Blog #21 Miracles with Thanksgiving

Last week we had an incident where two missionaries were miraculously spared from a head-on collision that claimed the life of an elderly man. This was pretty emotional for all of us! I have been thinking a lot about how grateful I am for the many miracles, both large and small, we are witnessing on this mission.

One thing I have observed about human nature is that when we notice and give credit to the Lord for tender mercies and miracles, we also notice there are more tender mercies and miracles than we had at first supposed. When we arrived in Bakersfield, we created a binder for missionaries to share some of their own personal tender mercies. In the beginning we often had to explain what a tender mercy was. The book has filled up with messages of gratitude for extra strength, family blessings, new investigator meetings, etc. Then, in January, as I was asked to write the newsletter, I requested input to know what the missionaries would like to read. One elder said he would love to read about other missionary miracles. Thus, we started publishing a monthly miracle and a tender mercy each month.

I was pondering Thanksgiving and our gratitude for our countless blessing when I read James E. Talmage thoughts on Christ’s miracles. He wrote a few things that have kept me thinking: “Moreover, every miracle is a sign of God’s power . . . Miracles cannot be contravention of natural law, but are wrought through the operation of laws not universally or commonly recognized.” (Yet my heart aches as I watch others forget the giver of all gifts.) And, he continues “ The human sense of the miraculous wanes as comprehension of the operative process increases. “ He writes how the achievements made possible by modern invention “are no longer miracles in man’s estimation, because they are all in some degree understood, are controlled by human agency . . .”Then, he continues, “In the contemplation of the miracles wrought by Christ, we must of necessity recognize the operation of a power transcending our present human understanding.”

We have watched impossible challenges work out (in our case, housing issues), young missionaries stretch themselves beyond what any thought possible, unlikely paths cross to create a relationship, and interventions divert accidents. But, of the accident last week, the sisters wrote:

“We were turning on to the highway and slowed down to let a huge water truck go before us. Once on the highway, we noticed the truck driver turned on his blinker to pull over to let us pass him. Then he suddenly changed his mind and forged out in front of us and braked. What we didn’t know was that an oncoming car with an elderly man and his wife were speeding toward us. The man had choked on something, leaned down to grab a bottle of water, and his car swerved into our lane. The truck driver saw him coming and put his own truck in front of us to take the hit. We slammed on our brakes, avoided the debris, and only suffered minor whiplash. The elderly man was killed and his car was totaled as his car hit the truck head on. His wife suffered some injuries, and the truck driver was not hurt. We were able to help the woman out of her car, put her in our car, dress her bleeding arm, and distract her as the first responders moved her car. She was in shock, as she was taken to the hospital. We felt guardian angels surrounding us. We are grateful for the Lord’s protection and that we could help the wife during this tragic event.”

I think you might enjoy reading some of the tender mercies and miracles the missionaries have shared. This makes the blog quite long, so I don’t feel bad if you don’t have time to read them. But, my heart has been touched by each of these your missionaries:

“A lot of times I don’t know what to say or what to do in certain situations. I say a quick prayer to do the best I can. I feel the thoughts enter my mind of what to do and say. I know they weren’t my thoughts at all, but I’m always guided to do and say something better than anything I could ever come up with.”

“We met a wonderful part-member family. The wife was baptized 12 years ago (and one son was also baptized.) For twelve years the wife prayed and pleaded that her husband would join the church. He had an alcohol problem, was unwilling to pay tithing, and was uninterested. One Sunday we had been fasting and praying to know which member to ask for a referral. This sister’s name came to us. We knocked on her door to ask for a referral. Unknown to us, that day her husband had decided to attend sacrament meeting and heard a talk that softened his heart and touched his soul. When we asked the sister for a referral, her husband spoke up: “Teach me, I am the referral. When can I be baptized?” We taught him and he was baptized three weeks later. He now offers regular service and helps to teach lessons to investigators. We are so grateful that the Spirit spoke to us to visit their home the moment the father was ready to receive our Savior.”

