Primary Postcards

A very special experience occurred when I, as a recent convert, served as a Primary teacher to the seven-year-olds. I knew this class was important because it was the year before these children would be baptized, so I was surprised to discover how many of my class members didn’t come to Primary. As I began working to help those little Primary children, I found a mistake on my roll. A boy’s name had been erased because leaders thought that the family had moved, but I learned that the family had not. I felt bad. This young man had not been contacted for a long time, so I sent him a postcard saying I was sorry he had not heard from me before, and I invited him to Primary.

When he didn’t come, I went to his home and asked him if he needed a ride to Primary. His family was nice to me, but they said he didn’t need a ride. I continued to send him postcards telling him about the things we did in Primary and saying that we missed him. I always included my phone number.

One day he called me. He told me he was moving to a ranch with a horse. We talked about many things for about 30 minutes, including the importance of being baptized. When it was time to end the conversation, the young boy seemed reluctant. Finally he said, “Primary teacher, I love you.” There were a few seconds of silence, and then I said, “I love you too,” because I did.

He loved me—this little boy who had been forgotten the whole year, who had had one visit from me and a few postcards. I prayed that Heavenly Father would help him find another Primary teacher who would seek him out and encourage him to come to Primary and to be baptized.