When I was yet preparing to go on a
mission, I was particularly fond of the late night conversations with my
brother who taught me the things I needed to know and do before I go out there
doing the Lord’s work. A few of the great lessons he taught me were the power
of prayer and the role of the Holy Ghost – how this knowledge would come in
handy in the field. When doing the Lord’s work, one would need Heaven’s
intervention if he or she were to do the work right. After all, this is His
work. He alone knows whose hearts are ready for Him, and the missionaries are,
as they say, the instruments. Let me share an experience I had that
strengthened my faith in our loving Heavenly Father.
Late
in September 2009, bagyong Ondoy (international code name Ketsana) hit the
Philippines. It brought with it so much rain (about 2 months amount of rain)
that flooded almost half the Philippines. I had just been called as a trainer
when Ondoy entered the country. Poor Sister Dacquel (my trainee), first day in
the field and the first to welcome her was the bagyo. We were at that time unfortunately
assigned in one of the worst hit areas in the country. But that’s not the end
of the story because obviously we didn’t die, so just stay a little longer
because it’s about to get better, I promise. Anyway, the rain poured non-stop
for 2 days and most of the places in our area were flooded. The people living
near the Laguna bay had it worst because the whole area was flooded for
over a month. That means our progressing investigators. All of them!
Thankfully, they all had been accounted for and were temporarily living in
evacuation centers in the area. But because of the risk of Leptospirosis, we
weren’t allowed to go to the flooded areas until the floodwaters have
completely subsided.
So
I think it’s safe to say that I was really frustrated. I wanted to see those
people I have come to love. I wanted to comfort them personally and teach them
that one thing that provides peace in this life, and I wanted to let them know
that Heavenly Father watches over them. But there was no way to see them. We,
of course helped the ward in providing help to the members in need of
assistance but for over a week, we tried to find new people to teach, but the
only areas left for us to tract were the subdivisions with rich people and
their big houses. That included the subdivision we lived in. These people seemed
so untouchable but they didn’t want to have anything to do with us. I can
almost guarantee that at least once, I had hoped that these people would also experience
what it’s like to lose their homes and live with nothing but a dipper in their
hands.
Weeks
passed and we still couldn’t find new investigators, but I knew that somewhere
out there, someone is ready to hear our message, given the circumstances at
that time. But I didn’t know where to look for that person. So one day during
my personal study time, I asked the Lord to help me find that person. Just as I
was about to end my prayer, I had an impression to look at the Former
Investigator section in the area book. I had checked that section before, but
there really wasn’t much to it. There were names but no complete address or the
other way around, so I just ignored it and got ready for my study. When I
opened my Preach my Gospel, guess which page it landed on? The Former
Investigator page. I read it through and I again felt the impression to check
the area book. When it was time for companionship study, I told my companion
about the impression, and she got all excited about it, so we checked it
together and tried to find names with complete address but to no avail. It was
really frustrating. Why would the Lord direct me here if He wasn’t leading me
to someone? I kept looking and the names of people with no address just kept
piling up. Through our search, the name of a woman kept coming back to my
attention. The name was Carol Bangay. She was actually scheduled for baptism a
few months prior, but it didn’t happen because she and her family moved to
another area. I was particularly interested in her but I didn’t know where to
start looking for this sister.
Proselyting
time came and I still kept thinking about all those people who had once heard
the gospel. I thought perhaps one or two were now ready to accept our message,
but I didn’t know where to look for them.
We
had just left our subdivision when I again had an impression, this time, to
take the road that would lead us to the next subdivision. So when we got to the
head of the road, I stopped. My companion looked at me as if asking, “Why’d you
stop?” I looked at her and said, “Let’s try this place.” She looked confused
and responded, “We did. Many times.” And then I said, “Well, let’s try again.”
This time, she didn’t try to argue with me.
Along
the road, there was a small pathway to the right. My previous companion (Sister
Arrieta, who is now my sister-in-law) and I had taken that road as a shortcut
on our way home. I totally forgot about the place but I remember there were two
bahay kubos (Nipa Hut) facing each
other. For some reason, I felt that we needed to go there and so we did. In one
of the houses, there stood a beautiful young girl. She was standing by her
window and was smiling at us. We went and talked to her and asked if she had
anybody with her. That’s when we noticed that she had Cerebral Palsy, so I
figured she wasn’t alone. Just when I was about to knock, a woman, whom we knew
was her mother because of the resemblance, came out of a room. We were about to
greet her when she said, “Sisters! Come in!” As a missionary, you don’t get
that a lot. My companion and I were shocked at the excitement this sister
showed us. She invited us in and asked that we sit down while she gets
something from her room. My companion and I were still speechless. We were both
wondering how she knew us. We were both very nervous and excited at the same
time. Actually, we couldn’t explain the feeling we both had at the time. When
she came out, she had in her hand a copy of the Book of Mormon. I was still speechless
when I saw it. I remember the only word that came out of my mouth was, “Book of
Mormon!”
This
was the time when I had known for certain that Heavenly Father knows each one
of us and is mindful of us. Of course I never doubted that but this time, my
testimony of Him had only gotten stronger and it continues to grow stronger.
This sister, who met us with a smile, said that she had been taught the gospel
before. She said that just the night before, she had prayed to our Heavenly
Father to send the missionaries back to her so she could again feel the peace
she had once felt. She was so worried about her family and about everything
that’s been going on in the world and that the only thing she knew would
protect her family was the gospel. This sister was Sister Carol Bangay. We
found her!
The
Lord indeed knows us individually and He knows our every need. I was so
grateful that I asked Heavenly Father’s help and tried my hardest to be worthy
of the spirit so that when He asked me to do something for His children, I
would get the message.
I
never had the chance to witness Sister Carol’s Baptism, but I remember the
feeling I had when we extended to her the invitation to come unto Christ. She,
with gladness in her heart, accepted the Savior once more.
