First, Alyssa gave an amazing homecoming talk. She related a story of an older man, a devout Catholic, who had no interest in hearing from our missionaries. They said fine, but still wanted to talk about Christ. Slowly, this man's heart was softened. He hadn't been able to read for years due to failing eyesight, but they felt impressed to give him a Book of Mormon. He accepted it, and found that he could read it. He was frustrated, because he still couldn't read even the headlines of a newspaper, but the Book of Mormon was crystal clear. He soon found himself deep into the book.
They then felt impressed to invite him to church, even though he hadn't left his house in years. This man walked for over 3 hours to get to church, and was so blessed for doing so.
She told another story of a very rainy Nicaragua day. The streets were filled with water up to their knees, but the missionaries decided to go to church anyway, since it was Sunday. As they neared the church, they could see a group of young men waiting anxiously. As people neared the church, which was surrounded by water up to their chests, these young men would go out and carry the church members into the church. They were exhausted, but they didn't stop and helped each church member arrive safely.
The story that she told of the last Sacrament she had in Nicaragua touches my soul each time I hear it. Things were scary as the missionaries had been evacuated to a hotel in the capital, and were awaiting word on where they all were going. They had passed through explosions, protests and barricades. They had left most of their possessions behind. But the main desire these missionaries had was to partake of the Sacrament. They gathered in a large conference room, and the bread and water were blessed and passed. She says it was the most spiritual meeting she has been in, and I think some of that same Spirit shows up when she tells the story.
It was so great to have friends and family attend church with us and gather at our house afterwards. However, one of the most touching interactions was with someone who could not attend. Due to work, health, weather, etc., Alyssa's friend Anna was stranded in Logan. There was just no way she could safely make it down late Saturday night. She sobbed on the phone, and you could feel her love and friendship for Alyssa. We speak of BFFs, and I know Alyssa has found one with Anna.
Now, let's turn our attention to Jason. It's tough being a college student, paying your own way through life, and he does his best to save each and every penny he can. He attends school in Rexburg, and found a ride down for the weekend which would save him some money. They have an app for sharing rides, so it ended up being Jason, the male driver and two females.
When he arrived on Friday, Jason mentioned that the driver was probably the worst driver he has ever been with. We laughed as he told of a few incidents on the way down.
Sunday afternoon came, and Jason was picked up and on his way back to Rexburg. He sends me a SnapChat around 5, showing the blizzard conditions they are driving in. At around 5:30 pm, I receive the following 3 text messages:
If that doesn't get a parents heart racing, I'm not sure what would! Side note, I was slightly impressed that even in this harrowing moment, he made sure to think of a way to save some of his money.....
After he had sent the SnapChat, he had a prompting to say a prayer. In it, he asked that the 4 of them be kept from any serious injury. It was like he knew something bad was coming, and did the only thing he could think of. Well, after a high speed rollover accident, all 4 people in the car were able to walk away. The responding officer said they were lucky, that it should have been a lot worse. I tend to think that prayer might have had something to do with the results.
Big J was still shaken up, had managed to bump his head and was feeling sick, so they called the EMTs. To be safe, he was taken to the hospital in Malad. He checked out ok, which we are very grateful for.
And can I tell you how awesome Malad is? Lori called to get Jason a hotel room for the night. Hotel Malad, in case you ever need a vacation spot! The guy who answered said he had one room and would go open it up and turn on the heat. He also said he wasn't near the office, so he'd just call tomorrow and arrange for payment on the room. He also kept asking if Jason was ok.
The doctor from the ER gave Jason a ride to the hotel!
And I don't know how many of these random strangers are from Malad, but at the scene of the accident, strangers stopped to help. One lady took them into her car so they could stay warm while waiting for help. A fish and game officer stopped and helped. Heavenly Father seems to always slip in tender mercies into our lives.
Of course, back home, we were torn with what to do. The weather was fine, and Jason was only about 2 hours away. We said a prayer, and asked that we know if we should go to him or not. We didn't feel strongly one way or the other, so Alyssa and I decided to head out. We did feel we needed something with 4 wheel drive, so we headed to Mapleton to borrow a car. When we arrived, Alyssa almost immediately heard from two of her friends. One was in Logan and showed us the weather there. It was bad. Another had just arrived back in Logan, and had a treacherous drive. She also said she had friends stranded in Pocatello due to road conditions. We still weren't sure, but then for some reason we could not reach Jason on the phone and were delayed about 15 minutes. In that time, the storm arrived and road conditions worsened. It was evident by then we weren't supposed to go.
One final star of the story is another BFF of Alyssa's, Emily. Emily just happened to be headed back to Rexburg on Monday, and offered to pick up Jason. So, he might be sore, but he ended up safe and sound back at school.
God is there for us. He allows nature to run its course, and He doesn't stop all bad things from happening. But so many times I have seen that He knows we are going to pass through a trial, but provides tender mercies to us to help and strengthen us.
