This is a continuation of a fictional story based upon my mission experiences in France and Belgium in the early 1970s. Though based upon real circumstances and places, it is a piece of fiction based on whatI would have liked to have happened.
Gary
------------------- Part XIII - Paul
We were up early the next morning so we could get to the conference early enough to reconnoiter and see if we knew any of the elders there. I was afraid that one or both of us would regret the sweetness of the night before. It would be very easy to ignore it or try to forget or say we were a little nuts. I was ready to make excuses as I stirred next to Elder M's side.
"Oh man, I didn't get much sleep but I sure zonked out for the last few hours. Whew. I'm really not quite here," I said to my still naked sleeping companion. We were still in the same bed and still naked from our Gone With The Wind time the night before. I had my customary morning woodie and so did Elder M. I wanted to touch it and play like we did last night but I didn't dare.
"Flip, Elder, you party animal! Wow, what a night! Man, we gotta do that again sometime!" With that, he grabbed his dick and started to stroke while grabbing my woodie at the same time. So much for being shy! "Here, Elder, let me help you with that."
"Only if you let me take care of that banana of yours!" I reached over and started stroking his dick while he took care of mine. We both leaned back and enjoyed the spirit of the occasion. Within 2 or 3 minutes, we both were shooting cum on each other.
"Wo, that was quick! Come on, let's get ready for the conference." Elder M. then got up and went over to the shower and the two of us just got ready without any further words or actions. For Elder M., it was a normal thing. He was just playing with a buddy. For me, I had fallen head over heals in love with this man. It occurred to me that we were operating in two different universes. But I could gather in his light and hold on for as long as we have together.
The conference went incredibly well. Both of us met several Elders we knew from the LTM and the reunions were fun. We spent the morning in Conference, then had lunch with the friends we knew before heading back to the train station for the trip back to Liege and Seraing. It took about 4 hours to get home and it was nearly 10pm by the time we opened up the door and put our stuff down. We both were exhausted. After all, we didn't sleep much the night before. I was curious to see how Elder M would approach being together in our own apartment after the words and activities of the night before.
"Elder Roark," he said quietly as we gathered for companion prayer in our garments after eating and cleaning up. "What we did and said to each other last night is something I'll always treasure. I don't feel any guilt or shame or whatever. And I'd say the same things tonight that I said then. But we've got to get back into missionary work. We have a job to do here and I know we can continue to have success together. As much as I would like to take up where we left off this morning, I know we'll feel better about the work if we stay away from such close contact for a while. What do you think?"
We were kneeling by his bed. He still was a cute as I've ever seen him. Somehow, he was trying to fit last night into his universe. Still, I couldn't blame him and I didn't want to push him in a direction he didn't want to go. "Sure, Elder M., I feel exactly the same way. We have a lot of great contacts and we need to really concentrate on them."
"Thanks, Elder," M. said with a cute smile. He grabbed my hand and held it as he prayed for our success as well as thanking Heavenly Father for the love we shared. Somehow we reached an equilibrium. We slipped into our separate beds after our customary hug. Then we slept.
The next several days were spent trying to find that golden contact that we could take into the waters of baptism. We both really put our heart and soul into the work. We still had the same camaraderie and the same devotion to each other. Things were actually pretty cool. I couldn't have asked for a better missionary experience than during those weeks.
Then we found Paul. We were tracting in a poorer part of town along the river. A lot of families come from all over Europe to work in the factories of the more developed nations like Belgium. Paul was one of those. He was a single guy with a family on the Island of Crete in the Eastern Mediterranean. He worked here for 6 months of the year and sent everything back to his parents nd his 7 brothers and sisters in Xania. He was the oldest at 24 and needed to help the family with their financial needs.
He lived in a very small two room flat in a broken down building about a mile from out little place. We knocked on his door. He opened it and spoke to us in French.
"Can I help you?"
"Hello. We're from the Church of Jesus Christ..." That was all we got out. He slammed the door in our face. We were pretty used to that so we went on to the next few doors in that small building. As we were walking out, we saw Paul out on the stoop smoking a cigarette. He was dressed in shorts and a shirt, unshaven and kind of dirty. We walked past him and prepared to get on our bicycles.
"You Americans?" Paul asked in his heavy Greek accent?
"Yeah, we're both from the western part of the United States," answered Elder M. who got down off his bike and approached Paul. "This is Elder Roark and I'm Elder Millett." I followed Elder M's lead and the two of us tried to be friendly with Paul.
"I have relatives in America," Paul said. "They live in Milwaukee. Is that near you?"
"Well, not exactly. We're further west, near the Rocky Mountains," I said.
Our conversation continued for the next 15 minutes. Paul became more friendly and we didn't push religion on him but just talked about his home in Greece and what he was doing here in Belgium.
