I Would Like You To Meet... Mercedes Yunda

She is every bit as adorable as she appears in the photo! I had the privilege of working with this ball of fire today in service and I got her very interesting story. She is 78 years young...and she can run circles around me! Whether we are hiking mountains, or clopping through the mud...there is no stopping her! When we were working to remodel our kingdom hall, she would come during the day and do the hard labor with the brothers! Carrying bricks, moving blocks, digging holes..she did it all (and with a skirt on no less!) She has been baptized for 10 years. Here is her story.... About 11 years ago, her daughter, who was 30 at the time, started to study the Bible with Jehovah's Witnesses in the Require Brochure. A few weeks after starting to study, she found out she had throat cancer, was admitted to the hospital shortly thereafter, and passed away a few months after that. She LOVED what she was learning in her bible study, to the point that, although no one in her family was in the truth, she BEGGED them not to leave her alone at the hospital in case the doctors tried to force a blood transfusion. So, her mom, Mercedes, traveled the distance to stay at the hospital with her daughter and defend her decision (although she didn't understand it). While at the hospital, her daughter began to witness to her about what she had been learning. She told her mom that the only thing in the world that she wished for, was that her family would study the Bible with Jehovah's Witnesses, so that she would be able to see them again in the new world when she was resurrected. She then told her mom to go into her bedroom, there was a box under the bed that had some magazines, a large print Bible, and a large print Require Brochure that she had been saving for her mom because she had trouble reading. She pleaded with her to start studying. Well, because of her busy schedule caring for the daughter, she didn't have time to start the study. Then, a few days after her daughter died, the sister that used to study with her stopped at the house asking to visit her daughter. When Mercedes, with tears in her eyes, told her that she had passed away, the sister comforted her and offered to study the Bible with her so that she could see her daughter again...and that was that. One year later, Mercedes, and her other daughter, Fanny, were baptized together. Her husband also started studying later and was studying the Bible when he passed away a few years ago. Mercedes is such a shining example of faithfulness. She is out in service every morning! She told me that she usually gets 45-50 hours in service each month, except of course for when she is aux. pioneering, then she gets around 60! Keep in mind that she does not ride around in the car here...she climbs the mountains with the rest of us! She is so zealous, too! Although she has a very hard time reading, and it takes her quite a while to read the scripture at the door, she gains the respect of the householders who are usually very patient with her! I once saw her walk into a construction site full of about 10 workers and preach to them all at once! She personally gave each of them a tract to read when they had a chance! She always has a smile on her face, and never complains, even though she suffers from osteoporosis in her bones and is usually in pain.

I am sure that she has a special place in Jehovah's heart. She has a special place in mine, and I wanted you to meet her.....