This Wonderful Place....

Today we attended a Sacrament Meeting to hear the testimony of another beautiful, faithful Daughter of God, Nadia,  who answered the call of a prophet to serve a mission. There are so many here.
She has been a yoga student of mine since we have been here in Moscow and I love her.  Her identical twin, Luba, is just as wonderful.  Others have described these two as so full of light and spiritual power that just entering the room where they are, you feel it.  Tears come easily.  These two just see, feel, and describe things that the rest of us miss.

As Nadia expressed her thoughts today, she kept returning to the fire of  testimony that burns in her heart.  Her greatest desire is to bring that love to the people the Lord is preparing for her to teach on her mission.  

A few weeks ago, Nadia shared with me the miracles that have allowed her to serve.  She worked for two years to save the necessary funds to serve.  As she prepared for her mission, a family emergency required her to contribute her funds.  Her sister, Luba, was in Utah working for the summer at a restaurant.  

When Luba  received Nadia's email describing the situation, Luba sat down and cried.  A kind man sat down to see if he could help.  Luba tearfully told him that her sister would not be able to serve her mission.  This good Utah man took Luba's information and contacted her later to say that he and his wife would be privileged to pay for Nadia's mission.  Nadia told the man that she would never be able to repay him but God knew what he needed and he and his wife would be blessed.  

Nadia will take the flaming torch of truth to bless the lives of so many.

Many testimonies today focused on the significant events in the region.  The focus of these good people is to bring the Gospel of peace and our Savior's love to soften hearts and create bonds between people.  These people take care of each other.  

An investigator, a bus driver, needed encouragement in her struggle to stop smoking.  At a particularly challenging time, the ward members not only prayed for her but found a way to make sure that she was greeted at each bus stop by a ward member or two or three giving her encouragement that she was going to make it!  It took a lot of people and coordination.  That kind of love is truly serving as the Lord would want us all to serve.

Yesterday found us in another world.  The city of Sergiev Pasad lies within the "Golden Ring", a collection of ancient cities connecting Russians to their past.  We experienced a bit of rural life as we were treated to horse drawn sleighs, cooking hot dogs over a campfire, sledding, sawing logs (don't count on us for your firewood) and the peace of deep woods.

Sergeiv Pasad is the spiritual center of the Russian Orthodox church.  The many cathedrals within it's walls date back to the 14th century.  As we entered these stunning spaces, we sensed the desire of so many people to connect to God.  Seventy years of official atheism failed to destroy the spiritual yearning that all people feel.  As we entered the ornate cathedrals, we reminded ourselves that  growth comes line upon line, precept on precept.  

There is a story near the end of the Book of Mormon that fascinates me.  The hero of this saga has the very impersonal handle of "The Brother of Jared".  Apparently his given name was  long and  complicated so the B of J was easier.  Anyway, the B of J was chosen by God to cross the water and lead his people to a new land of promise.   The Lord got him started in teaching him how to build the necessary water crafts to carry the people, animals, etc. but when it came to light and air, God asked the B of J to stretch himself and come up with some ideas.

 He comes up with some brilliant ideas, including taking some stones and asking God to touch the stones, illuminating them, to light the ships.  The Lord is very pleased and not only touches the stones one by one but, in the process, the faith of the B of J is increased to the point that he actually sees God, not all at once but first the finger that touched the stones, then the entire person.

I love this story for many reasons but one principle that it teaches me is the need to be patient in our journey back to our Heavenly Father.  I found this in my scripture journal.  Unfortunately, I neglected to record the source or the date.

Truth May Be Revealed in Stages
"Just as the Brother of Jared was given only a small view of the Savior, it was none the less true.  We may see just a part of a doctrine or event, but it is still true.  We must never discard what we know to be true just because we don't see the whole picture.

The Lord touched each tone individually.  The faith of the Brother of Jared was proven with each stone touched."

May we be true to the light we are given....