Missionary + Experiences + Tender Mercies

Our missionary son doesn't call home much or write, so I love when I get little glimpses from other people. Nate's Grandma Laura has a cousin who is serving in his same mission and will keep me updated from time to time.

She says: Missy, your missionary is changing lives here, especially with the missionaries. He is such a hard worker, and his diligence and obedience blesses everyone that he woks with. He is making a difference! She basically mentioned the same thing in a letter to Grandma Laura that was forwarded to the entire Ellis family. "Your missionary serving here in the Colorado Denver North Mission, Elder Nathan Leary is one of our finest missionaries! And that is the truth. He has an extremely good work ethic, and his companions love him. He's making a difference here!"

He consistently challenges me to look for opportunities. One of my goals over the past couple of years has been to follow through on those little thoughts and promptings I get.

This week I did just that and couldn't wait to email or talk to Nate about it. This is where that little tender mercy comes in. Nate's p-day is usually Monday and it didn't surprise me when he didn't call. But on Wednesday, immediately after hanging up the phone from arranging a much-needed blessing for a neighbor, Nate called. I couldn't believe it. P-day got moved due to meetings on Monday. I was ecstatic to tell him of my missionary experience.

We came home from our Thanksgiving vacation and I had a thought that I needed to reach out to my neighbor about her upcoming surgery. I knew it was happening; I just didn't know when. She messaged me with these words: " Hi Missy. It's Thursday Dec 2nd and I stay all night then come home Friday. I start PT Monday morning. OUCH. I'm so scared. . . ." That was the part that really got me thinking.

I could have just sent back some encouraging words. But the spirit told me that this lady needed more. She might could use a blessing.

Now, a little background. I would never have guessed that she belonged to my faith, but she shows up on our records (there is another story there). We've been neighborly. I've gone walking with her and shared my produce. She's asked us to watch their yard. But she's never been one I thought might in the least be interested in any kind of religion. The book The Power of Everyday Missionaries taught me you can never predict who or who wouldn't be a good candidate; you always ask and invite. So that is exactly what I decided to do.

Wednesday morning I sent her a quick message, asking if she'd like a priesthood blessing. I explained that God wants to bless all of his children and that I've had several blessings in my lifetime that have brought comfort and peace to me, something I knew she was needing.

I sat . . . and sat . . . and sat with my finger on the send button. I was a bit nervous not knowing how she would take it.

I finally pushed send, shut my laptop lid, and went to work.

At lunchtime I checked my messages and there was one from her. Oh how I was a little scared to open it. But I did.

"Hi Missy. Yes. I would like one."

I couldn't believe what I was reading. I knew I had followed through on promptings from the past couple of days. It was such a good feeling to know that the Lord trusted me with an errand and I followed through.

After several texts and phone calls, I went with her ministering brother and a member of our stake presidency, both who live on the same street and two people she knew (although she did message me later about how grateful she was that I came with -- it helped her feel more comfortable). It was a beautiful experience, one I hope to talk with her more about. She has never had a priesthood blessing in her life, so the two men did a wonderful job explaining how the whole process worked.

The whole day was one of shock and excitement. I got a little glimpse of what a missionary must feel. And it's something we can all be a part of. It made me want to try a little harder.

Latest letters

Ninja in training. Erik's Halloween costume, I guess, complete with the missionary name tag. I'm a little jealous of the short sleeves.

I'm discovering that my weekly missionary email comes between 6:30 and 7:00 in the morning. This allows me to email back and forth for a minute. Even though Erik still manages to drive us crazy from 1000s of miles away, we miss him and he finds ways to bring some humor to our lives.

In his last email he told me he definitely bought the right phone because it allows him to do memes. This is what he does on P-day I guess. Ashlyn managed to lock us out of the kids computer by continually putting in the wrong picture password and NONE of us know the real password. The only person who might know is Erik, who unfortunately doesn't live here anymore. After waiting a week, he sent us what might work. Nope. After much trying we are able to get into the Kids account but not the Admin. Ahhhhhhhh!!!!! And he thought he would be funny by typing the the password hint as "Hahahahahahahah." How aggravating. One day we'll get that computer back to full working capacity, probably when Elder Erik makes his way back home in two years.

