Miracle #1:
Each Monday, the mission records the baptisms and confirmations from the previous week and then files 3 reports for record keeping purposes. It is important that the records are consistent and accurate. This was my second week to fill out the reports. The first week I did them under the tutelage of Elder Twitchell. This past Monday, Elder Twitchell was out of the office and I was able to do all three reports on my own. I'm honestly not sure how they all came out correctly, but they did and that small miracle boosted my confidence in my capacity to learn the responsibilities of the mission office.Miracle #2:
Elder Lewis and I celebrated our 43rd wedding anniversary on Wednesday. Our plan was to finish missionary office work in the morning and then check some local sights and have a nice dinner in the afternoon and early evening. However, Elder Lewis had a last minute question and delayed one missionary from going with the other two missionaries who were meeting a driver and moving mission furniture from one apartment to another. Consequently, Elder Flake was left behind for the entire day and our anniversary plans for the day had to be postponed. I was disappointed and a little frustrated with Elder Lewis - not a good disposition to be in for missionary work or a couple celebrated their 43rd wedding anniversary. I was not planning to "babysit" (Elder Flake's words, not mine) on our anniversary.However, that change of plans on Wednesday provided a priceless opportunity for us on Friday afternoon; an opportunity that I had just prayed for earlier that morning. We finished our work at the office by noon and went to the tram/bus stop to do what we'd planned to do on Wednesday for our anniversary. At the bus stop, a young woman between the age of 25-30 named Laura was standing next to us and saw our missionary tags. She asked in careful English if we were Mormon. We said that we were and she told us that her late grandfather was a member of the Church. In the course of our conversation, with her trying to speak English as we tried to speak Spanish, we discovered that she was just visiting in Quito for a few days and was returning to Guayaquil where she was finishing her last year of residency to be a Doctor of General Medicine. We asked if she would accept the missionaries in Guayaquil and the rural community where she would be doing her residency. She said that she would and gave us contact information. We gave her a pass along card with information about the Church. We were so excited! It seemed miraculous that we happened to met at that particular moment while waiting for the tram/bus. Buses come by about every minute and they are crowded! Immediately following our conversation and the exchange of information, she boarded the bus that came right before our bus and was out of sight before we knew it. The probability of our paths crossing at that particular moment was nearly impossible! The experience reminded us that we are truly engaged in God's work, that He hears our prayers, and that He is mindful of each us and will bless His children as we reach out to one another.
We were praying to have a missionary experience and Laura wanted to learn more about the faith of her grandfather.
My disappointment about failed anniversary plans on Wednesday were replaced with a feeling of joy and excitement for the work of sharing the gospel.
The Miracle of Name Tags!
Miracle #3:
After our missionary experience with Laura at the bus stop, our tram/bus pulled up and I stepped into the crowded bus thinking that Elder Lewis was right behind me. I grabbed a handle on the rail and looked back to see the doors close and Elder Lewis standing on the other side of the door. Our goal is to stay together for a variety of reasons - not getting lost is one and safety is another. However, at that moment it appeared that we were going to be separated with no plan of how to reconnect. I admit there was a moment of panic and I thought, "YIKES! What am I going to do?!?" Through the glass of the tram door I could see the worried expression on Elder Lewis' face and I knew he was thinking the same thing. He instinctively reached up and slapped the door. I don't know if that made a difference or not, but a moment later the door miraculously opened for a second time, something that rarely happens. It opened just long enough for Elder Lewis to step in and then it closed again. I don't know if the unseen driver saw what happened, but whatever the reason was we were reunited and felt very blessed that our companionship did not have to navigate separation in uncharted waters.
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President Barlow testified at our initial training that the Ecuador Quito Mission is a mission of miracles. Our experiences this past week have confirmed that miracles have not ceased and they will be a part our everyday lives IF we will "exercise faith in Christ; ..... and lay hold upon every good thing...."; THEN we will "have power to do whatsoever thing is expedient in [Christ]." (see Book of Mormon, Moroni 7:27-33)
Dear Elder and Hermana Lewis,
ReplyDeleteI love reading your posts, please keep them coming when you are able!
If you were both here in Ohio and still my home teacher and ministering sister, I would share with you that I was able to see and hear Sister and Elder Bednar speak at the north Columbus stake conference yesterday. He said looking at all of your faces made me think of two occurrences in my life. To summarize, they were both stories of everyday miracles. He is no different and does not receive an angel appearing to him to tell him that his grandchildren are in danger. He said that if you are praying and expecting bright lights to the road to Jericho three times a week you are mistaken; it is in the simple day to day life that they happen.
One story consisted of a change in his vacation ritual of running to the pier with his family and walking back to their beach house engaged in conversation - a decade long ritual and not one morning was missed during the family vacation doing this - but this one time he walked back without waiting for them to discover his 8 and 9 year old grandchildren running towards him frightened by the strike of a bolt of lightning that had struck and hit a transformer box near by the row of beach houses. They said, "We were so frightened! We prayed that you would come!"
The other story was about a senior missionary couple that were called to serve as mission president and companion. The brother feel ill and they had to return home for his bed rest and care. Elder Bednar had to find a couple in a quick three weeks to replace them. He did but expressed this to his administrative assistant that he needed somehow to go and meet them. He then went into his adjoining office to work, leaving the door open in between their offices. He heard her say soon after, "Well what are you wearing?" He hoped she was speaking with her husband. Forty minutes later the replacement couple that he had mentioned were standing in his office in front of him. The couple were driving down out of the canyon on their way to the Draper temple. The ad min asked what they were wearing and if they could possibly be detained a bit by going to the office of administration building at temple square first. They were dressed to attend the temple and headed directly to his office.
I could go on about this wonderful conference but I'll end by saying that Elder Bednar changed the scheduled closing hymn to How Firm a Foundation and to sing all seven verses. "This will be like a double benediction for me it is a prayer also." He was emotional, as were many attendees as we sang.
Hearing all of your miracles is just wonderful - there's no coincidences here. Love Much, Marsha
I loved reading about these miracles! Keep up the great work.
ReplyDelete- Bishop Lee