Letter from Tacoma #15: February 8, 2016

 Hey Everyone!

Well, this week was pretty fun, what with my Birthday, the super bowl, and a bunch of miracles on the side. Yes, Mom and Dad, I got my birthday package! Thank you for the sweets and for the ties, which I'm guessing Mom picked out for me. I just barely got batteries today for the piano tie Jessica got for me as well, so I can't wait to try it out! ... Though it would have been nice to get at least one book, but hey, the card will do.

Oh yeah, and let's not forget the annual mayhem yesterday that was the super bowl. I honestly can't see why people get so crazy about football, but hey, it was a good enough excuse for the mission president to say no missionaries should be out proselyting during or after the game: Success was not something foreseen in that little period of time, so the whole zone just partied at the Stake Center. But at least some members were kind enough to keep us posted on the score: Go Broncos!

Oh, and not to mention coming out to Washington on a mission has made me a Seahawks fan, so I felt a little sense of victory when the panthers were beaten.

But let's get to more pertinent things while I'm here, shall we? These last few weeks, I've definitely seen some miracles, and there is no denying that God's hand was working in the middle of these.

Miracle #1: The Baby Blessing

About two weeks ago, Elder Alverez and I were going around to visit part-member families in the area, and we came to one that recently got moved onto Joint Base Lewis-Mcchord. They were the Bentley's, and Sister Bentley was a less-active member, while her husband is pentacostal. Upon initial contact, Bro Bentley opened up and had a lot of questions for us, so we've been back to their house a few times to help teach, and just recently decided to take the actual lessons. But we later found out that Sister Bentley was expecting, and was due for delivery very soon. And then a few days later, right when our appointments for the night fell through and we were trying to figure out something to do, we get a call. It was Sister Bentley, telling us that she had just had a baby boy, but he was struggling and needed a blessing. She said Bro Bentley had tried getting ahold of his pentacostal pastor, but he couldn't reach him, so he decided it'd be alright if we came and gave it a shot. At that point, he was looking for anything to help his little boy.

So, we rush over to the hospital, we get in just fine without any hassle. We met the family and the little one, though it was a sad sight; There was a bunch of tubes running from the machines surrounding this baby into the infant, one in particular into his side and into his lungs(?) I could only guess how hard it was for these two parents, just from the looks I saw on their faces. We jumped right ahead and Elder Alvarez gave the blessing, and immediately everything seemed a lot more calm.

About a day later, we then get a call from this family, and Sister Bentley reported that the blessing had been the turning point, and now their son was quickly recovering. She told us with joy that now her husband had no doubt about the power of the priesthood and was gladly looking forward to taking the missionary lessons. Talk about being prepared by God, huh?

Miracle #2: Matthew and Mark

This one actually happened on my birthday. We were out tracting in Tillacum, a neighborhood that is as ghetto as our area gets, and one that members of our ward are very wary of due to past events that have happened there. It was dark, like it always is in the winter, but working down the street, we came to this one house and knocked on the door. The door was answered by this woman, but right behind her, a nine year old popped into view and shouted, "Missionaries!"

Surprised, we were invited in, and greeted by another boy, about the age of eleven, who had a similar reaction of recognition. The mom of these two explained to us that they were both members, but she wasn't: Their grandparents had introduced the boys to the church while they were staying with them over the summer. They had been living in Alaska and had been going to church there for over a year now, before the just recently moved down to Washington. Since then, they hadn't had the chance to find where the nearest lds church was.

Glad to find more members for the congregation, though a little curious as to why we didn't have their records (otherwise they would have been found and invited to church earlier), we gave them the church address and when services would start.

The mom thanked us and we continued to talk. But then the youngest of the boys, Matthew, asked us, "When can I get baptized?"

And then right after, the elder brother, Mark, asked the same thing.

Our jaws dropped immediately, "You guys haven't been baptized yet?"

Then the mom explained that they moved just before either Matthew or Mark were 8 years old, and they hadn't been to church since then. So neither of them had had the chance to be baptized because of that. But to make a long story short, we put them both on date to be baptized this weekend. It just goes to show that God doesn't forget any of his children and will provide all the chances they need to return to Him.

Well, how's that for some awesome stories? I'll admit I've been struggling lately, and I can confess that I'm not the best. But I can testify that the gospel was never meant for perfect people, and after the trial of repentance, we just need to quit beating ourselves up for the things we do wrong. I have a few things in my past I've been beating myself over, but not anymore. Now I've learned how to forgive myself, and I feel better than ever.

1). From the desk of the Birthday Boy

2). Plane with a satellite dish on top. Cool.

3). One of my favorite roads from my last area, Key Center. Kind of missing all the green of the rain forest now.

I love you all!

Thanks for reading!

Elder R. Austin Moe