Story from the Mish

My flight was canceled. My plane from Phoenix to Dallas was quick and my layover was to be even quicker. Apparently the weather in Iowa had other plans. I stood in line and rebooked my flight which would leave in round about six hours. I took a deep breath and smiled outside and in. It took me no time at all to conclude that Heavenly Father designed this weather plan because someone in the Dallas airport needed the restored gospel of Jesus Christ. The next hours went by fast as I prayed for the spirit of discernment, got to know a lot of people, referred to the Restoration, invited them to learn more, bore my testimony, took a potty break, ate enough M&Ms to make any normal person sick, and thanked my Heavenly Father for my beautiful calling. For six hours I did what I had been doing for the past 18 months but I felt…like something had been left undone. The Saturday before my departure I had received conformation from the Spirit that my Father had excepted my mission but with this feeling ebbing away at me I began to question my experience. I boarded the airplane and seated myself next to my new best friend. Over the next few hours we would share some of the tenderest moments that have taken place over the last 18 months of my life.
Cree (rhymes with tree and I have no idea how to spell it) is from California and was on his way to his brother’s home in Iowa to spend the holidays. I shared with him why I was on my way to Iowa, where I had been, and what I had been doing. He was intrigued and asked the normal questions. It didn’t take me long to pull out the extra copy of the Book of Mormon I was caring with me and explain the meaning of the book. I told my new friend why I love this book and what it means to me. Cree expressed to me His belief in God and Jesus Christ and his love for them. I told Cree with every feeling in my heart that They love him too and that they leave nothing to change. I expressed to him that God had put us on this plane together so I could give Cree a message directly to him from God. I promised him that when he read from this book he would learn more about Christ and his relationship to him, understand what God’s plan for him is, and that he would feel closer to them than he ever has in this lifetime. I began to teach the restoration and all the other ways throughout time that Heavenly Father has shown his love for…Cree. I told Cree that because now that we were friends and all I wanted to give him a special Christmas present. I told him how important it was to me and that I expected him to cherish it for all his life or I would be sorely disappointed. I handed him the copy of the Book of Mormon. He stared down at it in his hands and told me that it was important to him too and the best gift anyone had given him. A comfortable silence fell between us as I silently thanked Heavenly father for this son of his that sat beside me. The lights of the city of Des Moines began to appear in the distance through the plane window. I couldn’t hold my emotion and I began to cry. Cree became alarmed and I told him that I was just overly joyed to see my family after such a long time. Cree began to cry too. He told me that his beloved wife passed away in June and this would be his first Christmas without her in thirty-some years. As I told him about the plan of Salvation we both cried harder. I testified that as he read the special gift I gave him that his life would change for eternity….and the life of his late life. I once again committed him to read and pray. It was time to get off the plane. We wished each other a Merry Christmas. I told him I loved him with my eyes, took a deep breath, and walked off to greet my family. I openly sobbed all the way down the escalator for I knew that my mission was complete. My mother was the first to reach me.