Hello family,
I didn't want to send this to absolutely everyone because I do not want to allow the "praises of the world" to ring in my ears. So, I am just going to share it with each of you.
Miracle of the week-
Not sure how many of you know, but our area right now if you were to drive from one end to the other, would take about an hour and a half. The town I cover is more that just Monticello, it is also La Sal, and Paradox Colorado. We only go out to La Sal one day and Paradox one day because that's what seems to make sense to distribute our time. (four wards in Monticello, two branches, only sixish days to work)
Last week while we were out in La Sal the rain was coming down like never before. Utah doesn't typically get a lot of rain and when it does what happens is a flash flood. We just got done with an appointment and were driving to find someone else to teach when we drove across a flood of water going across the road. It wasn't too deep to drive over, so I decided to drive through it and get the truck clean.
When we got on the other side we could see that the water was following a path towards a home just right off the road. There was a fence outside the house that had some kind of barrier that was redirecting the water, but was still flooding in around the sides of their house. This barrier that the fence had was creating at least a couple feet of water all around the fence. Which made it nearly impossible to get in without getting wet. We stopped and got out to see if they were in need of help at all. After standing on the edge of the water and seeing that there was no way to get in without opening the gate and letting all the water in, I took a step back and gave my best effort to clear the water and the four foot fence. I landed on the fence and took a solid leap off to the other side.
My companion was having a tough time getting over, so I just went ahead to see if they needed help. I made my way to the back of the house to knock on the door and see if anyone was home. After I knocked curiously wondering if anyone was home, and after not receiving an answer, I started to yell and call out to see if anyone would hear me. A voice came from behind a tree that was blocking my view, but I could see that there was a garden on the other side. As I moved around the tree to get a better view, I could start to see a huge garden that had been the place where the water was gathering. The depth and expanse of water and mud that existed was intimidating. In the mud I first saw an older woman who was reaching out to her husband who must have been at least seventy years old. Her husband was on one knee with the other stuck, and was using a very flimsy plastic green chair to keep himself up out of the very deep mud. It was obvious that he had been struggling for a while to get himself out.
After taking all of this in within an instant I started to take steps towards the mud that awaited to suck me in. The wife immediately exclaimed, "No! Your clothes are so nice, it's okay!" After looking down at myself and then looking at this older man, I shrugged it off and made my way to help him. As I took a step into the mud, it must have gone up to at least mid calf. Even for a young guy like myself, this was a sticky situation to be in. I reached out and we clasped right hands and I put my left hand under his right armpit to start pulling him up. He was able to gain his footing with care, but was losing one of his boots in the process. I continued to hold him up and reached down to pull his boot more securely on. We then made our way out the mess of about eight feet wide of this deep mud. As we were getting out and onto solid ground, my companion made his way to us and helped keep him sturdy as we sat him down on his porch. He then asked his wife to run and grab his oxygen because he was out of breathe and normally needed it to even survive.
I don't know exactly what could have happened to this man if we didn't come. Maybe he would have gotten out, maybe he wouldn't have, but I do know that that mans heart was softened. Moments before I arrived he was cursing and swearing up a storm, and then as he started to realize his struggle and what could potentially become of him, he started to pray that the Lord would forgive him and help him out. Literally right after his prayer, I showed up.
This experience was truly humbling to know that I could have helped someone like that. I'm not the greatest missionary in the world, but I'm grateful to know that the Lord allows me little opportunities like this to help someone in need. I hope and pray that all of you might be able to look for those around you who are "stuck" and reach out to them. In a very real sense, their life is at stake. Our own lives are at stake, and the only way to save them is to lose them.
I love you all! Sorry this was so long!! The work is going great!
Elder Sandberg
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