I saw the Lord's hand manifested so many times

This is the most country area that I have been in. 

Thought you might all want to see our beautiful biking helmet hair. 

It has been a great week for the Vero Beach Ward. The ward has made a complete turn around these past 2 transfers. The Elders and us have been working extremely hard with the ward council to get things rolling. The Elders have been working with a part member couple since the beginning of last transfer and they were baptized on Saturday! It was incredible. The ward has waited for this for so long and put so much effort to it. This couple literally was loved back into the church. It was amazing to see how the ward all pulled together for this great miracle. 

This week Sister Montague and I saw the Lord's hand manifested so many times. I know that this is his work and that he knows his children. I want to share 3 experiences that illustrate this: 

1. We had a lesson with an investigator planned but we weren't sure which member we should bring. That night, I prayed and explained the type of member we needed and asked for inspiration as to who we should bring. After my prayer I waited but didn't get any immediate impressions so I retired to bed. In the morning after the alarm went off literally the first thing that came to my mind was a name. "Sister Jones". I, at first, was confused about why she was coming to my mind so early in the morning and then I remembered it was an answer to my previous nights prayer. We called her later that day to invite her to the lesson but had an unexpected twist. When talking with the member she related she had had a really bad fall and was left in much pain. She was feeling hopeless because she needed help doing some cleaning. It has been over a week and no one had checked on this dear Sister. After talking to her, I immediately called the Relief Society President and relayed the information to her and she was very grateful. It was amazing that even though this Sister couldn't come with us to the lesson, she was a Sister in need and the Spirit had brought her to our mind. 

2. A few weeks ago in Ward Council the Bishop asked us to contact an inactive member that hadn't been to the ward before. We tried many times but were unsuccessful. We are biking to an appointment when we noticed a lady with a stroller walking her dog. We stopped to contact her. As we initiated conversation the spirit whispered "This is Sister Walker" (the inactive sister Bishop told us about). I quickly realized that we were indeed in her area. I smiled and said, "Mam you are Sister Walker aren't you?" She slowly nodded her head. This dear sister had been avoiding contact with the church and missionaries for so long. It was a miracle that God placed us in her path and told us who she was.

3. Last night we tried to see a less active family. Unfortunately, they have no interest in the church and believe it or not they were just baptized Jehovah's Witness. Sister Montague and I left there house feeling pretty sorrowful. We decided to knock the street. At one door a man answered and agreed to pray with us. When we asked to involve his whole family he quickly shrugged the idea away saying they would not accept it. The wife heard our conversation and came to see what was going on. She assured us they were fine and didn't need anything. She asked what our purpose was for being there to which we responded "We are representatives of Jesus Christ and he has sent us here to pray with your family for the things you are in need of." Her countenance immediately shifted from closed and hard, to eyes filling up with tears as she began to cry. "How did you know?" She asked. We ended up being led inside and praying with them and there daughter. The wife cried the whole time as they explained there current situation. They are open and ready for the Gospel. It was amazing. 

I know that Heavenly Father knows each of his children individually and perfectly. He knows exactly what we need. 

I hope that you all have a great week. 

Love,

Sister Hartley