Two Miracles

It's been a week full of highs (and a few lows) but we are so grateful to be a part of the new Barbados Bridgetown mission!  It seems like the adversary has been trying his best to discourage the growth of the church here.  We have met with many obstacles, but we are amazingly calm and cheerful.  Maybe I should call this three miracles because of that!

Yesterday, we had two distinct miracles.  I will tell mine and then Elder Turner will tell his.

Over a week ago, the Mission Office in Trinidad sent over a suitcase full of files.  When I looked through them, I did not see the ones that I desperatly needed.  I contacted the secretary there and she said she had sent them and to look again.  I looked again.  And again.  And again!  I asked the AP's if they remembered seeing them in the suitcase they brought over.  They said they saw three sets of files.  They were sure of it.  We only got two sets in the suit case.  I lost a couple of nights sleep over this.  It was information on the incoming missionaries.  Things like copies of their passports and driver's licences, birth certificates, police and FBI reports.  All the kinds of things that should be guarded and kept safe and I could not find any of the 23 folders!  We were worried that they might have been stolen out of the suitcase.

On July 2, all the missionaries on the island had a meeting with President and Sister Herrington.  I really felt the spirit as he spoke.  As he was talking, it came clearly to me that the Lord knew where the files were and if I had faith, he would help me find them.  Right as I was thinking that, the DHL delivery man came in with a huge box.  It was a little disruptive because it was in the middle of Pres Herrington's testimony.  I continued to pray and to put my faith in Him.

About an hour later.  I had a chance to open the box.  It had been sent from the Mission Office in Trinidad on June30 and it had arrived on July 2.  That in itself is a miracle!  That just does not happen in the islands.  I looked in the box and what did I see?  You guessed it!  The files I needed were right on top!

I don't know if they were always in that box (because the other secretary insists that she sent them in the suitcase) or the Lord put them there.  I immediatley gave thanks.  I truly believe it was a miracle.

I am constantly amazed at how the Lord answers our prayers, even before we ask them!  I am so grateful to know that He love ME!  Of all people!  And he cares about each of our daily needs.  It was a real blessing.

So, now for my miracle. When we rented the new mission office space, it was totally without furnishing or closets, except for one small room that was sort of a kitchen and had one small wall of cupboards. As we began figuring out how to use the space, we stored what few odds and ends we had received, the keys to the outside doors, the keys to the inside doors, the contract copies and some instruction manuals. The outside doors had electronic keys and we passed those out but the inside doors just had plain old metal keys and since were not locking them, we had just left those keys in the kitchen cupboard,

Fast forward 2 weeks to the first day of the new mission. The Mission President has arrived and is having a meeting with all the misisonaries on Barbados. The meeting was to be in held at a chapel but the electricity was off there so we moved it to the office - it was kind of a stretch but it worked. We had a morning session and then had a local restaurant deliver individual lunches. The morning session went well, the lunch arrived a bit early and we helped the lady put it in the kitchen, shut the door and continued the meeting. When we broke at noon I went to open the kitchen door and it was locked! And the only keys we had were inside the kitchen! And we had 23 hungry people about to be hungrier! Sister Turner looked at me. I looked at her. I knew we had to get in that kitchen and the door was definitely locked. I had a strong feeling to take a screwdriver and go outside (the far end of the kitchen has a fire exit door that was supposedly alarmed and could only be opend from the inside. So I found a screwdriver and walked outside. Meanwhile Sister T called the building rep to see if she could find another key. When I got to the outside of the door I leaned down and looked at the edge of the door where the latch was and I could see a thin line of metal. I stuck the screwdriver in and pried a bit and it moved, I did it two more times and the door popped open, I walked in unlocked the door on the other side and there was Sister T looking panicked.  She had talked to the security guard and everyone had gone home for lunch and there was no spare key to be found.  She was amazed and so was I. I'm still not sure how I did that and I am not planning on taking up a career in burglary, but apparently the Lord agreed that it would be good to continue the conference with a lunch. It all worked out - no damage to the door and no, we won't keep storing the keys in the kitchen.

We are so grateful for the tender mercies that happen each and every day.  We have enjoyed seeing pictures of all of you having a great time together!  We would love to be a part of it but know that whe have been led here "for such a time as this".  We pray that we will be equal to the task.

Here are a few more pictures showing how old we look and the new office a bit.  I made cupcakes in honor of July 1 and July 4.  It is a great group of missonaries. 

Remember, we love YOU!