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Missionary moments: `I wanted a change'

One afternoon while I was getting ready for a garage sale, I was thinking of my husband and children and how our lives were at this time. I wasn't happy about all the drinking and grew very tired of it. I wanted a change, but I didn't know what I wanted. I started to cry. My heart grew heavy, and I knew I had to go in to my bedroom and get down on my knees and ask God for help.

As I knelt beside my bed in prayer, sobbing, I told my Heavenly Father that we needed His help in the worst way. I knew I needed to turn my life over to Him. I told Him how much I loved Him and that I was willing to do anything that He wanted me to do.I felt such a warm peace come over me at that time. For the first time, I knew everything was going to be all right. Within the hour there came a knock at my front door. When I opened the door there stood two young men in suits. The one young man introduced himself, then his companion, Elders Brent Limb and Jay Staley, who had a message for me from Heavenly Father.

Can you imagine the looks on their faces when I was shaking their hands, pulling them into our home and while crying trying to tell them I knew why they were there?

The elders spoke to me about my husband and children and asked if they could come back and visit with us that evening.

When we were in the middle of the third discussion, Craig Campbell, a stake missionary, asked why I looked so sad. I asked, "When are you going to ask us to be baptized?" You should have seen his face, too. He said, "As soon as we finish all the discussions."

They came twice a week to finish the discussions.

We were baptized on Dec. 15, 1979, at the Keizer Oregon Stake center. We were sealed in the Seattle Temple June 13, 1981.

I knew the Church was true the first time the elders came by our home. We still think of Elder Staley and Elder Limb and talk about them often with love and thankfulness in our hearts for them.

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