I usually go
to Church 15 or 20 minutes early so I can get a seat that enhances my hearing a
little. It really does not a lot, but it does help a little, for me to pick the
right seat.
A few weeks ago I was sitting comfortably in my “reserved seat” when I
saw a young man come in and sit on the far side or the row I was sitting on. It was obvious that he was a long way from being comfortable. He looked to be 10
or 11 years old, and it was obvious that he was alone.
He was not fidgeting like a lot of kids that age do. In fact he was
sitting almost like a stone statue, and I got the distinct feeling that he was
extremely afraid and it looked like he was not even breathing. He kept staring
straight ahead, giving the impression that if he looked around he might get in
trouble. As I looked at him surreptitiously a couple of times, I saw he had on
a pair of Jeans, clean but well worn ones, and a pair of sneakers that had seen
most of their better days. Of course I think it was obvious to the boy that his
peers (or the boys that seemed his same age) were dressed differently.
No one sat by him, nor spoke to him and a few minutes before the meeting
was to begin I got the distinct feeling that he was ready to bolt for the door.
I got up and walked to the back of the Chapel and then down on the row
he was sitting on and asked him if he would mind if I sat by him. He looked at
me and said he guessed that would be fine. I put my hand out to shake his hand
and told him I was Brother Wally Day, and asked what his name was? He told me
it was Charles but most people called him “Chuck.”
We sat through the meeting together and I noticed he did not have an
I-pad nor a Cell Phone to play with like the other kids and he just sit and
listened.
As soon as the closing prayer was said he stood up to leave but had to
get passed me to get out of the row of seats. I asked him if he was in a hurry
to leave and he “guessed he wasn’t”. We talked a little, and I found out he
lived about three blocks from the Church, and he had lived there a long time
but never come to Church before. In fact as far as he knew he was not a member
of the Church. He told me he had some friends at school who had been trying to
get him to come to Church with him. I offered him a ride home and he said, ”Naw
I will walk, but thanks anyway.”
When he told his Mom he wanted to go to Church with his friends and she
just kind if laughed. She told him if he made it through three weeks in a row,
she might even start going with him.
So that day was his first day and I kind of watched him for three weeks
after that just to see how it was going. ( I really was curious to see what
happened on week four. Would his Mom come with him or would he come alone, or
would he not come at all?)
During those three weeks he came out of his shell a little. The boys his
age and in his class at Church befriended him a little, but it seemed he liked
being a loner. He usually sat in the Chapel by himself. I sat by him one Sunday
and we chatted a little before the meeting started. He never said anything
about his Mom coming to Church. However he told me his Mom had told him he might be a
member of the Church because she was a member when he was born. He said she did
not really know how that worked?
I offered to send a couple of guys to their house to explain it if he
wanted me to. He then told me if I meant Missionaries, the guys in his class at
school had already told him about them, but he wanted to wait until after May 5th
which was the day his Mom was coming to church with him, Maybe?
Well I waited with great anticipation for next week to arrive. I think I
was more anxious than “Chuck” was, to see if his Mom really showed up for
Church that day.
Well I was as nervous as “a cat on a hot tin roof” on Sunday, May 5th.
Then when it was almost time to start the meeting and neither Chuck nor his
Mother had shown up I was very disappointed, some for myself, but a lot more
for my new found friend Chuck.
Then about two minutes before the meeting was to start I saw Chuck come
in the back door with a woman and a man. They looked around, like all “newbies”
do to see if they could hurry and find a seat. I waved to Chuck to come and sit
by me and they did.
I had a lot of questions I wanted to ask Chuck and his Mom, but they
just got sat down and the meeting started. I glanced at Chuck a couple of times
during the meeting and he had a smile a mile wide.
When the meeting ended I told Chuck I would like to meet him and his Mom
in the Lobby so he could introduce her to me. He said that would be fine and he
would introduce his Dad also. He said even though they knew who I was they really wanted to meet me.
Well we met in the lobby and we all got introduced to each other. The
Bishop came by (pre-planned) I think, and we introduced him. Chuck’s Mom and
Dad thanked me for fellowshipping Chuck and told me that he now loves coming to
church where he feels he now has some real friends. His Mom said it was hard for
him to make friends because he was not a social butterfly so to speak.
PostScript
*I
found out Chuck was actually 11 years old and would be 12 in December.
*His
Mom was indeed a Member but had not been active since she was a teenager.
*His Dad and Mom discreetly met with the Missionaries (at Bro.
Day’s home) and
set a date to be baptized on the same day Chuck did.
*I lost track of Chuck and his family when they moved to
Arizona a few years ago,
but Chuck still sends me an E-Mail occasionally to update me
on his family--- He is
leaving on a mission in a couple of months.
W.R. Baldwin 13 Jun 2016
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