October 22 Letter
Here's a dumb missionary joke for ya'll. What is a missionary's favorite car? A convertible. 🤣 Anyway, like I said last week we are whitewashing our area, so we are getting to know all the members and all the investigators and others. Not a lot of super exciting stuff. I pass a tennis court every day on the bike ride to our area. I really wish I could just pause for an hour and go play, but I have more important things to do.We could get some new investigators by playing "beat you, teach you" but that isn't allowed. Bummer. I guess for this special edition 1 month in email I'll give you a pros and cons list. Here's a list of things that have been hardest for me. And I guess I'll throw in some good stuff too.

Biggest struggles so far of being a missionary:
1. Not playing tennis
2. No good music, and no, MoTab is not good music
3. No movies or YouTube, I guess I'll just say no media
4. No naps/Wake up at 6:30
5. I guess I also miss my family and friends just a little bit😁

Biggest blessings/ Pros:
1. Stronger testimony
2. I have more purpose/ I know what I'll be doing every day.
3. I'm out of the "Utah bubble" as people keep saying, which is a good thing to be out of for a little bit
4. It's not cold. In fact, its warm.
5. I can have a quadruple stacker PB&J and there's nobody to stop me.
     
On to my week, we taught an elderly couple named Sky and Clem. They are Catholic but their son's a member. They're really nice people and always feed us. We've also been teaching a Colombian guy named Manuel. He is also really fun to talk to and is really interested in our church. We've been talking to a lot of people and making ourselves known. We've also done a lot of service which has been fun. We got to do some digging the other day which was fun. This might sound kind of weird but I really miss my job and being able to dig with a shovel. Anyway, that's mainly what I spend my time doing. A lot of time is also spend riding bikes, we don't have a car, so we have about a 10 minute ride just to get to our area, plus an extra 5 to 25 minutes depending. We should be sharing a car soon though. 

Some highlights: 
I held an alligator head. We talked to a member that hunts alligators and had a whole huge freezer full of alligators that he had killed the week before. It was cool.

I went to Wendy's for my 1 month mark on Friday. And I did bring my frosty cards all the way from home, so I got 2 free frostys.

I did the worst thing ever. We were calling a member named Wanda to try to set up a time to meet with her. She didn't answer and we usually don't leave voicemails. Anyway, Elder Squires decided to leave one this time, but I didn't know that. This was late at night and we were in weird moods. Anyway, right when it beeped I was in the middle of saying "This is Wanda" in a really weird accent. Then Elder Squires freaked out and hung up. So basically a member we've never met now has a voicemail of the missionaries saying "This is Wanda" in a really weird voice and hanging up. Oh well. None of you need to know that or care, but that's what happened. 

I was told there were a lot of bugs here, that there are a lot of Alligators, that it rains a lot, and that the humidity makes things go soft. I guess I'm just lucky because I haven't dealt with any of that yet. It's been sunny, warm, and bug free. 

I try to keep my emails lighthearted, but seriously I have been learning a lot. I think I'm going to start putting a "Spiritual Spiel" (cool name, huh) in each of my emails, or maybe once a month. But here it is. 

SPIRITUAL SPIEL
My testimony of The Book of Mormon, Christ and the Atonement, and Prayer has grown so much. It has been great being a full time servant of the Lord, because if you put your trust in him he wont let his servants down. I've really learned even in just 1 month that sometimes you just need to pray and ask Heavenly Father to help you and to show you the way. This is a lot harder than it seems, but it does help immensely. There's no way I could leave home and come here and be a missionary day in and day out without his help.
   

I guess that's how you write a big long email about a pretty uneventful week. And as always, check this link out for all my photos. I got a photo with an alligator head, which is pretty sweet.

October 29 Letter
I'm 354,240,000 milliseconds into my mission. Not much happened this week. I'm not sure what to say. We did go to a Trunk or Treat which was fun. We were going to starve to death until my prayer got answered, so we aren't going to starve anymore. I also had to give a talk on Sunday about my favorite hymn, which was fun. I did a lot of service, knocked some doors, taught some lessons, and met with members.

Trunk or Treat was really fun. There were lots of good costumes. There's a kid named River that always wanted to race us and fight us. He thought he was the strongest person in the world because he dressed up as Black Panther. It was funny. 

One of my prayers was answered yesterday. I wasn't given the full amount of money for the month because I got here a little into the month. I also had to buy lots of hygiene products because I just got to the field, we also had 5 p days this month which means we had to go another month without money, and we're whitewashing our area so we had to buy lots of food and apartment supplies to get us started. Anyway, we have no money and no food and we have to go another week. I prayed that it would last its the week, but there was no way. We had a dinner today, and it was amazing. It was with Sister Boileau and her nonmember husband. They had cleaned out their food supply earlier that day and had 3 huge bags of food to be thrown out that wasn't even expired. She decided to give them to us. We now have food for a month. 

