Dear Braxton,
I do want to tell you of our little
miracle. On the way down to Monticello, we got just past the 5th South exit
in Bountiful when we started to hear a slapping sound. I looked out the
window and could see something flapping as the tire went around on the trailer
passenger side. Clain told Dad we had a flat tire and he needed to pull
over. Dad was in the middle lane of the freeway and was able to move over
to the outside because there was no one in either outside lane. He pulled
off and stopped. We had thrown the rubber off the tire, but it had not
popped and was not flat.
A nice young man pulled off in front of us and
backed up. Dad was afraid we had hit him with the rubber, but he said we
had not. He just thought he might be able to help us. He was on his
way to a chiropractor appointment in Bountiful, but had an extra half hour
before his appointment so he stopped to see if he could help. He had a
nice jack, so we used his. We were on a nice flat spot and it was easy to
change the tire and put the spare on and then we loaded the bad tire in the
truck.
I had texted Curtis some photos and told him what had
happened. He and Alex were coming down later Thursday night. Curtis
said we should go to Discount Tire in Bountiful. So when we got back in
the truck, I asked Siri on my phone for Discount Tire in Bountiful. It
was three minutes away, just off the Woods Cross exit which was just in front
of us. We drove there and the parking lot was full, so we parked on the
north side of the building. We were able to pull into a driveway and stop
so that we were not blocking any cars and people could still get in and out of
the Arby’s parking lot. We had them fix the first tire. Dad brought
me the receipt. Then he asked me to go to Arby’s which was right next
door to us to get lunch. I asked him what he wanted and then I went to
ask Clain what he wanted. As I saw the spare, I had the thought that we
needed to replace it, too. So I told Dad and asked what he thought.
He said, “Yes, he thought we should.” A year ago we had replaced one tire
and put the one we replaced on as a spare, but it had a bulge on the
sidewall.
After I got lunch, and came back, I talked to
the kid who was fixing it. He had brought some duct tape out and was
taping up under the wheel well. It had scraped off a coating or something
leaving bare wood up there. He taped it so it wouldn’t get wet if we hit
water or a storm. Dad will have to put tar or something up in there when
we get home to protect the bare wood, which is the underside of the
floor. The kid said we should make sure all the tires had the same amount
of pressure in them. Dad and Clain had filled the tires from 40 to 65 that
morning before we left. That may have been what caused it to throw the
rubber. The new tire had 80 pounds of pressure in it. So we had to
go out of the Arby’s parking lot and into the Discount Tire parking lot on the
other side. Dad pulled out and there was not a car coming either
direction. And he was able to pull right back in.
While they were
working on the air, Dad came and said he felt like we should change all four of
the tires and put the good one from a year ago on as the spare tire. So
we did. We both felt like by heeding these promptings we were able to
save ourselves from having far worse problems on the trip. The Lord gave
us a warning with the first tire and in a way that we were safe from harm or
accident and he prevented us from having a much worse problem somewhere on the
road where we could not have gotten help as easily or as cheaply. We paid
$575 for the new tires. In many ways, that was a real bargain.
Another interesting thing, when I paid the
bills the night before we left, I could not make the checkbook balance
again. There is $1100 more money in our account than what there should
be. I know the Lord is blessing us and providing for our needs because of
your missionary service and faith. I know we are being blessed all the
time because you have the faith and desire to serve the Lord and bring people
to Jesus Christ. Thank you. I feel very blessed and loved. I
know the Lord provides for us every day and in our times of need. I know
he is aware of our needs, our wants, our desires, and our fears. He helps
us in every way possible. He is there in even the tiniest details of our
lives. He cares when we have ten year old tires on the trailer that will
cause us to not be safe and he provides ways for us to get them changed so we
can be safe in all that we do. I testify that our Heavenly Father knows
us and loves us and He is aware of our every need. I testify that
missionary blessings are very real!
I love you and I am so very proud of you and
all that you are doing to bless the people of Chile. Keep on serving and
loving the people and the Lord.
Love always and forever,
Mom
The baptism went amazingly
well and I saw so many changes in the family in the course of the meetings.
Their hearts were opened to the message of the gospel and were softened from
their hardened state. The family of 7 were able to open up and all of them came.
Before we were only able to bring a portion of the family, Antonela and her
Dad. Sunday all 7 were there and Antonela was baptized. We are going to visit
them this week a couple times and on Sunday it will be her confirmation. The
family is doing really well.
We had 46 people at church
and we were able to bring a recent convert to church that hasn`t gone in 3
months. We are doing all that we can to help the people and the Lord is
providing the miracles and the preparation in the paths. He has so many other
people being prepared and that we are finding through His guidance. I know that
He is guiding the family and teaching many lessons to the family through
choices and mistakes and refining each and every one to follow the promptings
of His spirit. The Lord blesses and takes away blessings according to our
choices. I am sure of this divine truth.
Things are going so well. We
are loving the work and being guided spiritually. The Lord has been revealing
more divine truths to me about my life and my future. I am very grateful to Him
for showing me parts of my path to come before-hand to prepare me even more for
those special moments.
The Lord has placed special
people close to each and every one of us so that we can serve them and help
them recognize and accept Jesus Christ and His Restored Gospel. We are
instruments, like you once taught me through an email that you sent me, and
when we are living so that he can mold us, we can help shape others. I have
started being a more effective instrument and letting Him use me more
effectively through the refinement that he is working. It is a necessary
process and He knows His tools and uses us when we let Him work. This truth has
changed my mission and I am accepting His work and not mine. I know that He is
guiding everything and makes all the decisions in the work and I am just here
when He needs me to be. I promise as you and those in the family let Him work
through us, He will give to each of them the opportunity to serve and help His
children return, accept, or continue living the Gospel with more strength. He
has chosen children still waiting specially for each of you to help learn and
accept the Gospel. He is just waiting for you all to be ready to let Him
work.
Thanks Braxton. Profound wisdom from
you today. I hope you are writing in your journal about the special
experiences you are having with the spirit. I hope you will share some of
those special things with us when you get home.
Tell us more about the other investigators
you are teaching. How are they
progressing?
We had 3 investigators at
church, the boyfriend of Antonela`s older sister and the mom of a recent
convert. The Mom isn`t married, but we are going to work to get them married,
so that she can be baptized. She has a testimony, just needs to get married to
be baptized. I know that she is being prepared right now and the Lord placed
her here to be prepared for baptism with us right now. We are working towards
so many results, but the people need to make the decisions and believe for
themselves. I believe in all of them and I am just waiting for them to choose
correctly to be baptized.
How old are the other siblings in
Antonela’s family?
16, 11, Antonela is 9 and
then 6, and 2. With the parents.
