one shall sow, another shall reap

Over Labor Day weekend, I was visiting my grandfather in Arizona, and in discussing the concept of "one shall sow, and another shall reap," he pulled out this excerpt about one of his contacts when he served his mission in Argentina. He let me keep a copy :)

Reginald Dorff served a mission to Argentina in the early 1950s when baptisms were few.

In 1950, Venado Tuerto, Argentina, there were no latter-day saints, except the missionaries who had established a beautiful nucleus of more than 60 friends and investigators. Sunday worship services were held, with all prayers, music, sermons, presented byt he elder missionaries. During that time, la Senorita Paulina Quiriquino, previously taught by Elder Rodney Bradshaw and his companion, requested baptism on October 19, 1950.

District meetings in Rosario saw Paulina and Elders Robert Reese and Reginald Dorff in that city, December, 23, 1950, where her baptism was approved. Elders Reese and Dorff were detained and unable to reach the river-side baptism on time, and President Lyman Wilson performed his first and only baptism. He traveled much on behalf of mission president Harold Brown. President Lyman was soon to complete his mission, and early in his mission Elder Dorff had baptized another missionary's candidate. This was his only baptism in 35 months, so the Lord has ways to 'balance the books.'

In 1978, the Dorff family drove 40,000 miles from Los Angeles to Buenos Aires and had a wonderful reunion with Hermana Quiriquino. She had just been released from a stake mission in which she brought 150 converts to baptism.

What great influence we can have in simply teaching each other who we are and the love that Heavenly Father has for us. The aim is to serve and love each other truly and sincerely - regardless of what the results are.