I served in the Santiago South mission from July '93 to '95. During this period of time it was my extreme pleasure to serve in the Andino area, which was the area where the Basaure family lived. The parents (who I only ever knew as Hermano and Hermana) had been baptized merely weeks before my arrival, yet the twin boys, Ignacio and Nicolas, who were already eight-years-old were not.

Hermana Basaure had spoken with the missionaries a long time before - and distinctly remembered the pamphlets which she read, one on Christ's visit to the Americas. It was this small seed planted so long ago that grew to her invitation of later missionaries into her home. She wanted to discuss what she had read.

The Basaure family then proceeded to listen to the discussions - and it was a lengthy three months before the parent's baptism. Ultimately that decision was made prayerfully... with a small aid from the Book of Mormon. The Hermana prayed that she would point to a scripture in the Book of Mormon that would tell her what to do. This in itself demonstrated extreme faith in the Book of Mormon. She ended her prayer, opened the book, and pointed to a scripture - it told her to be baptized (of which there are few references in the BoM). With such a miracle she ran to her husband in another room and prompted him to pray and try likewise. The miracle repeated itself. They were consequently baptized.

Strangely, though, the young boys were afraid to be baptized. Unknown to both the parents and the missionaries at the time, the grandmother, who lived with the family had threatened the boys with her love if they were to be baptized. It was only a matter of time before the grandmother and all of the Basaure's friends were good friends of ours. The boys knew that their grandmother would love them always, and were baptized by their father just a few weeks before Elder Mickleson paid them a visit.

Hermano Basaure was immediately called to serve as a couselor in the young men's presidency. Later, Hermana Basaure would serve in the young women's presidency. They shared the gospel with many. One of their friends with whom I became aquainted was very interested in the gospel but feared her husband's reaction. She would not give me her name or her address - consequently I could not give her as a reference to missionaries in her area. As fate had it, though, missionaries knocked on her door that week - and believing that I had coerced the information from Hermana Basaure - let those missionaries into her home saying, "Elder Howard sent you, didn't he?" Her husband actually loved the missionaries and became the driving force in that family's baptism a few weeks later.

Chile's all about a story of how a little mustard seed can become a mighty work.

Lee Howard
Honeyville, UT