Follow the Spirit

President Thomas S. Monson has said: “Not a day has gone by that I have not communicated with my Father in Heaven through prayer. It is a relationship I cherish—one I would literally be lost without. If you do not now have such a relationship with your Father in Heaven, I urge you to work toward that goal. As you do so, you will be entitled to His inspiration and guidance in your life—necessities for each of us if we are to survive spiritually during our sojourn here on earth. Such inspiration and guidance are gifts He freely gives if we but seek them. What treasures they are! I am always humbled and grateful when my Heavenly Father communicates with me through His inspiration. I have learned to recognize it, to trust it, and to follow it” ("Stand in Holy Places," Ensign, Nov. 2011, 84).

Perhaps, more than anything else, President Monson is known for acting on Spiritual promptings. What a great example he is to all of us. 

Last Saturday, while I was safe at home, (having just experienced the miraculous rescue of our truck from the deep water experience), as I was about to take a nap,  I received an impression to send a text message to the nine (9) teachers and thank them for their prayers. 

This is the English version of my message: 

Dear teachers, thank you for your prayers. I do not believe that we could have crossed the Red Sea without your righteous prayers. Prayer works! "nevertheless for the righteous sake, yea, because of the prayers of the righteous, they were spared." (Alma 62:40; Mor. 5:21)

Some background: Odete Fernando is the 16 year old former YW president, now Seminary teacher in Dondo. Dondo is a small isolated city about a 45 minute chapa (converted Van that holds 20+ people) distance from the next large city of Manga. On Friday, the day before our training meeting, Odete called me saying that her non-member step father, (semi-active mother) would not allow her to attend the training meeting unless I spoke with him first. He had a very reasonable concern that she return home before dark. I assured him that the training would be done by 11AM and that she would head home directly after the training. He consented to her attending and I thanked him for his loving concern for Odete.

Unknown to me, Odete had been assigned to be the concluding speaker the following day in Sacrament meeting. Her assigned topic was prayer. She concluded her talk by recounting this water/prayer/rescue experience and reading my entire text. She returned home and saw my text which she read to her mother and  step father. She testified that she knew that Heavenly Father hears our prayers and that she was able to teach her parents about prayer.

This is Elder Maezane from Maputo called to serve in Angola. He is waiting in Mozambique to receive his Visa to Angola. He just returned from the MTC/temple in Brazil. He served for 3 months in the Brazil, São Paulo West mission. The current mission president is Jose Luis Del Guerso. I was his trainer 35 years ago!

 

 

 This is an institute class for Beira 1 & 2. Everyone loves Mom and wants to be next to her in all the photos!! The teacher is Julio Joaquim Vicente, 24 years old, seated on the front row with the pink shirt.

 

 

Looking out our apartment window, we can see this woman sweeping up the sand in the street to sell. She probably earns about $.10 cents per hour. On the far side of the street you can see the large pile of sand she has accumulated. 

Mom with a gorilla glue eyeglass repair project....'use it up, wear it out, make it do, or do without'.

 

 

 I Love You!