Sitting in a jail cell — and reflecting on the wife and infant he’d left for two years to serve a mission — Andrés Carlos González Rodríguez didn’t know if he’d see his loved ones again. And so he penned that night the words to a hymn titled “Despedida,” or “Farewell.”
Yet the first sentence was one of hope: “Oh, how great is our joy ev’ry day / As we serve in the work of our Lord.” What could the imprisoned elder have to be cheerful about?
“The joy he had is what he found in the gospel and his new life as a result of joining the Church — gospel principles and understanding, a new community that he’s with, new opportunities,” said John Gonzalez, a grandson of Andrés González. “And the joy that comes from seeing others change their lives.”
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