WADESBORO- You may have seen them in their black slacks, white button-down shirts, and ties walking the streets of Wadesboro or attending Bible study Wednesday nights at Polkton Baptist Church. They are Elders Cascaddan and Quarles, Wadesboro’s newest Mormon missionaries and their goal is to establish a stronger Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints congregation in the area.
“They haven’t had missionaries here before. The closest Mormon congregation was in Monroe or Albermarle. We’re trying to establish something here. Start something new,” explained Elder Quarles. In order to accomplish their goal, Elders Quarles and Cascaddan “go around and invite people to come closer to Christ by helping them receive the restored gospel through faith in Jesus, through repentance, helping people be baptized, receive the holy ghost, and endure till the end.”
The missionaries say that Wadesboro has treated them very well so far. “We have been able to interact with members of different organizations and different churches as well as to just talk to a lot of different individuals at their home,” said Elder Cascaddan.
Though Elders Cascaddan and Quarles have enjoyed their time in Wadesboro, it wasn’t their choice to come here. “We don’t really get to choose what area we go to. We have a Mission President who prays about where we need to go and he just happened to pray that we needed to come to Wadesboro,” said Elder Quarles.
“A missionary will be in an area anywhere from six weeks to six months. We don’t really know when we’ll leave. We have something called transfers every six weeks where we might leave or might stay. It just depends on our Mission President praying and seeing where we need to go,” said Elder Quarles.
“There’s a congregation of our church that started meeting here in Wadesboro about a month and a half ago that we’re assigned to. It’s pretty small, about 10 members, and they meet in a member’s home,” said Elder Quarles. Elder Quarles describes the congregation as, “a good group of saints.”
“We have something call a Group Leader, who you could probably call a pastor,” explains Elder Quarles, who added, “In our church, it’s a little bit different. All the Group Leader really does is open up the meeting and conduct it while people from our congregations get up and speak. So, every once in awhile, it will be me and Elder Cascaddan. Sometimes, it will be a few of the members.”
“No one in our church is paid. Elder Quarles and I are not paid. Brother Gary, who’s our Group Leader isn’t paid. It’s very much like Jesus Christ’s church, a lay ministry,” said Elder Cascaddan.
The Elders met each other about a year ago while serving in the same district. A district is a group of missionaries with an assigned area. Elder Cascaddan originally hails from Moreno Valley, in Southern California while Elder Quarles is from a small town of about 1,000 people in Eastern Utah called Duchesne.
“We both were raised in this church, but I think everyone has a defining moment where they truly convert to the gospel,” said Elder Cascaddan. For Elder Quarles, this moment happened after he turned 19.
“Someone gave me a blessing, kind of like a prayer over me, and at that moment I knew I need to go help other people like I had been helped with this gospel,” said Elder Quarles. Elder Quarles is 21 now.
Once they complete their missionary work, the Elders would like to continue their education. “When I finish, I want to get my Bachelor’s Degree and either begin a career in either law enforcement or business. I’m a business major, it’s something that has always interested. me. I also have a couple of relatives in law enforcement and that field has always interested me as well,” said Elder Cascaddan.
“For me, I also want to get a Bachelor’s or Master’s Degree in agro-business or counseling. Agro-business a lot of that is because my grandpa is a farmer and he raised me so I grew up on a farm. The counseling is a new idea I’ve had. It’ll probably be like a college counselor helping people get through their classes,” said Elder Quarles.
“We believe in really striving as an individual to follow Jesus Christ and emulating his example,” said Elder Cascaddan. You can find the two Elders walking the streets of Wadesboro, conversing with locals until they are called elsewhere.
