When The Miracle is - The Missionary

When a skilled surgeon sets a broken arm and the bone mends, we see this healing and say that is a miracle, and it is! Yet, let us not forget that the arm itself is a miracle. C.S. Lewis taught this important truth in a book I read many years ago.

Here in the California Santa Rosa Mission every Monday night at 9:00pm we hold what we call Miracle Monday. For 15 minutes our entire mission gathers on Zoom to share the miracles we have witnessed during the week. There is never a shortage of miraculous stories from missionarires! Such as stories of people who have prayed desperate prayers to God only to have missionaries knock on their door moments later with the very message they needed.

*A screen shot from a previous Miracle Monday*

Last Monday as I listened to the stories, I scrolled through my computer screen, looking at each missionary’s face, the Spirit whispered to me, don’t forget the missionaries themselves are miracles!

I looked at evey face, thinking about each choice that led them here. The choice to serve a mission, to fill out papers, to save money, to obtain supplies, to board an airplane, to delay goals and plans, to leave behind family and friends. to walk away from all that is familiar, and to promise to sacrifice their own desires, to work hard, to be obedient, and to serve the Lord for 18 to 24 months growing emotionally, socially and spiritually, stronger, as a disciple of our Savior Jesus Christ. That is the miracle of the missionary.

As a mother of missionaries I can’t resist saying that packing all your child’s things for two years into two suitcases is also miraculous! - ha ha! It takes faith for mothers to let them go. The pay off is tremendous though. I have witnessed the miracle of the missionary many times.

Every six weeks, President Quinn and I go to the airport to welcome another group of miracles who have gotten on the airplane and have chosen to be missionaries. This week on Wednesday we welcomed 15 new young people! Six weeks from now we will welcome 21 more! And this will continue every 6 weeks for many more years with many more mission leaders.

President & Sister Quinn waiting at the Sonoma County Airport for our new missionaries with the AP’s Elders Ritchie and Parrish. Our social media missionaries are there too. Sister Curtis & Hermana Grose - not in photo :(

New Missionaries! Elders Mecham, Kaufman, Housley, Wardell, Harper, Waddoups, Soderquist, Salisbury, Wayment, Speers, Sister Remund, Hermana Brinkerhoff, Sister Nebeker Sister Quinn, President Quinn, Sister Lewis and Sister McInelly

My first glimpse of missionaries was in the Salt Lake City airport as a little girl welcoming home my Uncle Lee from Hong Kong as a missionary. I also received a letter from my uncle Marv when he was a missionary in Holland. Missionary service runs deep in my family - my grandparents, my parents, siblings, husband, and children.

This week we also said goodbye to 12 of some of our favorite miracles. It is always hard as we get so attached to them. We wish them the best of luck and say keep in touch! We love you.

*Sister & President Quinn with departing missionaries: Elders Averett, Allen, Gardner, Chandler, Young, Bass. Jensen, Fuchs, White with Sister Tolman, and Hermanas Nix, and Miles*

When you see miraculous things happening in missionary work, please do not forget to notice the miracle who is the missionary. Have a great week. And again thanks for reading. Sister Quinn

Here is the “Coming to Know Him” journal prompt #5 Yay‼️‼️