What a wonderful night as we sat around the family room awaiting Billy’s phone call. We had the speaker phone hooked up and every time the phone rang, we all jumped. We were fortunate to have Billy’s grandparents with us, they just happened to be in town for a business meeting. The phone call came in about 7:40 in the evening and to hear Billy on the other end, with such excitement, brought tears to my eyes. It was actually 5:00 am the following morning for Billy. He talked to us for about an hour and stopped just for a minute to wake up his companion. They were due to catch a plane back to Bangalore after visiting Goa. They had visited Goa to go on splits with the District Leaders.
His spirits were high and he was excited to tell us about four baptisms that took place last week and four more that are scheduled for next week. The Elders feel very blessed as they have baptized 32 people since January. Their numbers are higher than this time last year for Bangalore. Last year, in the area of Bangalore, there were 50 baptisms for the years. The Elders are all working very hard to make up for the fact that there hasn’t been any new missionaries assigned to India for about a year. The Government is not approving visas. The Mission President has pulled some Elders to work in the Mission home due to the fact that the missionary couples have all left because their visa’s have expired.
Billy’s companion is Elder Briggs, and he speaks very highly of him. Elder Briggs got an infection and had temporarily lost his hearing in both ears. He has regained hearing in one of his ears. Billy said that Elder Briggs can’t hear when others talk to him, he is only able to hear Billy. How blessed he is to have a companion that talks so loud. Elder Briggs and Billy worked with the Elders in the zone and they were able to find a total of 116 new investigators. Twenty five of those were found by Elder Briggs and Bill. By the end of May they hope to have eight baptisms.
Billy said that the deaf community has really grown in their Branch. He baptized the first couple in February and what a thrill it was to see their father baptize his children several weeks later. Several of their friends have since started investigating the church. Billy holds a class twice a week and has over 40 members are in attendance to teach sign language to the members of the Branch as well as other Elders so they will continue to communicate with the deaf community. There are two of his students that have done so well that they are able to help Bill translate in church. It has not been easy to teach the deaf because there is no formal training with sign language in India, so those who are deaf make up their own form of language, so at times this presents some problems.
At a District Leaders council, where all the district leaders meet with the Zone leaders and make goals for the upcoming month. They discussed the importance of getting investigators to a sacrament meeting. As they were talking, Bill remembered the time when he was in the 6th grade and how his teacher would encourage the students not to be “no zero heroes”! He presented this idea to the other Elders and they loved the idea, so they established the “NO ZERO HERO”. The Elders got so excited that they all showed up with new investigators. The zone had over 40 investigators that week and that is the highest it has ever been. That was only two days after they had discussed it.
Bill said that he is a little sad that this is the last phone call home. He said that it seems like just when he knows what he is doing, it is time to leave. If he could extend his mission, he would. He loves India and the people of India and has loved serving the Lord. He will stay strong and finish strong. He has registered for classes at BYU and has put a lot of thought into his future. Bill’s release date is August 2 and he would like to have his homecoming on Sunday, August 8th, which will be his 21st birthday.
The Elders that were arrested, were released after four days. They are now working in the Mission office because the government would like President Nichols to turn over their passports and if that happens, the Elders would be unable to leave India.
In March, they had Zone Conference, it was a wonderful experience. Elder Perkins, Quorum of the Seventy, and his wife visited the mission and it was nice to receive training from them. Elder Perkins told Bill that he knew his dad and he asked if he was the son of Bill Nixon, the Stake President in Virginia. He told Bill that he met his dad several times in Hong Kong. What a small world. Bill was suppose to conduct and he was very nervous, especially when you have a General Authority slap you on the knee and say, “Let’s get going”.
Bill in his own words:
I don’t think I could ever repay the Lord for what he has done for me. I came on my mission to serve the Lord, but I fell like I have received more blessings then I deserve. I am confident the Lord could do this work by himself, but he sent us so we can learn and grow from our own experience. If anyone would consider the mission as a sacrifice, they are ignorant of what the Lord is calling them to do. I feel like I am in the Mormon Battalion. I thought I could come to fight, but I have realized that I have come to learn. As I read the Scriptures in the Book of Luke, it hit home to me. Those who look to save their lives, lose them, but those who lose their lives will find them. I have discovered who I am, who I want to be. I understand more about the gospel and the Lord’s plan then I ever thought I would. I felt like these past two years have been constructing the foundation for my entire life. I am so grateful for the gospel and I am so grateful for the blessings Heavenly Father has given me.