There are so many people that slam doors in our faces like Sister Young said. What's really been working for us is when they say "Leave me alone, go bother someone else, bye" we just offer our help with anything they're doing. We've gotten to talk to lots of people that way. They realize that we actually want to help them, not lecture them about repenting or anything like that. Anyway, life's good out here when I'm working. It's when I stop for a minute that I get homesick or start thinking about all the stuff I can't do. Like you said, I had an easy life before coming out, but I'm trying to always stay focused on my purpose. Time really does fly here. It's already been a month.

I also gave a talk 3 weeks in. And we had 2 investigators there that heard me, which is great. 

Miracle of the glasses

Testimony meetings tend to have a theme and today's was about remembering. Remembering the Lord. Remembering the tender mercies that happen. Remembering the blessings that come to us. For me, if I don't write it down, I tend to forget which is one of the reasons for this blog. Hence I'm documenting the following story lest I forget.

Youth conference has come and gone again.

Two years ago we were camped in the exact location and watched as the bishop went off the zipline . . . . with his glasses on. My counselor and I both yelled glasses as he plunged into the water, never to find them again. On that particular trip he ended up traveling 45 minutes to get another pair in order to drive home.

This trip we chided and kidded and reminded him to take his glasses off. Our group split in half with some going on a hike to Indian writings and the other half staying to play in the pond. My group arrived back from the hike to hear that the bishop couldn't find his glasses and thought someone had taken them as a joke. My counselor who stayed behind was pretty sure he had dove into the water . . . with his glasses on. He wasn't around when we heard this so a couple of kids dove in the general vicinity of where he was thought to have gone in, searching for a lost pair of glasses.

No luck.

When he returned, Bishop Steinagel ventured further down the pond than anyone had been searching. He relates that he was diving down trying to spot them with his eyes and not having any success. He stopped a moment, said a quick prayer for help, and immediately had a thought to step to one side. As he did, his foot felt the glasses and he was able to pull them up with his toes.

He told this story to my dad who was in awe that he was able to locate them. It's a fairly good size pond and can get deep quickly.

Dave Davies, one of his counselors and a covert jokester, fashioned  some eyeglass protection should he ever attempt to go in the water again.

Isn't it wonderful that the Lord knows our needs and is able to help should we only ask. He wants to help and bless us, but he also knows it helps us to grow when we humble ourselves enough to ask when we are in need. This story is so characteristic of Bishop Steinagel. He is a man who listens intently to the promptings he gets and follows them. It is a gift I greatly desire and am working on.

Youth Conference

Ferron was calling us again for Youth Conference 2017 so we headed back per the kids' request. How grateful I am for parents who willingly lend out their yard. Not just for us, but for groups all the time.

President Davis, first counselor in our stake presidency, is over the safety for the the power plant outside of Ferron and others around the state. He graciously offered to meet us down there and give us a tour of the power plant. I don't know how many countless times I've driven past that plant and have never been inside. I also learned on that tour that our bishop is not a fan of heights.

Some of us hiked to the Indian writings again.

The priests helped haul some hay one morning.

Everyone played in the pond. 

And we offered our services to a lady in need. Here is her story.

This year our youth conference didn't quite get planned until last minute. We had been before so it wasn't too stressful other than figuring out who was in charge of what meal and did we have enough seats for everyone. I called the nursing home to see if we could come and perform a little talent show for them again but nobody got back with me. The Sunday before we were to leave I started to worry a little about finding a project for our group to do when I had a thought to ask Cindy Astill about her sister that lives in Ferron. I knew this sister was a widow and might need some help. Cindy almost immediately responded to my text with a huge YES and gave me her sister Darline's phone number.

Later that night I called Darline to arrange a time for us to come. She was more than ecstatic and wasn't one bit worried about having 40 or so people in her yard. When we showed up in our matching blue shirts, it was an awesome sight to see.

She pulled me aside to tell me that she had just started a new job as a counselor at the high school and somehow their files had been lost and she was spending 12 to 14 hour days trying to get everything up and running before registration the following week.

Sunday night she had pulled into her garage with her daughter in the seat next to her, wondering to herself how she was going to tackle the yard projects that needed to be worked on, when I called. After our little exchange she turned to her daughter and said, "You are not going to believe this. We have 40 people coming on Friday to help us."

I knew then that the reason the nursing home had not gotten back with me was that we were to be helping hands to someone with a greater need. There is no greater feeling of joy than knowing you have been an instrument in God's hands.