“When my parents divorced, my dad was inactive and my mother was not a member of the church. My dad and we children started going to church. After 3 years my second brother, my sister, and I got baptized. Although we were close, my older brother, who was an ex-army ranger, was not interested in the church and he couldn’t understand my strong commitment. Still, he shed tears because I was leaving for a mission. A month after I arrived here, he met with the missionaries, but ran them off. My dad sent him a subscription to the Ensign, and he and his wife decided to take the lessons from the missionaries. What a blessing for us all when they decided to get baptized two weeks ago. I was allowed to not only see the baptism, but also give a talk through Skype on the computer. Our tears flowed as we shared our testimonies with each other – and I am so grateful .”

“As we were doing our weekly planning, we discovered a teaching record of a former investigator. We decided to add her to our schedule. We knew there must be a reason why we planned her in, but didn’t understand why we felt so strongly about it. We visited with and taught her, but realized, after the third week, that she wasn’t going to progress. That evening during nightly planning we planned to drop her the next day. As we began our morning work we stopped by to see her and, while there, met a 19-year old young man who had just rented the trailer in the back yard of our investigator. He was immediately interested and wanted to speak with us about the gospel. Sadly, we had to discontinue with the lady, but we continued to drop by to teach this young man. He started to progress, learn and grow in the gospel. We felt humble gratitude for the miracle of finding him and the blessing of helping him to make his first covenant -- to be baptized a member of the Church of Jesus Christ or Latter Day Saints. What joy filled our souls!”

“I have been in a different situation for the last several weeks. I was a “visa waiter” and I knew I wouldn’t be here long. I felt like I was getting cheated out of time in my “real mission.” But as the days turned into weeks I began to love the people we taught. One in particular that I love is an investigator whom I was able to teach from the ground up. I’ve watched his life change, and his countenance, too. We had him set a date and it will be a month after transfers. I began to pray that my visa wouldn’t come until after the baptism so I could attend. But, the Lord had a different plan. I was given my visa and now I am leaving. The Lord gave me a blessing I had not expected: He put me here so I could see the change in one man’s life -- and this has greatly impacted my life. Tender mercies can be hard to understand. Sometimes we feel like God is testing our faith, when, in fact, he is building our testimonies. I was allowed to serve a mission where the Lord changed my life through the faith of an investigator. And for that I will be eternally grateful.”

“I was thinking about the many miracles I’ve witnessed during this mission so far. While pondering about which miracle to share, I just had to write about our experience these past two weeks. We had been informed about a young woman who might want the missionary lessons. Imagine our surprise when we saw her at church on Sunday. As we talked with her we learned that she has walked two miles every morning during the past year to attend seminary. She said she loves the feeling she gets at seminary; “It feels like a shelter, or safe haven.” We were reminded of seminary as one of the many ways the Lord touches hearts, then leads us, who are teaching, to those who are ready. We taught this seventeen-year-old young woman about the restoration. It was our first time teaching as a trio, and the session felt like a true miracle to all of us. We felt impressed to ask her what she wanted out of our lessons. She said she would like two things: a relationship with God, and to be baptized. She felt comfortable at church, and loved going to Young Women. Even her non-member mother was excited for her and loves the influence the gospel is having on her daughter. We pray that we can also teach her mother. “

“As we served in the Mammoth Lakes Branch we found that after a time we were exhausted from having no one to teach, with few potential investigators. (Most of the workers have to work on Sundays, and the tourists are there for only a short time.) We worked hard not to get discouraged. One day we walked into sacrament meeting and noticed a new face sitting there. We introduced ourselves and, after church, we set an appointment to teach him. Six weeks later he was baptized! The Lord is the ultimate finder – and we were truly blessed to be part of this tender mercy.”

