God's Hand is evident in all things!!!

     This week, my studies have focused on the fact that God is real and loves us. Recently, I have come in contact with a couple of people who just cannot seem to wrap their minds around the fact that there is a God. They have questions like: "If there is a God, why do bad things happen?" Or "How can you really know He is there, if you have never seen Him?" As I have had the opportunity to talk to, and learn from these people, my testimony that there is a God has become significantly stronger. The scripture in Alma 30 verse 44 perfectly summarizes my in depth studies... that all things denote there is a God... the trees, and the flowers, the birds, and our own bodies, that we have the scriptures and all the ancient prophet's testimonies, as well as modern day prophet's witnesses, and not only that, on a daily basis I meet with people who know that there is a God, and they testify of his hand so abundantly in their lives. Which brings me to a wonderous miracle that has been ongoing throughout my mission. It is a long story, but I can promise you, it will strengthen your faith and help you to see God's hands more fully in your own life...

     It started about a month before I entered into the MTC. My dad called me, and expressed a desire to be more involved with our lives (mine and my siblings). My parents are divorced, and my dad lives in Alabama, so he has not been very involved in our lives. So I told him, well if you want be more involved, then you need to make some changes in your life. Not that my dad is a bad person, he has just made a lot of bad choices that have deeply affected his life. I told him what he needed to do first, was to find the missionaries in his area (because I was about to serve my mission), and be taught by them. My dad agreed. :)

     Fast forward a month... at this time, I am in the MTC, and I meet these two Elders at a fireside, and find out they are going to be serving in Birmingham, Alabama (where my dad lives). So, I give them the assignment to go and find my dad. About a month after that, I received an email from one of the Elders I met at the MTC, and he said that he had found my dad and given him the Book of Mormon, but that my dad had moved, and now he couldn't find him again. :(

    I hear from my mom, a few months later, that my dad had read the Book of Mormon, knew it was the word of God, and decided that he needed to make a change. Change is difficult and takes a lot of time and effort, but my dad checked himself into a three month rehab facility and began the rocky road to recovery. :)

     Three months later, I received an email from my dad saying that he had moved to a place that was right across the street from the LDS church. He decided to attend church one Sunday, and as he was introducing himself to everyone, the guy sitting next to him turned and asked, "Is your daughter named Leela?'' It was the other missionary I had met in the MTC!!!  My dad and him had found each other!!!!!!!!  After that, my dad began learning from the missionaries and on Christmas day over Skype, my dad told me that he had been drug and alcohol free for 101 days and counting!!! Not only that, but he was beginning to feel happy again, free and excited about life. Tears of joy streamed down my face to see firsthand the effects of the Atonement on someone I love so dearly.

BIG :)

      Although it took work and perseverance, my dad was baptized January 17, by the Elder who I met in the MTC.  Baptism is just the first step on a long road to lasting recovery, but that step has been made, and I know that as my dad relies on the Lord, he will be able to make it through anything. There are many other things that played a part in this miraculous story... the fact that I was a week late to the MTC, which allowed for me to meet the missionaries that were going to Birmingham, and would eventually baptize my dad... or that the Elder who baptized my dad saw me while in the MTC and felt he needed to talk to me.

      This miracle, along with many other amazing miracles I have witnessed, solidifies my faith and stand as a witness that God's hand is in all things!! God is ever mindful of every people, and we all have the opportunity for second chances. I know that God lives, and that he loves us, and that through our Savior Jesus Christ, each and every day hold for us a new beginning. I also know that through the Book of Mormon we can come to know Christ personally, and receive the strength and guidance to accomplish marvelous things!

     This I leave with you in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen!! Amen!! Amen!!

~ With Bunches of Love,

 Sister Jordan

Mailing Address: 1109 E 66th Street

Kearney, NE 68847