More thoughts from above

So my last post was about the hymn "How Firm a Foundation" and President Hinckley's "Things will work out" quote . . . well, guess what came around the last two weeks . . . again!

I think the Lord wants me to know a few things :)

Tender mercies

I recently finished a book titled An Unseen Angel, written by the mother of a little girl who was killed at the Sandy Hook Elementary several years ago. The book was touching but what resonated with me in regards to my current life situation is this mother wanting desperately for God to give her a glimpse of her daughter's new life.

I too feel that way on many occasions. It's been eight months since we received word of a job loss. A new job has come along but it's not ideal and it won't pay the mortgage for long. My job for the past 18 years has been full-time mom so it's not so easy just to step into a good paying job that will help make up the difference.

I have been doing everything in my power to move forward but at some point you come to understand that you are powerless and need God to intervene and work his mighty miracles.

I too have felt like this mom, Alissa Parker. I just want to know what my so-called "new life" will look like.

Will I be able to land that teaching job?
Will we end up having to sell our beautiful home and yard that we've devoted so much of our time and ourselves to and start over again somewhere else?
Will another good job come along for Tyler?
Maybe I forgo the job search and start on the Master's I've been wanting?
Will I ever feel settled enough to finally hang up that vinyl saying from last Christmas? (I know I could never take it down if we move.)


I just want to know what God's plan is in all this because I've been spinning wheels and I'm not sure what my life should look like right now.

Only God can see what lies ahead. There are many days I wish and pray for just a glimpse. And on those days (like today) when I hide in my closet and cry out in fear and frustration, I have to remember the tender mercies and sweet little answers he gives me.

About a month ago the front of our sacrament program was a this quote by President Hinckley, the ever optimist.

And then a few weeks ago we sang How Firm a Foundation, the typical three verses. During the sacrament I decided to read through the other verses and was touched. I felt like my Father in Heaven was reaching out to me that day. Every verse gave me hope and strength that the Lord will give me aid, he'll strengthen me, he will be with me, this trial shall be a blessing.

May I have courage to never forsake when the days and months get long and hard and I begin to question the point of it all.

How firm a foundation, ye Saints of the Lord,
Is laid for your faith in his excellent word!
What more can he say than to you he hath said,
Who unto the Savior, who unto the Savior,
Who unto the Savior for refuge have fled?

In ev'ry condition--in sickness, in health,
In poverty's vale or abounding in wealth,
At home or abroad, on the land or the sea--
As thy days may demand, as thy days may demand,
As thy days may demand, so thy succor shall be.

Fear not, I am with thee; oh, be not dismayed,
For I am thy God and will still give thee aid.
I'll strengthen thee, help thee, and cause thee to stand,
Upheld by my righteous, upheld by my righteous,
Upheld by my righteous, omnipotent hand.

When through the deep waters I call thee to go,
The rivers of sorrow shall not thee o'erflow,
For I will be with thee, thy troubles to bless,
And sanctify to thee, and sanctify to thee,
And sanctify to thee thy deepest distress.

When through fiery trials thy pathway shall lie,
My grace, all sufficient, shall be thy supply.
The flame shall not hurt thee; I only design
Thy dross to consume, thy dross to consume,
Thy dross to consume and thy gold to refine.

E'en down to old age, all my people shall prove
My sov'reign, eternal, unchangeable love;
And then, when gray hair shall their temples adorn,
Like lambs shall they still, like lambs shall they still,
Like lambs shall they still in my bosom be borne.

The soul that on Jesus hath leaned for repose
I will not, I cannot, desert to his foes;
That soul, though all hell should endeavor to shake,
I'll never, no never, I'll never, no never,
I'll never, no never, no never forsake!

Answer to a prayer

"It was meant that life would be a challenge. To suffer some anxiety, some depression, some disappointment, even some failure is normal. . . . if you have a good, miserable day once in awhile, or several in a row, to stand steady and face them. Things will straighten out. There is great purpose in our struggle in life." --Boyd K. Packer

This last week.

Yeah, this last week.

Let's just say I'm glad it's behind me.

It should have been a good week.

I could have made it a good week.

For cryin' out loud, it was birthday week (and that's just what I did on my birthday . . . cried to my mom for an hour).

Doors for the job search seemed to shut one after the other.

Our check to pay off a 401(k) loan was lost in Kentucky for a week and a half due to bad weather and never made it on time. Thankfully they have worked with us so we won't be charged an outrageous penalty.

