Tender mercies

Was asked to "model" lipstick.

So many tender mercies the past two weeks, too many to write about! Lots of ups and downs this week, for a variety of reasons. It’s been a hard but really good couple of weeks.

A less active member committed to coming to church this Sunday! I'm so excited for that! It'll be her first time coming back in over 30 years. She (Janice) is a sweetheart and has been through so much this year, including the sudden loss of her husband.

Last week, my companion and I had a really scary but interesting experience that really opened our eyes. We were tracting in an area called Beckrow, which is about an hour+ walk there and an hour+ walk back, so it's kind of an all-day thing when we go.

Christmas Eve with a family

The perfect duck face!

On our walk back, it was dark and we were about 40 minutes (almost halfway home) into our walk when we saw this guy walking towards us. Normally, I go up to and talk with every single soul that I come across. But this night, the spirit told me not to approach this guy, which I thought was odd. Then I got a feeling and sense of danger. When I told my companion about this feeling, we decided to keep walking. About five minutes down the country road, we saw a woman crying and distraught. We stopped to check on her and learned that the man we passed had just beaten her up and taken her money. It appeared they had partied together and things had gotten out of hand. I used my nursing skills to begin taking care of her and trying to get her out of shock. She was just not in a good place at that moment, for obvious reasons.

Bob and Louis, two of my
favorite people!

We carried her back to Beckrow and while walking she shared how she wished she could just die. I knew the Lord put us in that spot, at that time, to help this woman in more than one way. She didn’t want to call police, so we kept walking. The man headed back towards us so we slipped into a little convenience store and hid in the back. The man kept watch outside; I’ve never prayed so hard in my life than while we were in the back of that shop. We called a church member who came and picked us up. As we drove her to her hotel room, she explained that she had started reading the Bible 13 days ago and that we were her “sign and her angels.” We got her settled, took care of her wounds and said a prayer with her before we left. The prayer was so powerful and the spirit so strong in that moment. I truly felt the love the lord has for her and I knew what he needed her to hear. So we both balled our eyes out. We exchanged numbers, gave her a Book of Mormon to read and I actually gave her my badge because the spirit told me too. She was safe we were safe! She now wants to learn more about the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. I know how much the lord knows her and loves her because all day things worked out so that we could be there for her. And he protected us so much!!! The Lord is so good! It's just crazy and so wonderful to really feel that love for this woman; someone I had never met before that night!

Man, the gospel is so true, and the Lord knows us so well. He gives us each our own little angels on this earth to save us or to help us and that night, we really got to be that hand for the Lord – we did what the Lord would have if he were here in Mildenhall. So neat to be apart of that and to use my nursing skills, too, because I miss working so much!

Many, many miracles happening in Mildenhall! I'm so just glad I listened to all the promptings especially the one to stop for "Tina." Kind of humbled me a bit too because I don't always act on my promptings in fear of what others might think. But, I will always listen and act on promptings now, even if it makes someone mad. I report to the Lord first. So flippin’ neat; the Lord is so awesome!

Transfers were today and I’ll stay here in Mildenhall for another six weeks, but received a new companion today. All is good – I'm healthy and happy and feeling very blessed!

Thinking of you all and so thankful for you! Grateful, too, for this awesome experience and feeling the Lord's influence in my life daily! God is good! He is AWESOME! So thankful for all of His tender mercies and for the angels that surround me daily!

Love, 
Sister A in the UK!