Well, maybe you can imagine what it must’ve been like to have 300 new members of a church in your ward who all speak a different language and are very new to the culture of the church. How do you teach them to give priesthood blessings? How do you teach them to have visiting teaching and home teaching lessons? How do you nicely inform them that families sit together in family units? How do you find enough translators for every class, situation, need?
The situation was discouraging at times. However, understanding the miracle of their conversion energized the entire ward, especially the leadership.
As the RS president of the Asoke English Ward in 2005, Sister M had all this on her plate along with the typical needs of an international ward. Overwhelmed by needs, she prayed. All these wonderful new members were very much on her mind.
As a wife a US diplomat and mother of 5 children, she needed to spend some of the summer in the United States. This didn’t keep her from praying for and planning for her new sisters.
While she was on the plane home, she struck up a conversation with a business man. She told him of the wonderful miracle of the 300 new members. She told him of their needs – mainly gainful employment to get them out of poverty. She told him of her plans…. and he (wonderful man!) wrote her a check for $1000 US dollars!!
Her plan was to buy 4 or 5 sewing machines and teach them how to sew. She hadn’t known how she was going to get the money for the sewing machines, but this one inspired conversation helped her buy them. Her plan was to teach them a trade that could help them make a living. Excited to help, the other RS sisters in the ward donated fabric. The teachers were legal Cambodian members – Brother and Sister Eng. Their first project was making lap quilts for a local Senior living center.
behold I say unto you, that by bsmall and simple things are great things brought to pass;
Alma 37:6
Prayers to Heavenly Father invite Him to be a major part of the minor details of our lives!
krhofhiens.com 