Paul then asked, "So, why are you out here talking about religion and not back in America in school?"
"Well, we've decided to give up two years of our lives at our own expense in order to talk to people about a message that we feel is the most important thing they could hear," Elder M said. "I know all about Jesus and the Saints," Paul said brushing us off.
"Do you know about Joseph Smith?" I asked.
"Who is this Joseph Smith?"
"He is a prophet who spoke with God just like you and I are speaking right now, " Elder M. testified.
"And what did God and Smith have to say to each other?" Paul asked with a bit of sarcasm.
"That's what our message is. Why don't you let us come back tomorrow and we can sit in your apartment and talk about what God told Joseph Smith," I asked.
Paul eyed us. "You're going to ask me for money, aren't you?"
"No, never," Elder M said. "We never ask for money. In fact, we pay money to come here. No one supports us."
That got his attention. He looked at the two of us and then said, "I like you two. Fine. You come back tomorrow at 7pm and we'll talk."
Elder M. wrote it down in his appointment book then said, "Great! You won't regret a moment of it, I promise!"
"Yeah, well, we'll see."
With that, we left Paul there on the stoop of his building and rode off on our bicycles not realizing how closely Paul was watching us from the distance.
At 7:00pm the following day, we arrived at Paul's apartment and knocked on the door. No one answered. We were used to that as well. We had to knock a couple of times. Paul slowly opened the door.
"Hi, we came back for the talk about God. Remember talking to us yesterday?" Elder M. asked.
"Uh, sure. Well, okay. Come in."
We stepped inside his small apartment. There was a small living room/bedroom in the front and then a kitchen and bathroom in the rear. The room was dark with only the rear windows shedding any light. He had a twin size bed in the corner that looked like it hadn't been made up in several months. There were clothes and papers thrown around the place. Some old food was on the small table in the center. There was a television in another corner of the room. One wall had a large wardrobe where he stored what small amount of clothing he had. Overall,it was a good argument for having a wife or a house maid!
Paul showed us to a couple of chairs at the table. He was a little embarrassed at the mess and kept apologizing for the it as he went around picking up his dirty underwear and socks. He was dressed in the same old pair of shorts he had on last night but instead of a shirt, he was shirtless. I stared at his bare chest that was covered in a thick matt of black hair like so many southern European men. The hair also covered most of his stomach and trailed down past his shorts into the pubic area. I was hoping he wouldn't cover up this vision of greek manhood! Unfortunately, he put on a shirt but he only buttoned it up part way.
"Um, would you like something to drink?" Paul asked. "I have beer or wine or maybe some Orangina."
"No, that's all right. We're fine," Elder M said.
I set up our flannel board and got the figures ready for the first discussion while Elder M. engaged Paul in some banter. I kept looking at Paul's eyes and face. He still hadn't shaved and I found the hairy, unkept look very attractive. Every once in a while, Paul would glance in my direction and I'd hurry and look the other way.
Then we began the first discussion which talked about the need for Prophets, the First Vision and the establishment of the Church. Paul was turning out to be a golden contact. He answered all the questions just right and eagerly accepted what we had to say. I could see the excitement start to rise in his face as he heard the truths of the Gospel.
At the end of the first discussion, we prepared to leave. Paul wanted to hear more. Elder M. thought it better to let him learn to pray about what he already heard. We taught him the four steps of prayer as he had never prayed his own words before. Then the three of us knelt down at our chairs. Elder M. gave a brief prayer and then asked Paul to pray. Paul didn't know what to say. Elder M. then told him, "Paul, what would you say to your Father if you hadn't seen him in 25 years? Tonight, you learned that you truly have a Father in Heaven that loves you as his son. He wants to hear from you as a long lost son that is now found."
Paul looked Elder M. in the eye then at me then he bowed his head and said, "Father..." He couldn't go any farther. He began to cry and a spirit descended upon the room. There was love and acceptance and reconciliation and no words could express it.
Elder M. moved next to Paul and put his arm around his shoulder and just held him. After a bit of time, he said, "Paul, what you are feeling is the spirit testifying to you that you are a child of God and He loves you and wants you to return to Him. We're here to help you in your journey. We love you and will do anything we can to bring you more truths of the Gospel."
Paul looked up and put both arms around Elder M. continuing to cry. It was truly a sacred moment. Elder M. motioned to me that we need to go and let Paul find his way through the spirit. We stood up and gathered our things. Paul, still whimpering some from the power of the experience, gave each of us a hug as we approached the door. "You have brought me something wonderful tonight. I know that. I thank you. You are truly my brothers."
Elder M asked, "Can we come back tomorrow night at the same time and talk some more?"
"Yes, Yes. Please come back tomorrow. Bring me more of this truth. I am eager to learn what God has given you."
We all hugged again and then we left Paul there to revel in the spirit that was present in the room