My washer broke. Thankfully I was almost done with laundry and only had to take two loads to the laundromat. But my goodness gracious . . . $5 to wash two loads. Hoping the repair man shows up tomorrow. The dirty clothes are oozing out of their baskets.

I lost the keys in our ward building and could feel the stress mounting. During my nightly prayers I asked Heavenly Father to please help me know where they might be. IMMEDIATELY the thought came to check where we always hang our car keys. Did I straightaway go check? No, I was nervous and waited until morning . . . and there they were, just like He said.

I know I have the power to make my days into any kind day I want it to be.

These are the days of . . . 
*"Trainings." Alex and his friends at school are in training for something. I thought at first it might be American Ninja Warrior, an ultimate obstacle course on tv. But after talking with another mom, it might be more Nacho Libre kicks and punches. We've talked about not doing this to other kids.

*Getting pulled over. Erik drifted through a stop sign on his way to work and was immediately pulled over. Thankfully he had his license on him and the cop just gave him a warning. I hope it scared the crap out of him that he'll be a little more cautious. I've told him that he cannot afford to get a ticket at his age. Not only will he have to pay the ticket but the rise in his insurance also.


*Kiersten getting her chance at concert mistress. She got to walk on stage with her teacher, the conductor, warm the orchestra up, and sit in first chair. Her friend Brianna usually has this spot, but Brianna didn't know the music. Kiersten was euphoric the night of her concert about this little turn of events.

Grace

Rejoicing in hope; patient in tribulation; continuing instant in prayer.

-Romans 12:12

The past couple of days have been some downers. I am usually an upbeat woman full of faith and hope and optimism. But I let fear creep into my thoughts, bringing me pretty low. I went to the temple needing some assurance and some heavenly help and power from on high.

The word GRACE was whispered to me as I entered and I contemplated and referenced this word, waiting.

"My grace is sufficient for thee . . ." 2 Corinthians 12:9. This was a tender answer to my pleading for assurance from my loving Father in Heaven. His blessings and love are enough for me to get through these most difficult times. God's grace is sufficient for everything I lack and everything lacking in me.

"[I]t is by grace that we are saved, after all we can do." 2 Nephi 25:23. I had been wondering why it seemed nothing was working in our favor and yet I felt I was doing everything I could within my power. I came to the temple asking about this and was pointed to this scripture. The Lord knows I am doing all I can and through his love and mercy and power He will make things right. One day this trial will end, saving us in a sense.

When the trials of life drive you to your knees causing you to realize how utterly dependent on the Lord you have to be, the only place to look is up. And God ever so patiently waits for us.

I came home, not feeling really any better, still wondering how to stretch our dollars. I was in a funk, needing to snap out of it, and decided a nap could help. Sometime during that nap, a delivery man, disguised as our bishop, handed Ty an envelope from a unknown benefactor. This is the second such envelope within a month containing a "sufficient" amount of funds.

Tyler and I are still so unsure how to handle this, wanting to pay it forward in some way. And so it sits, in a nightstand, waiting for the right time and the right use to manifest itself to us. The goodness of the people in our little community and ward has been incomprehensible as they continue to shower us with God's grace in rich abundance.

I once saw a quote that said something like this: "The gospel made us sisters; visiting teaching made us friends." I have found a new friend in one of the ladies I visit teach. She became aware of my "no good, terrible, very bad day" and gave me something to cheer me up.

I had told her that ice cream makes everything better. And she believed me. This was no easy task for her, having taken a chemo pill two days earlier that left her feeling very sick. What a gracious gesture. A gesture full of God's grace.

On a day when everything seemed to be wrong, God showed me through simple, small ways that he is still in the details of my life, very aware and concerned. God does notice us, and he watches over us. But it is usually through another person that he meets our needs.

These are the days of . . . 
* Ash's math competition. Two mornings a week since October she's been attending early morning math in preparation for this competition between the elementary schools in the district. Her team took 2nd place, only two-tenths behind first. So far all the my kids have participated in early morning math and loved it. Some of those questions had me scratching my head.

*Grammar Nazi.  Every day should be two words unless you are using it as an adjective as in "My everyday clothes are sweats and a t-shirt." This is one of the most common misspelled words I see in print, on billboards, and even on an English teacher's bulletin board.

Blessings

Blessing #1:
Nate turned 14 the end of July, but with so many family things going on, there just didn't seem to be a good time to have him ordained to the office of a teacher. And I was not liking the idea of pulling grandparents away from their busy schedules. One Sunday Brother Willis, his deacon adviser, approached us about about it and planted in my mind the idea that Erik could ordain him. This was a thought I had not even entertained since I did not know a young man in the office of a priest could do such a thing.

