We had a
crazy bashing story which will not be shared, but we somehow ended up with
three of the lady's refrigerator boxes to recycle. (Well, we are nice and she
is blind so when she asked us to dispose of the boxes we did.) We folded them up as much as possible and
shoved them into our recycling bin. Sister Pope then tried to jump on top of
them in the recycling bin which led to much needed comic relief for both of us
from the highly stressful situation. It was a tender mercy.
This was a
group of scriptures that really resonated with me this week-Ether Chapter 6,
verses 7-12. This is the account of a people who crossed great waters in
barges. Please read.
7 And it
came to pass that when they were buried in the deep there was no water that
could hurt them, their vessels being tight like unto a dish, and also they were
tight like unto the ark of Noah; therefore when they were encompassed about by
many waters they did cry unto the Lord, and he did bring them forth again upon
the top of the waters.
8 And it
came to pass that the wind did never cease to blow towards the promised land
while they were upon the waters; and thus they were driven forth before the
wind.
9 And they
did sing praises unto the Lord; yea, the brother of Jared did sing praises unto
the Lord, and he did thank and praise the Lord all the day long; and when the
night came, they did not cease to praise the Lord.
10 And
thus they were driven forth; and no monster of the sea could break them,
neither whale that could mar them; and they did have light continually,
whether it was above the water or under the water.
11 And
thus they were driven forth, three hundred and forty and four days upon the
water.
12 And
they did land upon the shore of the promised land. And when they had set their
feet upon the shores of the promised land they bowed themselves down upon the
face of the land, and did humble themselves before the Lord, and did shed tears
of joy before the Lord, because of the multitude of his tender mercies over
them.
There are
lots of things I like about this story. First off, the people were continually
praying to their Heavenly Father, and because they were, they received light in
their barges through the whole journey. What a HUGE tender mercy from the Lord
that would be. Imagine a giant wooden thing that looks like an almond from the
outside but is hollow inside. This is what these people sailed in. All of their
supplies and animals were in the barges with them, and they were in them for
344 days. Imagine the stench, the feces, and without a way of light, but the
Lord provided a way as they exercised their faith. It didn't matter when they
were floating on calm waves or immersed in tumultuous water, they prayed to
their Heavenly Father. And they were blessed.
A little
over two weeks ago was when we took our crazy trip to Birkenfeld, OR and lost
the bumper to our car. On that trip, Sister Pope lost her missionary name tag
somewhere in the middle of the boondocks. Sister Pope and I knew there was no
way possible she would be able to retrieve her name tag, but even the small
things, Heavenly Father cares about. This Friday, during service, a lady
came up to me and said, "Sister Frisch, I found a name tag that looks
exactly like yours but it says 'Sister Pope'. Do you know a Sister Pope?"
And I told her, “yes” and we were able to help her at the food bank. This
lady-Stacy- was walking her dog all the way out in a town near Birkenfeld and
found the tag. It was in her car and was returned to Sister Pope. Never in a
million years would we have thought Sister Pope was going to see that name tag
again. Also, the chances of Stacy coming to the food bank, on just the right
day at the right time, is just crazy! It's one of those "God doesn't do
random" moments. I'm thinking there was a reason Stacy found the name tag
and later we met her. I have a feeling we are going to see her again. It was a
huge tender mercy!
Heavenly
Father loves me. I know that. He also loves all of you. I know that too!
Love,
Sister Frisch
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