I love you all. But this week I need to take the time to show the whole world that God is a God of miracles; and that miracles do not always end up as baptisms. Here it goes.
1. The witness of an angel.
We have an investigator named Brenda that has been waiting for so long for the permission of her dad to be baptized. We have gone with him so many times and he still does not let her. The other night we were walking and we saw her dad sitting on the sidewalk. Sitting by him was a man with orange hair, freckles and a beard… something that you never see here in Guatemala. We sat right down on the ground and started to talk to him. The man with the orange hair said that he was not from there and that he came from really far away. He started to tell us a story that we were pretty sure was going to end up in him bashing on us but then he started to tell her dad, “Ya know, you really should let your daughter get baptized. It is something great that she is doing and it is better than anything that she could be doing on the street. These two young women are here so that she can have a better life and be baptized.” He then paused and said to the dad, “And it will help you prepare for you own baptism someday.” My companion and I were without words, we had no idea who he was or where he came from but we knew he was sent from on high. That night her dad gave her permission to be baptized and we know that this week we will have the permission of the mom.
2. Following the promptings of the spirit.
We were on divisions the other day and during my personal study I kept thinking about a family who is less active that I have visited like 2 or 3 times. I had no idea why I was thinking about them, but the thought kept coming into my head that there was someone in their family whose records were lost in the church or that wasn’t a member. We went with that family later in the day and we talked to every single one of the family members, asking them to see pictures of their baptisms, because here if they don’t have a photo, it is as if that baptism never happened. Anyway, we talked to everyone and everyone was a member and so we left. As we were leaving one of the daughters was walking and we contacted her and without us asking anything she said, “Ya know what? The bishop told me the other week that my records were lost in the church and that I need to be baptized again.” Once again, we were without words and felt an extreme gratitude.
3. Angels do the work that we cannot do.
On Sunday, all the people who were going to be baptized ended up having some challenge or something that prevented them from being baptized. We didn’t know why we were in a certain colony, but we just felt like we should go there and decided that we needed to say a prayer. In the prayer we said, “Help us to contact someone on the street that will say yes to being baptized today.” We then had to call someone and so we were standing there when this lady wheeling her daughter in a wheelchair walked by. I said to my companion, “Contact her!” Without hesitating, my companion crossed the street and said, “Hermana, my companion and I are representatives of Jesus Christ, and we are here to help you become clean of your sins in the name of Jesus Christ, will you be baptized.. today?” Without hesitating and with a humility that I have never seen in any other person, she responded, “Yes. I will.” We then just paused there, we did not know what to say. We sat down with her and started asking her about the commandments, and she was obeying each and every one. She then told us that two elders had been visiting and teaching her…but there are only hermanas (sisters) in our area. At that moment we knew that her two elders that had taught and prepared her were my grandpa and the dad of my companion. We called president to tell him what had happened, and he said, "Hermanas, baptize her. Today." It had simply been a contact in the street. And we told her that she would have to go to an interview with an elder and she responded, "Lets go. I will wheel my daughter all the way there." At the moment we got to the church she completed changed, her face was full of the spirit and nothing was said but while we waited we went in the sacrament meeting room and I played the piano and sang. The elder came and did the interview and came out and said, "Hermanas, she is ready. I don’t know how but she is ready." But then he had the feeling that we needed to wait until she had come to church. I have never seen more faith in all of my life than I saw from rosemary. Her faith, her humility and her obedience has completely changed my life. Our angels prepared her.
I know that God is a God of miracles. I know that angels do the work that we cannot do and I know that we are personal representatives of Jesus Christ and I love him with all of my heart.
Miracles exist. Look for them.
Hermana Funk
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