Stories of Faith

We have had a busy week, thanks to the monstrous Mendocino Complex Fire. Here are some things we experienced:

- We have had literally a front row seat to the fire and the drama it is causing. It burned within ten miles of where we are living, but fortunately, we were not evacuated. It is now burning away from us and has become the largest fire in the history of California. 325,000 acres and still burning.

- The fire resulted in horrible air quality. We ended up doing our daily exercises in the church gym instead of the usual morning hike.

- Along with the other missionaries here, we did spend time serving in the evacuation centers. We transported donated goods, cleaned and moved tables, helped people unload their cars, set up cots, and spent time just talking to the frightened and bored evacuees.

- 29 families from our congregation were evacuated. Many of them were also evacuated with the previous fire back in June. None of their homes burned. They were allowed back into their homes just yesterday. We spent time checking in with as many as we could via Facebook and texts. It is a frightening and trying time for them all.

- To get a break from fire and smoke, on our P-day, we drove into the mountains to hike this trail we had heard about on-line. Once we arrived, we saw that the area had burned to the ground in the Valley fire of 2015. The trail was again open, so we hiked six miles on it regardless. We enjoyed the clear smoke-free sky.

- In our Stake Center in Ukiah in the foyer sits a huge Jade rock. It would take about four men to lift it. For weeks I have been trying to find out just why it is there. No one seemed to know. Until I asked my Bishop, who has lived in the area for decades. It has an interesting story. Many years ago, the Boy Scouts who meet at that church found the huge rock in the Forest near where they are camping. So, they carried it home with them (somehow). They were so proud of their rock and the fact that they carried it so far that the Ward put it in the foyer to show off and it has been there ever since. Leave it to the Boy Scouts........

When not dealing with fire drama, we have been teaching some really neat families to help them come closer to Christ. Here are some entries in Sister Stewart-Longhurst's journal from the past week regarding our work with some of them:

"I keep thinking maybe we’ve heard all the stories of faith from the people we are working with, but they seem to be opening their souls and sharing more deeply with us every day. With each visit I feel my love for them growing so much that I keep thinking my heart will burst. I think it needs to grow a few sizes, more likely a LOT of sizes to be able to contain all the love my Heavenly Father wants me put inside me!

Here is a sampling of their stories:

A brother shared an experience from work today, of how he overcame his fear of heights to work on some plumbing about 20 feet off the ground, accessed by a rickety and unstable ladder. He’s been terrified of heights most of his life. But he HAD to get this job done today, and quickly. Feeling desperate he reached out to God in prayer for help. Instantly he was overcome with a calm assurance and knew how to safely proceed, before long finishing the job without incident. Through prayer and his faith, the fear vanished!

One of “our people” shared how she overcame multiple addictions—Meth, cigs, alcohol, and pot—entirely through her trust in God. As a teen she was introduced to Methamphetamines as a way to dull her pain. She quickly added cigarettes, alcohol and pot to the list of substances she used regularly for the same purpose. Meth was the first addiction she tackled. How did she do it? Through prayer and faith that God always hears her prayers and helps her lay aside her addictions. She tackled alcohol next. Then cigarettes. The pot was the hardest to give up. She gives God all the credit for kicking those addictions, and for making it through lots of other difficult afflictions. And she testified to us of the joy of the gospel and expressed her wish that her family have that joy and peace now and forever. We felt such an amazing, powerful spirit as she testified.

Another brother is doing well. His health has improved dramatically since our first visit, he thinks due to a combination of medicine and our prayers. He seems to have faith to do whatever we ask him, but he’s worried about the fire getting his house. He listened to our message, but never really took his eyes off his window to the north where he’s watching the smoke for signs the fire is moving closer. He said he’s being prompted to double his home insurance coverage, and we agreed he should follow that prompting.

Another woman has SO much faith. She’s had another miracle in her life this week: As she fights the battle to quit smoking, the taste of cigarettes has suddenly become horrible to her. When the craving hits, without thinking about it she lights up and puts the cigarette in her mouth long enough for her taste buds to realize it tastes horrible before she quickly removes it and snuffs it out. She said with a smile “Heavenly Father made me to hate the taste of cigarettes.”

We are humbled by the examples of simple faith in God that we see through the lives of these people every day. They are teaching us much in the way they continually look to God for help in time of need."