"That's Me"

Hello Friends and Family!                               

I love serving as a missionary. There are so many blessings that come through service, and countless miracles that we get to see each day through the hand of the Lord. The South is incredible, and I couldn't ask for a better place to serve in the Lord's vineyard.  As usual, we saw miracles by praying specifically for others (such as the girl in the park and the post-it note) and asking a loving Heavenly Father where this individual is. I thought I would share just one of these experiences with you this week. 

 I was on exchanges with an Elder, and we decided that we should find the Lord's elect by asking HIM where HIS children were that needed us, and who they are. As we prayed for the next 45 minutes on our knees, we came up with these specifics: 

1. African American
2. Female
3. Middle Aged
4. Divorce/Separation of Spouse
5. Struggling financially because of separation
6. Very worried for her children, and struggling with keeping a relationship with them.

We then asked Heavenly Father what this individual's prayer was the night before, He spoke to us through the Spirit, and told us that she was praying last night for a new direction, and for comfort in something new. 

Now that we had the needle, we needed to find it in the haystack of 93,000 people. Again, we asked Father where she was, and that if He showed us where to go, we would go there. The Spirit told us to go to an area I had only driven by once since being here, but we knew it was the Spirit and went to that location. As a side note, we wrote down all of these specifics on a post-it note, and wrote the time we received this revelation on the bottom as well. We prayed, again, and asked what chapter she would need when we met her. We marked that chapter in the Book of Mormon with this Post-it Note. 

Anyways, we went to this location, and WITHIN 15 MINUTES, we felt strongly compelled by the Holy Ghost to knock a particular door (no one was outside on that street when we showed up). We knocked, and a woman answered. We realized the first three points were a match to who she was:

1. African American
2. Female
3. Middle Aged  

We said, "We are representatives of the Lord Jesus Christ, and have been called by a Prophet of God.  We prayed and were guided to find a African American female, who is middle aged, is either divorced or separated from her spouse, was struggling financially because of this separation, and was worried for her relationship for her children." Silence. She stared at us in the weirdest way, as they always do (as they did even for Jesus), and said, "No, that ain't me AT ALL." We smiled, and asked if she knew anyone in the area that matched this description. There was a pause, she looked at our nametags, then walked out onto the porch with us.  I was confused, because she had just turned us down, but was now coming outside?  You could see the confusion. As soon as her front door shut, she burst into tears.  She said, "I lied. That’s me. I got scared." The Spirit just flowed into the conversation, and we asked her to tell us what happened with her spouse.  She said, "He passed away four years ago, and I have never been able to get over it. I have struggled with grief for the longest time." Turns out she is a nurse at a local hospital, and is reminded of her husband each day of when he was in the hospital.  I suddenly realized that the "separation" that we had felt was meant in a much different way than I had originally thought. As we bore testimony of the power of the Plan of Salvation, we were all overcome with the Spirit. She said that she 'desperately' wanted to learn more, and that she would do what it takes to be with her husband again.

It was a wonderful experience, and reminded me of the importance of praying specifically and working your best to do what the Lord would have you do.

I love you each so much. 

Until Next Week-

Elder Robb