In a story released yesterday by KOAT 7 Albuquerque, two missionaries serving in the area shared their thoughts--and testimonies--following a harrowing encounter.
Elders Zuniga Delgado and Michael Whitaker met with a potential investigator in his home last week, where the man refused to let the two missionaries leave, using physical force to keep them in the residence.
Generally, Elder Delgado shared in the interview, "If we feel strongly like we should stay away from a certain area, then we try to avoid going to that area. We have to be careful."
But when things took a turn during this teaching appointment, the pair wasn't left without support. "The Spirit really comforted us," Elder Whitaker recalls. "Really what we did at that point was just try to calm him down."
After remaining in the home for three hours, the man left the companions to go into the kitchen--which is when the missionaries made a break for the door. The man holding the pair hostage was arrested shortly thereafter.
The next day, despite the incident, the elders continued tracting.
"In all honesty, it's those people that we're trying to help out the most," Elder Whitaker told KOAT 7.
The reporter on the piece was so impressed with the elders' actions, he noted, "Their faith is strong," and in the face of this trial, also "unshaken."
Though Delgado told reporters the missionaries aren't holding a grudge, the man is facing criminal charges for his actions.