A Lost Pen

On Tuesday we started knocking on doors in a neighborhood right off highway 5. We didn't get more than 100 yards from the car when it started dumping rain on us. The raindrops are so big here, I didn't want my scriptures to get soaked, so we made a mad dash back to the car so that we wouldn't get soaked to the bone. When the rain subsided, the clouds cleared and the rest of our evening was illuminated with a beautiful sunset. A few families let us I. To talk for a few minutes, but none were interested in investigating further. When we got home Elder Thorpe realized he was missing his special pen. This pen was a gift to him from a very good friend, and he was really torn up huge loss of it. I felt bad for his sorrow, and prayed that we would be able to find it. We searched the apartment, we searched the car, and it was no where to be found. We decided to go back to that neighborhood soon and see if it had dropped that night. The next few days passed and it didn't feel like there was a good time to go check, until Saturday evening. As we retraced our steps, I saw the pen glimmering on the side of the road, unscathed, just laying there! Elder Thorpe was overjoyed, but I also noticed a man watering his garden. I ran over to talk to him, he was taking care of his okra plants.. He was Filipino! I think I am more cultured in Filipino than Chinese, so it was great to talk with him! He found out quickly that I don't speak much Tagalog, but I do know a lot about the food and he loves to cook just like my dad. We got talking about the church and he seems to be well settled in the Catholic Church, but he would like to come to church and talk again sometime! Isn't that amazing how what we thought was a tragedy led us to a miracle? I'm learning just how involved The Lord is in our lives. It might seem that he isn't doing a lot because we don't see him personally, but in reality he is doing so much. It's great that I'm on a mission and I have the opportunity to serve others, but the credit goes completely to Him. This is His work, and we are His children. If we follow the promptings that He gives to us, we get to be a part of it and receive the joy that comes from helping others return back to Him.