The following is a paper I wrote for my personal narrative in my Eng 106 class. I want to preserve this experience, memory, and testimony for myself and my kids.
We Are Not Alone
We did it! My husband and I, accompanied by our four young
children and nineteen pieces of luggage, made it safely from California to
Canada. Getting to Calgary was the easy part. Getting out of the airport and to
our new home was more of a challenge, but we were triumphant. Hours after our
plane landed, we made our first stop at Costco and then stopped for dinner at a
nearby steakhouse. While eating, we started talking about our new adventure. We
talked about the exciting things we had to look forward to, as well as possible
challenges we could face. The only question the kids had was whether they
should choose an ice-cream sandwich or a banana ice-cream stick for dessert.
Towards the end of our dinner, an exquisite young girl caught our
attention as she came up and pointed out that she was wearing the same shirt as
our 22 month old, Abby. She was about the same age as our three year old son,
Tanner, but we quickly noticed that there was something special about this
little girl. She could not talk. She made hand gestures her eyes and facial
expressions spoke volumes, but she was unable to communicate verbally. Shortly
after, her mom came over and apologized for her daughter interrupting our
dinner. She explained that Ivy, the little girl, had some learning delays and
could not talk. In fact, she was just learning to walk. We insisted that Ivy
had not interrupted our dinner and that we were pleased to visit with her. I
asked Sadie, my five year old, to scoot over so we could make room for Ivy’s
mother, Nena. Almost immediately, Nena asked us if we were members of the
church. Matt and I looked at each other and practically laughed out loud. I
knew he was thinking the same thing as me, how could we have been in the
country less than three hours and already found friends from church? We
all started talking and quickly got into the details of our recent move. Matt
explained our situation and how we had just arrived that day for his work with
Chevron. Nena asked what neighborhood we moved into and then introduced us to
her husband, son, and mother-in-law.
On our way home, I couldn't help but think about how
involved God has been in my life, and He is constantly watching out for me
and my family.
Matt and I got married nine years ago in Utah. Two years after
getting married, we moved to Texas for our first “real” job after Matt
graduated. We lived there for almost five years, and that is where we welcomed
our first three children, Sienna, Sadie, and Tanner, to our family. When Tanner
was five months old, we felt very strongly that we needed to move back to Utah
so Matt could get his MBA from BYU. This was extremely challenging for us
because we loved our home, ward, and friends that we had made in Texas, but
there was no question that it was what our Heavenly Father needed us to do at
that time. In the middle of Matt’s program, we moved to Seattle for a summer
internship, and that is where we welcomed our fourth child, Abigail, into our
family. God accompanied us in all of these accomplishments, changes, and moves.
As we followed the spirit, we were extremely blessed and led to more
opportunities. Matt did well on his internship and secured a job offer from
Boeing. When we got back to Utah to finish his program, Matt received multiple
offers from different companies, but nothing from the company he was most
interested in. One day, Matt was getting ready to leave for a recruiting trip
to meet with more companies and look for job opportunities. Before he left, the
spirit told me to tell Matt to be open minded if an international opportunity
became available. This was not a prompting that I was excited to follow. Moving
my family to a foreign country was not something I ever wanted to do, but I
listened and told Matt about my feelings. The very next day, Matt approached
Chevron to inquire about possible career opportunities and found out that they
were only interested in hiring people open to traveling internationally. When
Matt relayed this information to me, I knew this was where we were supposed to
be. Matt wasn’t convinced. Getting a job with Chevron is extremely competitive
and this year, we found out that they were hiring one person out of nearly
two-hundred applicants. The odds were not in our favor, but God was with us. I
knew that if this is truly what God wanted us to do, Matt would get the job
offer. Sure enough, after a couple of weeks of interviewing, Matt got his
official offer from Chevron. He graduated, and one year and a half later, we
arrived in Canada for our first international rotation.
Here I was, sitting in our car on our drive back to our new home,
reflecting on the goodness of God and His direction in my life. Everything
seemed to be falling into place perfectly so far. We were close to Matt’s work,
the girls’ school, and I was even able to continue my education. However, the
real test for me was going to be attending church and meeting our new ward. We
had just moved from my favorite place I have ever lived, surrounded by the most
amazing people I have ever known. I was nervous and to be honest, not looking
forward to a new ward.
Our first Sunday didn't help my questioning attitude. As
I sat in the chapel, I looked around and struggled to locate anyone I was
interested in getting to know. Instead of finding anything familiar or
welcoming, I focused on everything or everyone that seemed odd or strange to
me. Then the sacrament started and they passed water first. I was confused to
the point of wondering if I was the crazy one. “Wait, do we always serve the
water first, and I am just not thinking straight? No, bread is first, always.
Right?” I finally had to look at Matt so I could feel less insane, and
eventually we were informed that someone had forgotten the bread. Things started
to get better as soon as sacrament meeting ended. As we stood up to take our kids
to their classes, Nena’s mother-in-law from dinner found me, and we shared
excitement that we were in the same ward. Things got even better when they
announced that the following week was a special stake meeting where Elder
Nelson would be speaking and presiding.
The entire next week, I looked forward to hearing from Elder
Nelson, a man of unmeasured success and intellect, but overall a man of God.
The Saturday before our meeting, the kids were showing signs of getting sick. I
played different scenarios in my head about how I could manipulate my husband
into letting me go if one of us had to stay home. I thought we could play Rock, Paper, Scissors. Luckily,
the kids woke up feeling well enough to go, and I am so grateful they did.
The first few speakers bore powerful testimonies of the Savior and
brought such a strong spirit to the meeting. Then, it was Elder Nelson’s turn.
My eyes were locked onto him. I held my sleeping son and just gazed into the
eyes of an apostle as he spoke and bore testimony. At one point, he asked the
children to stand and sing the first verse of, “I Am a Child of God.” Tears streamed down my face as I
watched my children sing to an apostle of the Lord. It was one of the more
special moments I can remember in my lifetime.
After Elder Nelson concluded his testimony and left us with
an apostolic blessing, the congregation sang, “Redeemer of Israel.” During this song, I was focusing on the
words, and as I sang the fourth verse, the spirit spoke to me so
clearly and confirmed that the testimony that I have been carrying for years is
in fact true. The words that spoke to me
were , “How long we have wandered, as strangers in sin, and cried in the
desert for thee! Our foes have rejoiced, when our sorrows they’ve seen, but
Israel will shortly be free.” This verse testified to me that the life I am
living is in accordance to my Heavenly Father’s plan. It bore witness to me
that The Book of Mormon is true, and that Jesus is our Savior, Lord, and
Redeemer, and the time of His return is coming soon. As tears poured down my
cheeks faster than I could wipe them away, I felt an overwhelming joy that I am
here now to be a part of gathering Israel, and that I have a mission to spread
gospel to those around me.
I also realized that regardless of how secure I feel in my
testimony or how old I am, the spirit will continue to testify of God’s
goodness and truths to me. Relocating often, especially with young children, is
not easy, but I know that God is always one step ahead of me and waiting for us
whenever we arrive. I am so grateful to have had this experience to remind me
that I matter to my Heavenly Father, and my family is not embarking on these
journeys alone, but that we have Him with us, always.