“We were given the name of a new investigator from a referral. She had been referred a few times before but would turn away the missionaries each time they arrived. This day her front door was opened and she was putting groceries away in the kitchen. As we stood outside the door she began to talk to us. She said she felt receptive of what we had to say. She pulled a chair outside to chat with us and asked us to share our message. In a short time tears began to fall and she admitted to us that she felt she really had no purpose in life. She was estranged from her family in Bakersfield and life felt very difficult and empty for her. We all felt the Spirit so strongly as it was time to leave. We left a Book of Mormon with her and she invited us to return. We went to a member’s home for dinner that evening, and the father of the home agreed to go with us to visit her after dinner. As we shared our lesson with her, she agreed to come to church on Sunday. We’ve continued to teach her. Her greatest heartache was her painful estrangement from her family members. One night as we left, her son came to her and apologized for the grief he has caused and asked for her forgiveness. The next week she brought her granddaughter to church with her. This sister loves the Book of Mormon and has received a confirmation of its truthfulness. She has set a baptism date for next month. And, she just returned from a trip to Utah and was so thrilled that she was able to see the St. George Temple. It has been wonderful to feel the Lord’s hand in the life of this great sister.”

“While we were on an exchange, my companion and I had been tracting for about five hours. It was hot outside. The odds looked like they were against us--we had no water, and strangers treated us rudely. My companion said, “What I would do for some cold water . . .” I remember looking at him and saying, “The Lord will bless us.” About an hour later we walked toward our bikes and inside our helmets were two very cold bottles of water. We looked at each other with watery eyes, smiled, then bowed our heads and prayed in gratitude.”

“English speaking missionaries knocked on the door of an 80-year-old man last month. He pulled them into his home, The Elders, then gave him to the Spanish speaking missionaries to teach him after that first visit. He set a baptism date after the first lesson. and didn’t miss a week of church. Next he asked to move up his date. This man brought in a 91-year-old female friend who also committed to baptism. Neither of them had ever spoken to the missionaries before, but two days before the first visit, he had heard that the true church of Christ has missionaries. Although he has a pacemaker and diabetes, he still mows lawns for a living. Two weeks ago he was helping a friend when he slipped and cracked his ribs. He went to the hospital, but insisted that he would only keep the brace on for two days because he was getting baptized. He has attended many churches, and knew this was true doctrine. He was especially grateful to hear of baptism for the dead so he can get sealed to his wife, who has passed away, and to his three children. Both he and his friend got baptized last week. With the pain in his ribs, his face still glowed with joyI “

“The area we came into was progressing very well . . . until we came in. The first week that we were here was very difficult. We worked harder than we ever have, and saw no fruits. We felt good knowing we were giving our all, but we were disappointed because of the lack of interested investigators. We kept at it and diligently searched for miracles. This past week we have seen so many miracles! We found several full families that we know are prepared to learn about the gospel. So many opportunities are happening so fast, and it is such a blessing. It goes to show that the Lord gives us the blessings AFTER we have faith and are diligent. It was the last push when we felt we couldn’t do any more; yet, we still kept going, that the Lord gave us miracles.”

“My companion and I had been teaching a young woman who was progressing very well, but had a hard time following through with her baptismal dates. We decided that, although she was an awesome investigator, we needed to leave her in the hands of the members. We didn't hear much from her after that, although we saw her occasionally at church. About three months later she went to YW Girl’s Camp. The Sunday after camp we received a text from her that said, “I want to be baptized.” My companion and I couldn’t believe it! We were so happy! It is truly a testimony to us that members are the key to this work and that we are here to reap the field when it is ready to harvest.”

We started out our day with a prayer to help us find someone who was ready to hear and accept our message. We noticed a young girl outside her home and asked her if we could talk with her mom. She brought her mother to the front door, and we taught them both the message of the restoration. They loved it and both accepted a baptismal date. Later, we called to confirm our appointment and the mother told us she just didn’t know why she needed to fix something that wasn’t broken (her church). So, we asked if they would just give it one more try, and they agreed to do so. They came to church, loved the messages and the feeling there, and agreed to let us continue teaching them. They continued to attend church as we just “flew” through the lessons by meeting with them many times a week. They wanted to get baptized sooner rather than later. Both mother and daughter were baptized together, on their original baptismal date, last week. This gospel has been an answer to their prayers.

I know this is long blog, but my heart is so full of gratitude as I contemplate the magnitude of miracles and tender mercies in our daily lives given to each from our loving Savior. In fact, this makes every day a day of thanksgiving.

And Mike and I are grateful for all of you for your love and support. Happy Thanksgiving, and may you also feel those angels surrounding you!