They Pray and They Go

I recently was re-reading a talk given by President Monson from general conference in April, 2002.  He told the story of the seafaring Tahitian boat captains who may have leaky vessels, stormy weather, no navigational devices, but they pray and they go.  They pray and they go.  The thought of that was most inspiring to me as a missionary.  So often, as we go out to visit someone, we have no idea what we're getting into.  Our car functions well, so we don't have a "leaky vessel," but the weather is often stormy and unpredictable.  We do have a map and "Nancy" our navigational device, but about half the time, I would say, the address is wrong or does not exist.  So we find ourselves knocking on doors and asking for help.  We're finally learning that we may be seeking a certain person, but it MAY be these other people we meet along the way that the Lord has REALLY sent us to.  For instance, last Saturday, we went to find a brother who is on the branch list as a member, but no one knows.  We went to where the map and Nancy took us, but there was no house.  The address simply did not exist.  So we went up to the door of a very large and beautiful home.  A cute little boy and girl answered.  They were thrilled to see gaijins (foreigners) at their door.  They got their mother, who was so nice and kind.  She had never heard of the individual, but she looked up and found that people of that last name lived about a block away.  The little boy was excited to try his "Hello" and "My name is____" out on us.  We thanked them and drove back out and around to where she had indicated we should try.  We were surprised to find she had run down the street to show us the way.  The little boy ran the whole way right by our car to guide us.  We had similar experiences as we knocked on doors throughout the neighborhood.  Most everyone tried to help us.  We did get one very cranky, old lady that told us to get out of there.  We never did find him.  But we realized that cute little family may be why we were sent to that neighborhood.  So we went back and gave them the plate of cookies we had prepared for the man we were seeking.  They were thrilled to get American cookies.  We plan to go back and give them a bigger plate and an eikaiwa (English class) pamphlet to invite them to come and learn English for free. 

When we pray and then go, we can then trust the spirit to take us where we need to be. “Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.” Proverbs 3:5-6
I know this isn't that profound of a story, but it is comforting to me to know that we are on His errand and He will guide and protect us. We have experiences like this over and over again. It reminds me of a favorite scripture:

     “Whoso receiveth you, there I will be also, for I will go before your face. I will be on your right hand and on your left, and my Spirit shall be in your hearts, and mine angels round about you, to bear you up.”  Doctrine and Covenants 84:86

In that same talk, President Monson spoke directly to the missionaries.  He quoted a scripture that I think was just for me.  I had never noticed it before, but it sure hit home to this senior missionary.  It is from Doctrine and Covenants, section 100:

“Verily, thus saith the Lord unto you, my friends …, your families are well; they are in mine hands, and I will do with them as seemeth me good; for in me there is all power.”

Can you even imagine how comforting that scripture is to us, when our family is so far away- having surgeries, babies, car accidents, etc.  We will continue to pray and go. 

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