It was a beautiful sunny day in the Dominican Republic when Hermana Perez and Hermana Shaw left to their wonderful fellow friend and recent convert's house, Manila, so that they could all journey to the Sunday morning conference session together. They arrived at Manila's house, a bit short on time, but with faith in their hearts that they would arrive on time. As they waited, Manila finished getting ready. When she was done, they could feel the weight of time coming down closer and were relieved to be on their way. They cruised (quite rapidly) to the Stake Center, with a baseball field filling the right expanse and a natural field of grass and trees filling the left. Along they went, happily awaiting the talks of the church's inspired leaders when - THWAP. The car made a great noise and began to limp along the side of the road, gradually slowing down to a stop. Manila exited the car and observed that a part of the tire had come off. She called a taxi. They waited. It didn't come. A man came to reprove them for stopping in the middle of the road. The taxi still didn't come. Someone suggested they say a prayer. With cars and motors zipping by, fields on both sides, Hermana Perez, Hermana Shaw, and Manila huddled in prayer to ask the Lord for some help in their tricky situation. Three minutes later a man approached them and asked them where they were going. He offered them a ride. And as they walked to his car, he revealed to them that he was a member of the church who lived in a town an hour away. He had decided last-minute to take the very road on which the missionaries and the member were stranded. And because of that last-minute decision, they were all able to make it to the conference safely.
I testify that the influence of the Holy Ghost is real. If we listen and let Him guide us, we see miracles and tender mercies. The promise we receive to have the gift of the Holy Ghost after our baptisms is real. We have that privilege, so long as we are worthy for it. The Lord looks out for His children. His tender mercies can be found, every day of our lives. For three days straight in my journal I only wrote, "Today we walked a lot." That description is sufficient for half of our week. Apart from that, we still saw many tender mercies and miracles. Diego is still preparing to get baptized on the 30th. We finally saw Sabrina again after such a long time. She is still so excited to get baptized and has sacrificed so much in the process of getting married. It is a long and difficult one, with a lot of financial stress, but her faith is strong and her hope is bright. She wants so badly to enter into that covenant with her Father in Heaven. She is a great example to me of fierce and courageous faith. General Conference was so amazing. I was hit so hard with the power and truth of the restored gospel as we sat in the sessions. Thanks to the Restoration, we have a prophet to guide us. We have an amazing opportunity to listen to the twelve apostles. I loved the many talks about the temple. The importance of the temple is great. As missionaries and as members, we have a divine responsibility to help others to not only get baptized but to one day enter into the temple. I know that God lives. I know that He loves us. I know that His son, Jesus Christ, atoned for our sins. What a wonderful privilege we have to use that atonement every day and become closer to our divine potentials. I love you all! Look for those tender mercies. Men are that they might have joy. Hermana Shaw Pictures: Us at General Conference We celebrated Hermana Rosario's birthday today with a little lunch in our apartment Comments are closed.
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Letters: Sophia Shaw Santo Domingo East MIssion SDQ 4102, 2250 NW 114th Ave. Miami, FL 33172-3652 Packages: Sophia Shaw AP-000914 8540 NW 66th St. Miami, FL 33195 - 2698 lds.org mormon.org Dominican Republic Santo Domingo East MissionArchives
February 2017
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