Rain, Rain, Go Away, Just for This One Day and Other Miracles

 Rain, rain, go away. Yes, this is me speaking....the rain lover from way back. It has rained much of today and it has indeed, been glorious. But we need a miracle for tomorrow. I think we may have closer to 60 people at the meeting with Reverend Teal, who will train for nearly 2 hours. That is amazing.

The plan was for everyone to pick up sack lunches and walk over to Christ Church Meadow, which is right across the street from Pembroke College. This would be done midway between 10 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. It sounds like a wonderful plan, and on one of those past perfect days it would have been....well.. perfect. I am pretty much expecting a miracle, truly.

Whether that miracle comes in the way of a perfect day showing up instead of constant rain, or whether we find a great indoor place to let that many people gather to eat - during a time when we are not allowed to do that indoors, it remains to be seen. Perhaps we could eat through lunch and then hand everyone a sack lunch on their way home.   No, I don't think so,

But I think it will be a glorious day whatever it holds.

We went to Sacrament Meeting today, and it was incredible. A woman who is from Lithuania spoke and gave several stories from her life that she has learned from. She told about her mother, whom she said didn't seem to love her very much. But now that this woman is married with children of her own, she looks back through the eyes of kindness to realize her mother was working very long days, back-breaking work, just to make sure her children had a roof over their heads and to keep them fed. She realizes now that her mother loved her very much.

She also told of her grandmother. When she was ten years old her mother gave her away - to a wealthy family who lived far away. They needed a servant, and so they gave her a bed of straws outside in a service building, and fed her once a day. She cried herself to sleep every night, wondering why her parents gave her away. Yet, when she grew to adulthood, she was one of the kindest of people, always serving others, always grateful for what she had and always praising God.

Her husband spoke next. He told of two missionaries who taught and baptized his parents forty-three years ago. He was a baby. Twenty years later, he was called on a mission to Canada. Having heard about the two missionaries who baptized his parents, and hearing their names spoken with reverence for so long, he looked up the missionary who was living in Canada....in his mission. He discovered that the man was not an active member of the church. He began visiting him, and was able to see the man come back into full activity.

We spent a lovely and peaceful afternoon. Dave and Deb came in the evening. They were later than they thought they would be, but people kept wanting to talk to them. They came bearing ribs that Deb had cooked in a crockpot all day. They were delicious. I contributed broccoli salad, potatoes and bread and strawberry shortcake for dessert.

We enjoyed the evening together....we will probably not have time to visit with them again until we are all back home in the states, Tomorrow will be very busy for them and we will be a part of the audience and the lunch brigade.

It has been amazing. It has been better than I ever imagined. It has been incredible to serve with Dave and Deb. They are amazing people and they have given everything they have to this mission. They have worn themselves out in this work. They love the missionaries and they know how to inspire them. They have kept them engaged throughout the pandemic....and the work moved forward in an unprecedented way.  

I will always be grateful that we were blessing with this experience. 

I need to wrap fifty large cookies in plastic, and then I'll go to bed, praying for miracles.