Gratitude

Last Saturday I got a shocking call from President Crickmore, telling me that the Stake President in our area had not approved our having a meeting here in Ayapango, and that I needed to call the people and cancel the meeting for the next day. After I hung up all I could think about was what have I done to these poor people. They were so excited about the possibility of having a branch in their town. I was the one who had built up their hopes and now they were suddenly gone. A number of less active people had started coming to our little meeting, and I worried about what would become of them. Chrise and I wanted to argue with someone that it was wrong to jerk peoples lives around like that, but then after we had talked for a while, we decided we must follow the Lord’s anointed and do everything we could do limit the damage.

I knew I would have to face the bishop of our ward the next day, and that President Crickmore had also mentioned that my bishop was against the meeting. Although my feelings inside were still raw, I smiled and greeted everyone as I always have. I told the Ramirezes, the strong active family in Ayapango, that I still had hope and faith that one day they would have a branch. After sacrament, the bishop pulled me aside and said that I did not have the approval of the stake president for the meeting. I said I understood and agreed and that we had already canceled the meeting. Then I expressed my concerns for the people in Ayapango. He asked me how many had attended the meeting the week before and when I told him thirteen, he was surprised.

Then he surprised me. He said, “The stake president told me that if you had at least three less active or investigators, you could continue the meeting. You need to let me know how many are coming, Elder.” I was shocked, and wanted to shout for joy right there and then. My fervent prayer had been answered. But this was the bishop talking and not the stake president and the last time that I thought I had approval it had come from a counselor in the stake presidency.

President Crickmore, when I told him later that day said we needed to get direct confirmation from the Stake President and that he would do it. I waited all week for his call. It didn’t come. Last night I sent a text to President Crickmore asking him what I could do or whether it was just over. He said when he got the text he tried the same numbers he had tried to call all week, still with no success. Then, on a chance, he called the stake center. He got direct confirmation that we could have the meeting. I was so grateful to see those words.

This afternoon Chrise and I talked about our feelings of being here in Mexico. Chrise was in tears when she said how grateful she was to be here and the wonderful blessing that we feel, not only for ourselves but for our family. I could not agree more.