Turkish. She said she was already learning Russian, and she wondered why she needed to learn a new language. Hancock said, “The [setup of] missionary work in Turkey was missionaries live in Bulgaria but they would do Zoom meetings for Turkey.” She said they teach and attend church meetings through Zoom, and they find people to teach through social media.
“I was there for three weeks and I was thinking, ‘What does God want me to do here,’ I’m in Bulgaria pretending to be in Turkey. I was so down on myself and I didn’t know Turkish at all. It was so hard to learn,” said Hancock. She said they had a meeting with the branch president in Turkey and he was talking about a less active member.
Hancock said, “The branch president said her name and I was like, ‘Why have I heard that name before? I know this name.’” She said the branch president continued to talk about this member and she was able to recognize the things the branch president shared about her. “I looked her up on Facebook, and she was friends with about 30 people from my home ward,” she continued.
Hancock said she remembered her mom telling her about this woman from Iran who moved to Iowa. “I was remembering everything at that moment and connecting all the dots,” she continued. The reason they were talking about her was she had not been to church for a long time and they really wanted her to come back, she added.
Hancock said she contacted the woman and introduced herself through a text message. She said, “I told her my last name and she responded and said she was my mom’s visiting teacher when she lived in Iowa.” Hancock’s companion had been trying to contact this woman for months and she never replied, bu now Hancock said they were texting back and forth like they were best friends.
“We called her, we had a Zoom lesson and she was so happy and bubbly and full of life,” said Hancock. She said they called her once a week and they would sing songs together. They would send her videos of them playing songs and the woman would send them back videos of her playing songs. “It was so cute, and we would see her on the church’s Zoom call,” she continued.
“It was really special to me. God really does know all of His people,” said Hancock. She said her current bishop said she should make sure her last big spiritual experience was not on her mission. “I love how the gospel encourages us to grow even after this life,” she continued. “It will be a part of me forever...It’s so good and it makes me happy all the time,” she added. •