I talked it over with Nate and Erik and both were open to the idea, although Erik was extremely nervous about performing such a priesthood function. I approached the bishop and the ordination took place during our monthly home teaching visit in his office. He counseled Erik on the wording and how he knew what things to say in a blessing that often accompany such ordinations. Bishop Steinagel then left it up to him whether or not he would like to also give Nate a blessing at the end, which Erik was brave enough to do.

I believe there is nothing more humbling or terrifying than being the mouthpiece for the Lord. What a tender morning as the palpable spirit of God filled that room. It was a beautiful experience for all of us present and I can say with all sincerity that God our Father was pleased.

Blessing #2:
Later that same day, I sat in that same office as my Laurel presidency was set apart to perform their functions. Kiersten had been called as the secretary, and the bishop gave her such a beautiful blessing, affirming things to her that he could not have possibly known. But God knew and knew what Kiersten needed to hear.

The Holy Ghost is real and powerful and performs his functions through an all-knowing God.

Blessing #3:
Back in May a talk was given on patriarchal blessings which reminded Nate that he wanted to get his. Erik was moved enough by this same talk to also piggyback Nate and get theirs together. Our summer was so incredibly busy that an appointment with Patriarch Oscarson was set for August 21, the day before the start of school.

What a joy it was to accompany these two brothers to receive guidance and wisdom and direction through another mouthpiece of the Lord set apart for such service. For me, it was a unique circumstance to have two blessings given together, but individually, much like Esau and Jacob. I'm sure they don't remember a tenth of what was given but I do know the Lord knows them individually by what was pronounced to each boy through our great patriarch.

Patriarchal blessings are like a beautiful letter from our heavenly home. It's not a crystal ball describing what will happen in our future lives, but more like a road map describing the blessings awaiting should we stick to the path and knowledge of our divine characteristics. I also received mine on a hot August Sabbath in 1992, 24 years ago. What a treasure it has been and I guess also a kind of treasure map as things that didn't mean anything to me 24 years ago are now making sense. I continue to read mine often.

I am forever grateful for men and young men who are worthy to hold God's power to bless my family. My God is a god of miracles and love and uses the priesthood channel to direct that love and those tender mercies through worthy men on this earth.

Baptisms

Last Tuesday our youth went to the Salt Lake Temple to do baptisms for the dead.

How lucky we are to live so close to so many temples. My parents talk about how difficult it is for the people in their mission to get to the Fiji Temple and how hard it is to get home some times. One man missed the boat, or something like that, and ended up having to wait six months to get home.

Thank heavens it didn't turn out quite like that for one of our little deacons.

Deacon Josh and a some of his friends were playing in the elevator and Josh got separated and couldn't figure out where he needed to go to get back to the car. 

Meanwhile, the rest of us are scrambling into cars and making our way to the exit to not miss ice cream at the Arctic Circle. Before leaving the temple grounds I had reminded all the drivers to make sure they had their parking token. So I couldn't figure out what the hold up was with Brother Fryer in front of me. You could see them searching and looking under seats. One girl got out and continued to scour the car. This went on for about two minutes while we waited patiently.

The attendant finally made her way over and let them out. I paid my token and Kathleen and Liz, my two counselors, were in line behind me to leave the parking garage.

Now remember, at this point I had no idea Josh was lost.

We made it to Arctic Circle where Liz had to tell me what happened after I pulled out. Kathleen repeatedly tried to put her token in the machine and it kept spitting it out. Again, the attendant made her way over and kindly told her she was using a quarter instead of the token. Sheepishly, Kathleen found her token. But before putting it in, Josh comes running across the parking lot to their car. It was then that he explained how he had become separated from his group and couldn't find anyone. He was a lost boy.

None of us knew he was lost (except his leaders who were driving round and round the parking garage trying to find him). But the Lord knew he was lost and needed to get home. I believe these two separate token issues -- one in front of me and one in back of me -- gave Josh enough time to discover his way out.

Don't you just love how the Lord works? Don't you just love the tender mercies he gives us each day? He is so aware of our circumstances and needs and always finds ways to bless us. God is Good!

*And to his credit, Brother Fryer did have his token. He had handed it to the girl in the passenger seat who accidentally let is slip between the seats. And no, that is not Josh in the picture above :)

Good things
temples
light
teenagers